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29 Jun 2006 : Column 625W—continued
Mr. Byrne: I am advised that the following table shows the number of principal asylum applicants removed from the UK to a destination that was the same as that of their nationality, broken down by type of removal in each month of the first quarter of 2006.
Mr. Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many offenders being considered for deportation have been granted bail by the Asylum and Immigration Tribunal (AIT) in each of the last five years; and how many such persons have committed (a) offences and (b) offences of a violent and sexual nature whilst on bail. [76197]
Mr. Byrne: My right hon. Friend the Home Secretary has updated the House on this matter today in a written ministerial statement, and the director general of the immigration and nationality directorate (IND) has written to the Chairman of the Home Affairs Select Committee today on the number of cases where foreign national prisoners were released without proper deportation consideration. A copy of the letter has been placed in both Libraries.
Mr. Meacher: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what action has been taken against immigration officials who allowed the Baybasin brothers and their criminal associates to move to the UK in exchange for the gang leader becoming an informer; if he will identify the officials concerned; and whether they will be prosecuted. [78135]
Mr. Byrne: I am unable to comment where wider investigations are still ongoing.
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what response he has made to the July 2005 report by the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman on the treatment of detainees (a) at Oakington Immigration Centre and (b) while under escort; and if he will make a statement. [79777]
Mr. Byrne: An action plan containing all 54 recommendations from the investigation carried out by Stephen Shaw into the allegations contained in the BBC documentary, ‘Detention Undercover: the Real Story’ was compiled and published. I am advised that all remaining recommendations will be implemented by October 2006.
Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what his policy is on the detention of minors in adult immigration detention facilities. [80629]
Mr. Byrne: I am advised that unaccompanied minors are not detained other than in one very limited circumstance: where, exceptionally, it is necessary to detain a child while alternative care arrangements are made (normally overnight).
Families with children may be detained in the following circumstances: initially, whilst their identities and basis of claim are established; where there are reasonable grounds for believing that they will fail to comply with the conditions of temporary admission or release; or to effect removal. In addition, families whose asylum claims appear to be capable of being decided quickly may be detained as part of a fast-track process.
Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the legal basis is for detaining a British-born child in an immigration detention centre. [80631]
Mr. Byrne: The legal basis for detaining a British-born child in an immigration removal centre is explained in IND’s Family Removals Policy. A copy of this document has been placed in the House Libraries.
Biometric Registration
Mr. Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what research his Department has undertaken into biometric registration and verification since December 2004. [79547]
Joan Ryan: A number of pieces of biometric research have been completed or commissioned since December 2004. In spring 2005, a large United Kingdom Passport Service biometric enrolment trial reported its findings. In addition, research regarding the effectiveness of facial recognition systems for use in fraud prevention has been completed in March 2006.
Furthermore, the Home Office is funding research by the National Physical Laboratory on biometric minutiae interoperability. This research will develop methodology and tools to assess and improve the interoperability of minutiae-based fingerprint recognition systems. The work is also contributing to international standards on data formats for fingerprint minutiae, conformance testing, and interoperable performance testing. It is anticipated that this research will be completed by mid 2007.
Biometric experts working in the Home Office also receive input and review findings from research conducted by other institutions internationally and examine its implications for the development of Government initiatives. Such work is facilitated by the work of the Biometric Assurance Group, chaired by the Government Chief Scientist, Sir David King and bodies such as the Biometric Experts Group for the National Identity Scheme.
Child Sexual Abuse
Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many children under 14 years were recorded as experiencing sexual abuse in each of the last five years; what services for such children are funded by his Department; and what mechanisms are in place to provide liaison between services funded by his Department and those provided by other funding streams. [78214]
Mr. Coaker: The Home Office does not collect statistics for the number of children under the age of 14 recorded as experiencing sexual abuse.
The National Service Framework (NSF) for Children, Young People and Maternity Services Standard five 10.6 sets out that
“Local authorities, NHS Trusts and primary care trusts ensure that integrated services are available to respond in a co-ordinated manner to the assessed needs of children and young people and their families where a child has been or is at risk of being abused or neglected. The types of programmes offered are based on best available evidence of what interventions are effective and are subject to regular audit, the findings of which inform future service provision”.
The NSF for Children, Young People and Maternity Services is a 10 year strategy.
The Department of Health is working with the Home Office, the Department of Education and Skills and voluntary sector organisations providing services for sexually abused children through the joint Department of Health and National Institute for Mental Health in England (NIMHE) Victims of Violence and Abuse Prevention Programme (WAPP). This is a two year programme until April 2007. The aim of the programme is to develop national service guidelines based on research conducted by the programme. Guidelines will be published in spring 2007. The programme is intended to equip professionals and services to identify and respond to the mental and physical health effects of child sexual abuse. An expert group on child victims of domestic violence and sexual assault has been established to advise the programme.
The Home Office and the Department of Health supported the development of Sexual Assault Referral Centres (SARCs) for children: Project Amethyst in London, and St. Mary’s in Manchester. £100,000 from the Victim’s Fund was allocated to this work in 2005-06.
