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11 Sep 2006 : Column 2232W—continued
Public Information
Mr. Gale: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much was spent on his Department's public relations and information services in each of the last five years for which figures are available. [48957]
Mr. Byrne: Information services are defined as websites and phone lines set up for campaigns. The following table shows expenditure on phone lines established for campaigns.
| Phone line information service expenditure by year | |||
| £ | |||
| Police recruitment | Car security | Year of the volunteer | |
To obtain the information regarding websites would incur disproportionate costs.
Public relations are handled by the Department's press office—costs for the last five years are in the following table.
Questionnaires
Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) questionnaires, (b) statistical inquiries and (c) investigations have been carried out wholly or partly at public expense on behalf of or by his Department or public bodies for which he is responsible in each year since 1997; and what the (i) nature, (ii) purpose and (iii) cost was in each case. [83177]
Mr. Byrne: The information requested is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Russian Orchestras
Mr. Nicholas Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the cost of visas and work permits for visiting orchestras from Russia; and if he will make a statement. [72174]
Mr. Byrne: Proposals for recovering, through fees and charges, the costs of the new Points Based System are at an early stage of development. Alongside developing these, we have continued to engage with key stakeholders, including representatives from the Arts and Entertainment sector and are aware of the issues surrounding touring groups such as visiting orchestras. We will be undertaking a public consultation on fees and charges in the autumn.
Science Applications International Corporation
Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the total value was of contracts entered into by his Department with Science Applications International Corporation in each year since 1997; and if he will make a statement. [87567]
Mr. Byrne: From available records, the total value of contracts entered into by the Home Department with Science Applications International Corporation in each year since 1997 is as follows:
| Total value of contracts (£) | |
| (1) Value includes a contract initially entered with another company that was subsequently acquired by SAIC. | |
Security Industry
David T.C. Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what checks are in place to ensure that persons applying for a security licence from the Security Industry Authority are not asylum seekers. [75665]
Mr. Byrne: Employers have clear legal responsibilities under the Asylum and Immigration Act 1996 which makes it a criminal offence to employ a person who is subject to immigration control unless that person has permission to work in the UK. The possession of a Security Industry Authority licence does not give a person a right to work in the UK, and employers are still expected to assure themselves that their employees have the necessary permission.
Security Service Personnel
Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment the Government have made of the incidence of security service personnel (a) infiltrating terrorist groups and (b) colluding in paramilitary killings; and if he will make a statement. [61774]
Mr. McNulty: The longstanding practice of successive governments is not to comment on the work of the security and intelligence agencies. The agencies operate within the law. Any person may complain to the Independent Investigatory Powers Tribunal if he or she is aggrieved by anything they believe has been done to them or their property by the agencies. The tribunal has full powers to investigate and order such remedial measures as it sees fit.
Select Committee Recommendations
Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what actions have been taken by his Department to implement Home Affairs Select Committee recommendations since the 2001-02 Session; and if he will make a statement. [77773]
Mr. Byrne: The Home Office regularly reports its progress on accepted recommendations to the Home Affairs Committee.
The latest report, “Memorandum from the Home Office: progress in implementing accepted Committee recommendations 2001-05”, was published by the Home Affairs Committee on 26 May 2006. A copy is available in the House Library and on the Home Affairs website at:
http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200506/cmselect/cmhaff/1007/100702.htm
Somalia
Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what support his Department has provided for Somali community groups in each of the past five years; what support is planned for 2006-07; and if he will make a statement. [84957]
Mr. Byrne:
The grants presented in the following table have been provided by the Home Office, through the Immigration and Nationality Directorate or its former Communities Group (now part of the
Department for Communities and Local Government) to Somali community organisations over the past five years, or will be provided in 2006-07:
Special Advisers
Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many overseas visits special advisers in his Department made in an official capacity since 31 March 2004; what places were visited; and how much each visit cost. [52666]
Mr. McNulty: Since 1999 the Government have published, on an annual basis, the total costs of all ministerial overseas travel and a list of all visits by Cabinet Ministers costing in excess of £500. Copies of the lists are available in the Library of the House. Information for the financial year 2004-05 was published on 21 July 2005, Official Report, column 158WS, and for the financial year 2005-06 on 24 July 2006, Official Report, column 86WS. Since 31 March 2004 to 31 January 2006, special advisers accompanied Ministers on the visits that they made to Italy (October 2004), France (November), Germany (June 2005), Switzerland (July), France (September), USA (October), Luxembourg (October), Belgium (November and December), France (December), Austria (January 2006), and Jordan-Egypt-Libya (February). The travel costs of special advisers accompanying Ministers on overseas visits are included in the annual list of overseas travel by Cabinet Ministers. All travel by special advisers is undertaken in accordance with the guidelines set out in the Ministerial Code and the Civil Service Management Code.
Tasker Inquiry
Mr. Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the issues raised by the Tasker Inquiry. [66561]
Mr. Sutcliffe: The Tasker Inquiry has not yet been completed. It is expected that a report will be received by the London area manager by the end of September.
Traffic Notices
Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many traffic offences have been lost under the six-month rule in each of the last eight years; and what estimate he has made of the resulting loss of revenue from fines. [61277]
Mr. Sutcliffe: This information is not held centrally and can be provided only at disproportionate costs.
Unaccompanied Children
Mr. Steen: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many unaccompanied children have entered the UK in each of the last three years; how many of them have (a) been returned immediately to their country of origin, (b) been granted indefinite leave to remain and (c) entered the UK and subsequently been returned to their country of origin as the result of a failed asylum claim; and what proportion (c) were (i) under 18 years and (ii) over 18 years at the time of their deportation. [82616]
Mr. Byrne [holding answer 5 July 2006]: Information relating to the number of unaccompanied children who have entered the UK and subsequently been returned to their country of origin as a result of a failed asylum claim is unavailable and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.
Information on asylum applications and initial decisions for unaccompanied children is published quarterly and annually. Copies are available from the Library of the House and on the Home Office Research Development and Statistics Directorate website at http://homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/immigration1.html.
US-UK Extradition Treaty
Mr. Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many representations he has received on the US-UK Extradition Treaty in 2006. [88327]
John Reid: This information can be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Video Conferencing
Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many video conferencing units are installed in (a) the Department and (b) each agency of the Department; what percentage of offices have these facilities in each case; and what plans there are to increase the number. [16199]
Mr. Byrne: Details are given in the following table.
It should also be noted that individual business units within Home Office Corporate Services may have purchased video-conferencing facilities out of their own budgets and there is no centrally held record of these.
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