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13 Mar 2007 : Column 296W—continued
Fingerprints: Children
Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what alternatives to a fingerprint database are being considered for children who turn 16 and already have a valid non-biometric passport; and what assessment he has made of their compliance with international requirements for biometrics on passports. [126203]
Joan Ryan: Non-biometric passports remain valid until their date of expiry. This includes passports of five year validity issued to children under the age of 16.
International standards on passports relate only to the passport documents, not systems on which records of passports issued are held.
Identity and Passport Service
Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many United States citizens are employed by the Identity and Passport Service. [126177]
Joan Ryan: The place of birth of each Identity and Passport Service (IPS) employee is not held on a database which can be interrogated in order for the IPS to supply this information.
However, the IPS employment eligibility criteria states that posts are open to UK nationals, British protected persons, Commonwealth citizens, EEA nationals of other member states and certain EEA family members, who have no employment restriction or time limit on their permitted stay in the UK and who should also have been a resident for five years immediately preceding their application.
Identity and Passport Service: Correspondence
John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will direct the Chief Executive of the Identity and Passport Service to provide (a) substantive replies to correspondence and (b) a response to a request for a meeting from the hon. Member for Bassetlaw in relation to his constituent, Mr. Gordon Wilson of Worksop. [123417]
Joan Ryan [holding answer 26 February 2007]: Bernard Herdan, Executive Director, Service Planning and Delivery for the Identity and Passport Service (IPS) responded substantively to the hon. Member for Bassetlaw on 23 January 2007.
Mr. Herdan wrote to the hon. Member again on 23 February, apologising that he had not addressed directly the issue of a meeting in his earlier letter and for failing to clearly explain that, in the circumstances, he did not feel that a meeting was necessary.
I am however happy to meet with the hon. Member if necessary. However I note that Mr. Gordon Wilson has now been issued a passport.
Illegal Drugs
Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many incidents involving the (a) sale and (b) use of illegal drugs on school property were reported in each (i) local education authority, (ii) London borough and (iii) regional police force in each year since 2000. [117795]
Mr. Coaker: The requested information is not available centrally.
Immigration Controls: EC Countries
Mr. Brady: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what his Department’s policy is on the proposal for an enhanced role for the EU borders agency Frontex. [123495]
Mr. Byrne: The Government are supportive of Frontex. Its position on the European Commission’s proposal on Rapid Border Intervention Teams was stated in an Explanatory Memorandum of 7 September 2006 on Council document number 11880/06.
Immigration: EC Enlargement
Mr. Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what his estimate is of the number of nationals that have moved to the UK following the accession of the most recent members of the EU, broken down by country of origin. [122995]
Mr. Byrne: The Office for National Statistics (ONS) will publish information on visits to the UK by residents from all EU countries including the A8 countries and Romania and Bulgaria (each country listed separately) in its quarterly and annual publications on overseas travel and tourism.
Internet: Fraud
Susan Kramer: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many complaints of fraud in relation to online retail websites were made in each year since 1997; [126230]
(2) what steps the Serious and Organised Crime Agency is taking to deal with reports of fraud in relation to online retailing; [126231]
(3) how many reported instances of fraud involving online retailing have been referred to the Serious and Organised Crime Agency; and what the status is of investigations in each case in which no legal proceedings are active. [126232]
Mr. Coaker: Information on the number of complaints of fraud in relation to online retail websites is not held centrally.
Along with Class A drugs and organised immigration crime, fraud against individuals and the private sector is one of SOCA’s priorities. SOCA is working collaboratively with partners to build knowledge and understanding of fraud and to align operational activity to those frauds and individuals causing the most harm to the UK.
SOCA does not operate a formal referral process in respect of frauds SOCA works collaboratively with partners to identify and protect against those frauds and individuals causing the most harm to the UK and aligns operational activity accordingly. SOCA is unable to comment on ongoing operational activity. As required by the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005, SOCA will issue an annual report as soon as possible after the end of financial year 2006-07. This report will cover all SOCA's functions.
