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21 Feb 2007 : Column 786W—continued
Asylum: Hertfordshire
Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many asylum seekers accommodated in (a) Herefordshire and (b) Hemel Hempstead constituency were granted (i) asylum, (ii) indefinite leave to remain and (iii) refugee status in each of the last 10 years; and how many illegal immigrants who had been accommodated in each area were deported in each of the last 10 years. [121182]
Mr. Byrne: Information on numbers of asylum applications and decision outcomes relating to asylum seekers in particular areas of the UK is unavailable as are statistics regarding the location of asylum seekers not in receipt of support from IND. The number of illegal immigrants deported from each area in the last 10 years is not available.
The numbers of asylum seekers in receipt of support from IND, broken down by Government office region and local authority, are published on a quarterly and annual basis, as are asylum decisions in the UK as a whole. The latest publication covering the third quarter of 2006 is available on the Home Office Research, Development and Statistics website at:
http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/immigration1.html.
Further breakdowns of those in receipt of support from IND by parliamentary constituency are also available from the Library of the House.
Asylum: Zimbabwe
Mr. Andrew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many asylum applications were (a) received from and (b) granted to individuals from Zimbabwe in each of the last three years. [121208]
Mr. Byrne: Information on asylum applications, initial decisions, and appeals by nationality is published quarterly and annually. Copies of these publications are available from the Library of the House and from the Home Office Research, Development and Statistics website at:
http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/immigration1.html
British Citizenship
Mr. Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to his answer of 29 January 2007, Official Report, column 127W, on British citizenship, how many exemptions have been granted under each of the grounds of exemption from the requirement. [121458]
Mr. Byrne: This information is not readily available and can be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
British Nationality: Gurkhas
Mr. Crabb: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the UK citizenship rights of Gurkhas who retired prior to 1997. [121212]
Mr. Byrne: Eligibility for naturalisation as a British citizen is governed by the British Nationality Act 1981. This stipulates all the normal requirements for citizenship. The Secretary of State has discretion over the extent to which certain of these requirements must be satisfied in any particular case.
In respect of the UK citizenship rights of Gurkhas, absence from the United Kingdom occasioned by the applicant’s service in the British armed forces will, for this purpose, be treated as residence here provided he is no longer serving in the Brigade of Gurkhas. This applies irrespective of the date of retirement from the Brigade.
Business Improvement Districts
Mr. Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the contribution of business improvement districts to tackling crime and community safety. [119614]
Mr. Woolas: I have been asked to reply.
No formal assessment has been made of the contribution of business improvement districts to tackling crime and community safety as yet.
Crime
Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the 20 (a) local authorities and (b) basic command units with the (i) biggest and (ii) smallest (A) reductions and (B) increases in (1) burglary, (2) theft of a motor vehicle, (3) theft from a motor vehicle and (4) criminal damage since 1996-97; and if he will make a statement. [121843]
Mr. McNulty: The information requested is not collected centrally.
Crime: Kent
Mr. Holloway: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many incidents of crime were reported to the police without a crime number being issued in (a) Gravesham and (b) Kent in each of the last three years. [121952]
Mr. McNulty: The information requested is not available centrally.
Departmental Hospitality
Mr. Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what his Department’s expenditure was on hospitality and entertainment in (a) 1996-97 and (b) 2005-06. [114034]
Mr. Byrne:
Home Office expenditure on official hospitality and entertainment is made in accordance with departmental guidance on financial procedures
and propriety, Hospitality is defined as the provision of food, drink and entertainment of non-civil servants where it is beneficial to the interests of the Department.
The Department did not maintain separate records of expenditure on hospitality in 1996-97. Provision of figures could not be made without incurring disproportionate costs.
Total spend for the Department for official hospitality and entertainment of non-civil servants in 2005-06 was £250,724. This figure covers hospitality provided by both civil servants and Ministers.
Departmental Responsibilities
Mr. Beith: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which Departments he is considering to take on Home Office functions in his proposals to restructure his Department. [120006]
Mr. Byrne [holding answer 19 February 2007]: Questions of changes to the machinery of Government are decided by the Prime Minister. I refer the right hon. Gentleman to the answer given by the Prime Minister in the House of Commons on Wednesday 24 January:
“There are proposals that the Home Secretary has made, and we will make an announcement on those in the next few weeks.