Convicted Foreign Nationals
Mr. Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many foreign nationals are being supervised by the Probation Service in (a) West Sussex and (b) Bognor Regis and Littlehampton constituency. [74992]
Mr. Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to his written ministerial statement of 23 May 2006, Official Report, column 77WS, on deportation and removal of foreign nationals, (1) in respect of how many of the (a) more serious and (b) most serious offenders the whereabouts are not known; [75049]
(2) if he will give a breakdown by nationality of the (a) most serious offenders and (b) more serious offenders identified as not being under control; and in the case of the most serious offenders not under control how long each offender has not been under control. [75050]
Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) if he will list in descending order according to the number of prisoners concerned the countries of origin of foreign national prisoners who have (a) been released without consideration for deportation and (b) been deported since February 1999; [75217]
(2) if he will break down the number of foreign national prisoners detained in England and Wales by countries of origin. [75218]
Mr. Byrne: My right hon. Friend the Home Secretary has updated the House on these matters today in a written ministerial statement, and the director general of the immigration and nationality directorate (IND) has written to the Chairman of the Home Affairs Select Committee today on the number of cases where foreign national prisoners were released without proper deportation consideration. A copy of the letter has been placed in both Libraries.
Correspondence
Mr. Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he will reply to the letter of 19 December 2005 from the hon. Member for Aylesbury about the asylum case of Mr. K. K. of Aylesbury (reference K515596). [76344]
Mr. Byrne: I wrote to the hon. Member on 12 June 2006.
Departmental Annual Report
Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when his Department expects to publish its annual report for 2005-06. [79443]
Mr. Byrne: The Home Office Departmental Report is planned for completion and publication before the summer Parliamentary recess.
Departmental Finance Directors
Chris Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the (a) name, (b) professional and academic qualifications and (c) relevant experience are of the finance director of his Department. [80085]
Mr. Byrne: Helen Kilpatrick is the Home Office Director General, Financial and Commercial. After graduating from King’s College, she qualified as an accountant as a member of the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA). She was appointed to the Home Office in April 2005. She has held a variety of finance and corporate services posts in the public sector, most recently prior to joining the Home Office as Deputy Chief Executive, Strategic Director for Resources and County Treasury of West Sussex county council.
Foreign Offenders
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many deportation reviews of foreign prisoners his Department conducted in each of the last 10 years; [70101]
(2) how many foreign criminals have been deported in each of the last 10 years. [70103]
Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department under what circumstances a person may be deported from the UK; what legislation governs the deportation of an individual; what plans he has to review this legislation; and if he will make a statement. [70362]
Mr. Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to his written statement of 23 May 2006, Official Report, columns 78-81WS, on deportation and removal of foreign nationals, (1) how many of the 1019 foreign offenders identified were eligible for removal from the UK; [76199]
(2) how many of the (a) most serious offenders, (b) more serious offenders and (c) other offenders out of the 1,019 identified foreign criminals have (i) applied for bail and (ii) been granted bail since 23 May. [76438]
(3) how many individuals have been (a) deported and (b) excluded from the UK on the basis of the guidelines set out by his predecessor in August 2005. [73793]
Mr. Gauke: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department for how many prisoners released from British prisons since March 2005 the Department does not have a record of nationality. [67677]
Mr. Binley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department in how many of the cases of prisoners who should have been considered for deportation prior to their release the prisoner's last known address prior to conviction was in (a) the Northampton South constituency and (b) elsewhere in Northamptonshire; how many are known to have returned to that address in each case; and what steps are being taken (i) to identify them and (ii) to ensure that consideration for deportation takes place. [68127]
Mr. Byrne: My right hon. Friend the Home Secretary has updated the House on these matters today in a written ministerial statement, and the director general of the immigration and nationality directorate (IND) has written to the Chairman of the Home Affairs Select Committee today on the number of cases where foreign national prisoners were released without proper deportation consideration. A copy of the letter has been placed in both Libraries.
Mrs. Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many foreign nationals are being held in each prison in Wales, broken down by (a) offence for which the sentence is being served, (b) length of sentence, (c) nationality and (d) deportation status on completing sentence; [67339]
(2) how many foreign nationals have been released from each prison in Wales over the past two years, broken down by (a) offence committed, (b) nationality, (c) whether deported on conclusion of sentence, (d) whether originally in the country illegally and (e) whether recommended for deportation by the court but released into the community; [67340]
(3) what steps he has taken to determine how many foreign national prisoners have been released in Wales without having their deportation status checked; and if he will make a statement. [67599]
Mr. Byrne [holding answers 3 May 2006]: My right hon. Friend the Home Secretary has updated the House on these matters today in a written ministerial statement, and the director general of the immigration and nationality directorate (IND) has written to the Chairman of the Home Affairs Select Committee today on the number of cases where foreign national prisoners were released without proper deportation consideration. A copy of the letter has been placed in both Libraries.
Mr. Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many foreign convicted prisoners in respect of whom the trial judge recommended that deportation be considered on release have been released from (a) Aylesbury Young Offenders Institution, (b) Grendon Prison, (c) Woodhill Prison and (d) Springhill Prison in each of the last five years; how many such prisoners were deported; and if he will make a statement. [67674]
Mr. Byrne [holding answer 3 May 2006]: In his written ministerial statement to the House on 15 May 2006, Official Report, column 41WS, my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary explained that he was aware of a number of requests from hon. Members asking for a detailed breakdown of cases by the prison or constituency from which foreign national prisoners have been released. In his subsequent statement to the House on 23 May 2006, Official Report, column 78WS, my right hon. Friend confirmed that further updates would pend the outcome of a thorough rechecking of all the information we hold in this area. We shall update the House with those results as soon as possible.
Mr. Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many foreign prisoners (a) who were the subject of his statement and (i) have been considered for deportation and (ii) have yet to be considered for deportation and (b) who remain incarcerated are from countries to which deportations are not usually undertaken on human rights grounds. [67682]
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