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11 Sep 2006 : Column 2206W—continued
Airport Security
David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which airports have (a) 24 hour security and (b) security provision during operating hours. [87299]
Gillian Merron: I have been asked to reply.
The Department for Transport is responsible for regulating and monitoring aviation security in the UK under the provisions of the Aviation Security Act 1982, as amended by the Aviation and Maritime Security Act 1990.
It would be inappropriate to comment on the specific security arrangements which have been put in place at UK airports.
Alan Kittle
Mr. Meacher: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what action he proposes to take in respect of Alan Kittle, Senior Immigration Inspector in charge of the criminal casework team responsible for deciding whether foreign prisoners should be deported after release from prison. [68419]
Mr. Byrne [holding answer 8 May 2006]: Issues of performance or conduct of individual members of staff are a matter for the permanent secretary and are addressed in accordance with the Department’s internal procedures.
Antisocial Behaviour
Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will visit Castle Point to discuss antisocial behaviour with local residents and the police. [78183]
Mr. McNulty: The Home Secretary regularly undertakes visits in respect of his departmental responsibilities. However, due to existing diary commitments, he has no plans to visit Castle Point in the immediate future.
Asylum/Immigration
Mr. McGovern: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent discussions he has had with the Scottish First Minister about the interaction between the UK Government's policy on asylum and immigration and the Scottish Executive's policy on attracting fresh talent to the country. [25323]
Mr. Byrne: The Home Secretary has regular discussions with the Scottish First Minister about immigration and other issues.
Mr. Hands: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many individuals seeking asylum in the UK since 1997 have been granted leave to remain as a result of their application taking too long to process. [84414]
Mr. Byrne: Asylum applications are decided on an individual case by case basis. Information on any cases falling into the category mentioned in this question is not available and could be available only by examination of individual case records.
Mr. Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what criteria were used in drawing up the regional language list by the National Asylum Support Service for the dispersal of asylum seekers; and if he will make a statement. [86883]
Mr. Byrne [holding answer 24 July 2006]: The language list is no longer in operation, although language remains a factor in placing asylum seekers. It is just one of the criteria considered by relevant stakeholders when considering dispersal issues.
Greg Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many applicants for asylum have had their applications rejected in the last (a) one, (b) three and (c) 12 months. [85748]
Mr. Byrne [holding answer 14 July 2006]: Information on asylum applications is published in quarterly web pages and in the annual statistical bulletin Asylum Statistics United Kingdom. Copies of these publications and others relating to general immigration to the UK are available from the Library of the House and from the Home Office Research Development and Statistics Directorate website at http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/immigration1.html
David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to his answer of 4 July 2006, Official Report, column 1041W, on asylum/immigration, how competency in the English language is assessed. [87302]
John Reid: For potential employees of the immigration and nationality directorate (IND), competency in the English language may be assessed through formal academic qualifications and/or through ability testing including verbal reasoning. Potential employees must meet a minimum standard of competence to be offered a post. Progression to higher grades involves competency based assessment including psychometric testing and other exercises.
Mr. Burrowes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many failed asylum seekers convicted of criminal offences in the UK have been detained pending deportation in each of the last five years. [86728]
Mr. Byrne: The information requested is not currently collected centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 15 March 2006, Official Report, column 2305W, on illegal immigrants, what estimate was made of the cost of providing the information. [61251]
Mr. Byrne: The information requested is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Mr. Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prisoners are illegal immigrants. [71445]
Mr. Byrne: The information requested on the immigration status of prisoners is not currently available and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. In my Written Ministerial Statement of 19 July 2006, Official Report, column 29WS, I set out the progress the Department is making to address the fact that there is no unique identifier to link individuals who come in contact with the asylum and immigration and criminal justice systems. We have commenced development of a comprehensive approach to identity management across all Home Office areas and will finalise a strategic action plan in this area by the end of September 2006.
Tony Baldry: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when Founia Ilyas, reference 3107 2668, will be notified of her immigration status. [53913]
Mr. Byrne: Ms Ilyas was notified of a decision on her application on 18 January 2005 when at the same time her documents were returned to her home address.
