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4 Sep 2006 : Column 1838W—continued
Imams and Mosques Advisory Council
Ms Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what progress has been made with proposals to set up a national advisory council of imams and mosques. [71938]
Meg Munn [holding answer 18 May 2006]: I have been asked to reply.
The Mosques and Imams National Advisory Board (MINAB) was set up with the aim of providing central guidance and support to Mosques and Imams in the UK. This new body is intended to represent all Muslim traditions and schools of thought.
The first stage of creating MINAB was a national consultation, led by Lord Ahmed, which sought views on issues such as the accreditation of Imams, better governance of mosques and interfaith activity. The next stage, the actual setting up of MINAB, has been led by a steering group comprising representatives from the British Muslim Forum, Muslim Council of Britain, Muslim Association of Britain and the Al-Khoei Foundation.
A press conference was held on 27 June which launched MINAB and set out its implementation strategy to deliver it as a working entity. At this press conference, the Advisory Board launched a good practice guide which sets out principles and procedures Mosques and Imams should follow to effectively lead their communities.
Immigration and Nationality Directorate
Mr. Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the functions and caseload of the immigration and nationality directorate's work-in-progress hold. [61153]
Mr. Byrne [holding answer 27 March 2006]: Immigration and nationality directorate's work-in-progress hold is at Beddington Cross, which is designed to temporarily store case files.
My right hon. Friend the Home Secretary set out in his statement of 19 July the caseload of IND, including files held at Beddington Cross.
Mr. Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the location is of the immigration and nationality directorate's work-in-progress hold. [61154]
Mr. Byrne [holding answer 27 March 2006]: The immigration and nationality directorate's work-in-progress hold is located at Beddington Cross near Croydon.
Mr. Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many staff work at the immigration and nationality directorate's work-in-progress hold. [61155]
Mr. Byrne: IND's work-in-progress hold at Beddinton Cross, near Croydon, is a storage facility, and is staffed by 28 Home Office staff and 69 contractor staff.
Mr. Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) casual and (b) temporary staff were recruited to the Immigration and Nationality Directorate in each of the last three financial years. [76462]
Mr. Byrne: The number of (a) casual and (b) temporary staff, who have been appointed to the Immigration and Nationality Directorate in each of the last three financial years, is shown in the following table.
| Financial year | Casual | Temporary (agency) |
| n/a = not available Note: These figures have been drawn from manual records kept in the Immigration and Nationality Directorate. | ||
David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many foreign nationals are employed by the Immigration and Nationality Directorate. [77119]
Mr. McNulty: Under the terms of the Aliens' Employment Act 1955, the Immigration and Nationality Department currently employs no foreign nationals.
Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much was spent by the Enforcement and Removals Directorate of the Immigration and Nationality Directorate on the use of police cells in each police authority area in (a) 2004 and (b) 2005. [85347]
Mr. Byrne: Spend by each police authority area is shown in the following table for the financial years 2004-05 and 2005-06. The figures are presented in accordance with Resource Accounting and Budgeting and include accruals.
| £ | ||
| Expenditure | ||
| Police authority | 2004-05 | 2005-06 |
Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the Best Practice recommendations made on page 59 of the Review of Resourcing and Management of Immigration Enforcement Final Report 2004, what improvements his Department has made to people aspects in the Immigration and Nationality Directorate. [85348]
Mr. Byrne: Since the publication of the Review of Resourcing and Management of Immigration Enforcement Final Report in September 2004 the Enforcement and Removals Directorate has implemented several changes, including:
All staff are involved in business planning to encourage ‘buy in’ to targets
Performance is monitored against targets and cascaded down throughout the Directorate
Training on Performance Management is available and encouraged to all staff from SEO and above
The Department is committed to building a culture where high performance is delivered, recognised and rewarded.
Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the Best Practice recommendation made on page 58 of the Review of Resourcing and Management of Immigration Enforcement Final Report 2004, what improvements his Department has made to Immigration and Nationality Directorate data collection. [85349]
Mr. Byrne: Since the publication of the Review of Resourcing and Management of Immigration Enforcement Final Report in September 2004 the Enforcement and Removals Directorate has implemented several changes, including:
Improving data quality on our main management information databases by 11 per cent.
Reducing the number of locally created and held databases. Where appropriate incorporating their functionality into the main Immigration Nationality Directorate central Case Information Database (CID).
Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which of the recommendations made in the Review of Resourcing and Management of Immigration Final Report 2004 his Department has implemented; what the time scale is for implementing each of the remaining recommendations; and if he will make a statement. [85350]
Mr. Byrne: The Review of Resourcing and Management of Immigration Enforcement report made 20 recommendations. 19 are now considered to be complete, part of IND policy or no longer relevant.
Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the Best Practice recommendations made on page 60 of the Review of Resourcing and Management of Immigration Enforcement Final Report 2004, what improvements his Department has made to performance management processes in the Immigration and Nationality Directorate. [85371]
Mr. Byrne: Since the publication of the Review of Resourcing and Management of Immigration Enforcement Final Report in September 2004 the Enforcement and Removals Directorate has implemented several changes, including:
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