Departments: Coventry
Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what spending his Department plans in Coventry in each year until 2010; and if he will make a statement. [121167]
Mr. Byrne [holding answer 19 February 2007]: The Department's expenditure is made for the benefit of the whole of Great Britain. Providing detailed spend for Coventry could be done only at disproportionate cost.
Departments: Equal Opportunities
Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps his Department (a) has taken and (b) plans to take to ensure that it and related bodies are in compliance with the gender equality duty in the Equality Act 2006 by the April 2007 deadline. [120984]
Mr. Byrne: The Home Office has set up working groups specifically to address the requirements of the gender equality duty and is currently working towards publication of a gender equality scheme for the core Home Office and associate schemes for Executive Agencies by 30 April 2007. It is identifying key stakeholders with whom policy officials will work to produce the necessary measures to (a) eliminate unlawful discrimination and harassment and (b) promote equality of opportunity between women and men. All steps, both current and planned, will conform with those set out in the Sex Discrimination Act 1975 (Public Authorities)(Statutory Duties) Order 2006 (No. 2930) which comes into force on 6 April 2007.
Deportation
Jim Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many forced removals from the UK took place in each of the last four years; in which regions and counties of the UK those forcibly removed were resident prior to the removal process; and in how many cases working illegally was the principal reason for the forced removal process. [119423]
Mr. Byrne: The following table shows the number of persons removed from the UK from January 2003 to September 2006. Information on the region of residence and reason for removal is not available; it would be available by examination of individual records only at disproportionate cost.
Published statistics on immigration and asylum are available on the Home Office’s Research Development and Statistics website at:
http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/immigration1.html
| Removals and voluntary departures( 1, 2 ) from the UK, excluding those leaving under Assisted Voluntary Return Programmes, 2003 to September 2006( 3) | ||||
| Number of persons | ||||
| Period | 2003 | 2004 | 2005( 4) | January to September 2006( 4) |
| n/a = Not available. (1) Includes enforced removals, persons departing ‘voluntarily’ after enforcement action had been initiated against them and since 2005 those who it is established have left the UK without informing the immigration authorities. (2) Includes cases dealt with at juxtaposed controls. (3) Figures rounded to the nearest five and may not sum due to rounding. (4) Provisional figures. (5) Excludes persons leaving under Assisted Voluntary Return Programmes run by the International Organisation for Migration. (6) Persons who had sought asylum at some stage, excluding dependants. | ||||
Mr. Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate he has made of the costs to the public purse of the (a) deportation of failed asylum seekers and (b) financial support for voluntary deportation in the last financial year for which figures are available. [119826]
Mr. Byrne: The various elements of enforcement costs for removing failed asylum seekers was published and can be found in appendix 2 of the NAO report “Returning Failed Asylum Applicants”. This can be accessed via the NAO website at:
www.nao.org.uk
The total expenditure for operating AVR (Assisted Voluntary Return) programmes in 2005-06 was £11,394,564. This includes pay, non-pay and programme costs for both the VARRP (Voluntary Assisted Return and Reintegration Programme) and the AVRIM (Assisted Voluntary Return for Irregular Migrants) programme.
In the financial year 2005-06, there were 17,135 asylum applicants, including dependants, who were removed from the UK. Of the 17,135 persons, 13,255 were removed or departed voluntarily; this figure includes enforced removals, those departing ‘voluntarily’ after enforcement action had been initiated against them and those who it is established have left the UK without informing the immigration authorities. Of the 17,135 persons, 3,880 left under Assisted Voluntary Return Programmes run by the International Organisation for Migration. These figures are rounded to the nearest five and are provisional.
It is not possible to say which stage in the asylum process applicants have reached at the time of their removal, as those departing voluntarily can do so at any stage.
Doctors: Work Permits
Tony Baldry: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many individual work permits for doctors and nurses were issued in 2006; how many were (a) long-term permits of a year or more duration and (b) short-term permits; and how many (i) long-term and (ii) short-term permits have been renewed to date. [120494]
Mr. Byrne: The following table shows a breakdown of the number of long-term and short-term work permits issued to doctors and nurses, in 2006.
The table also shows the number of work permits which were granted extensions in 2006. This includes extensions of initial work permits issued in 2006 and in the years prior to that date.
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