Norman Baker:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the status is of the following Russian nationals (a) Chernysheva, Natalia Vladimirovna, (b) Chernikova, Irina Vladimirovna, (c) Karaseva, Alla Alexandrovna, (d) Spirichev, Alexey Valerievich, (e) Kartashov, Vladislav Nikolaevich, (f) Maruev, Dmitriy Lavovich, (g) Gorbachev, Alexander Lavovich, (h) Golubovich, Alexey Dmitrievich, (i) Gololobov, Dmitriy Vladimirovich, (j) Burganov, Ranil Raisovich, (k)
Temerko, Alexander Viktorovich, (l) Trushin, Mikhail Anatolevich and (m) Beilin, Yuri Arkadevich. [84103]
Mr. Byrne [holding answer 10 July 2006]: No. It is the general policy of the Immigration and Nationality Directorate not to disclose to a third party personal information about another person, including information concerning their immigration status, as well as personal details.
Mr. Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many inmates were detained on behalf of the Immigration Service awaiting deportation in each of the last five years, broken down by prison; what the (a) average and (b) maximum period of detention beyond completion of a sentence was in each of the last five years; what estimate he has made of the cost of this detention; and if he will make a statement. [66545]
Mr. Byrne: The Department does not collate information in the format requested and it could be produced only at disproportionate cost.
Mr. Evennett: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people in (a) Greater London and (b) Bexley borough have been waiting more than six months for a decision on their immigration status; and if he will make a statement. [86222]
Mr. Byrne: Information is not readily available and could be obtained only at a disproportionate cost.
Alistair Burt: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many detainees who escaped from the Yarl's Wood detention centre on 14 February 2002 had previously been in custody for committing an offence prior to being sent to Yarl's Wood. [74046]
Mr. Byrne: Of the 23 individuals who escaped from Yarl’s Wood on the night of 14 February 2002, there is no record of 19 having committed offences prior to being detained. Records indicate three had previous convictions and one other is a possible match.
Alistair Burt: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether any of the seven detainees who escaped from Yarl’s Wood following the fire on 14 February 2002, and whose whereabouts remain uncertain, are suspected to have committed a crime since their escape in February 2002. [79193]
Mr. Byrne: To our knowledge none of the seven detainees, who escaped from Yarl’s Wood on the night of 14 February 2002 and whose whereabouts are unknown, have committed a crime since their escape in February 2002.
Bird and Bird Solicitors
Mr. Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what contracts were awarded by his Department to Bird and Bird Solicitors in each year since 1997; what the (a) value and (b) duration of each such contract was; and if he will make a statement. [88181]
Mr. Byrne: I am advised that the (a) value and (b) duration of contracts awarded by the Home Department to Bird and Bird Solicitors in each year since 1997 are as follows:
Bogus Marriages
Mr. Holloway: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many marriage visas were refused on the grounds that the marriage in question was not considered to be genuine in each of the last five years. [86682]
Mr. Byrne: The figures on the number of spousal visas refused are contained in the following table. Also included is another table showing the number of refusals of extension of leave to remain in the United Kingdom on the basis of marriage.
It is not possible to determine how many were refused on the grounds that the marriage was not considered to be genuine without examination of individual case records at disproportionate costs.
| Refusals of extension of leave to remain( 1) in the United Kingdom excluding EEA nationals( 2) and Switzerland, 2001 to 2005( 3) — United Kingdom | ||
| Number of decisions | ||
| Category | All refusals | Of which: Spouse (probationary period applications)( 4) |
| (1) Excludes dependants of principal applicants, asylum related decisions and withdrawn applications. (2) Includes nationals of the Czech Republic, Cyprus, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia before 1 May 2004, but excludes them from this date. (3) Provisional and subject to change. (4) Data include unmarried partners. (5) Excludes the outcome of appeals. Note: Figures rounded to the nearest 5. Source: Immigration Research and Statistics Service, RDS-IND, Home Office | ||
| Visa applications and refusals for spouse endorsements, 2001 to 2005 | |||||
| Endorsement | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 |
| Note: “UKvisas makes every effort to ensure that statistics produced from our ‘Central Reference System’ are accurate. However, the complexity of our global business, including technical failures or occasional inconsistencies in data entry across any of over 150 offices, means we cannot 100% guarantee accuracy. UKvisas continues to work on IT and working practices to improve the quality of the statistics we provide.” Source: UKVisas Central Reference System 24 July 2006 | |||||
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