The Home Office is represented on an industry-led steering group which aims to tackle ‘Card Not Present’ (CNP) fraud (which includes fraud over the internet). We support practical measures being introduced by the industry to increase levels of security for internet transactions. These include address verification services (AVS) and card security code (CSC), along with Mastercard secure code and Verified by Visa which require password verification for internet transactions.
Mobile Phone Use
Mr. Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many (a) prosecutions were brought against and (b) fixed penalty notices were imposed on drivers in each police authority area using mobile phones while driving in 2005; [111398]
(2) what the (a) maximum, (b) minimum and (c) average penalty imposed for driving while using a hand-held mobile phone was in each month in 2005. [111399]
Mr. Coaker: 2005 data will be available later this year.
National Identity Register
Mr. Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he plans to charge (a) accredited organisations and (b) other Government Departments for identity checking services via the National Identity Register. [123629]
John Reid: It is the Government’s intention to fund the National Identity Scheme primarily through fee income for the products and services that arise from the scheme. This may include fees for use of identity verification services.
However, the level of fee and the way it is charged, depends on a number of factors: (a) the final cost of providing such services, as determined in procurement negotiations with suppliers (b) the particular type(s) of identity verification service used and (c) the approval of schedule of fees for the scheme by Parliament.
Offenders: Deportation
Mr. Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many foreign national prisoners who have (a) reached the end of their sentence and (b) not reached the end of their sentence were detained in immigration detention centres on the last date for which information is available. [123626]
John Reid: The Director General of the Immigration and Nationality Directorate wrote to the Home Affairs Committee on 19 February 2007, providing a snapshot of the number of time-served foreign national prisoners who are awaiting deportation in both the IND Removals Estate and in prisons. A copy of this letter has been placed in the Library of the House.
Mr. Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many cases in which a foreign national was to be deported due to a conviction in the UK were delayed following completion of the prison term where the foreign national was (a) contesting and (b) not contesting the deportation in each of the last five years; [124119]
(2) what the average length of time between the completion of the prison sentence and deportation from the UK, where a foreign national was deported due to a conviction in the UK, has been in the last five years; [124233]
(3) what the (a) longest and (b) shortest period of time has been between the completion of the prison sentence and deportation from the UK where a foreign national is to be deported due to a conviction in the UK in the last five years. [124231]
John Reid: The requested information is not available and could be obtained by the detailed examination of individual case records only at disproportionate cost.
On 19 February the Director General of the Immigration and Nationality Directorate wrote to the Home Affairs Committee to provide the most recent information available on the deportation of foreign national prisoners. A copy of this letter is available from the Library of the House.
Mr. Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many foreign nationals who have served a prison sentence in the UK and are awaiting deportation have made a complaint regarding the length of time between completion of the prison sentence and deportation; [124120]
(2) how many complaints his Department has received regarding the Criminal Casework Team in
each of the last five years; and how many of these resulted in alterations to the Team. [124219]
John Reid: This information is not collected in the format requested and could be obtained only at a disproportionate cost.
Mr. Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many foreign nationals are awaiting deportation due to having committed a criminal offence in the UK and following completion of their prison term. [124218]
John Reid: On 19 February the Director General of the Immigration and Nationality Directorate wrote to the Home Affairs Committee. In this letter the Director General reported that approximately 1,300 time-served foreign nationals are currently in both the IND Removals Estate and in prisons while IND pursues deportation action against them. A copy of this letter is available from the Library of the House.
Mr. Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what the average cost of transportation, including security and all other related costs, is for deporting a foreign national who is being deported following a conviction in the UK if the deportation is successful; [124230]
(2) what costs of transportation, including security and all other related costs, of foreign nationals who are being deported due to having committed a criminal offence are irrecoverable where the deportation is (a) rescheduled and (b) cancelled. [124235]
John Reid: We do not differentiate between the cost of deporting ex-foreign national prisoners and other detainees so the information requested is not readily discernible.
The information requested could be obtained only by examination of individual records to establish whether the person had committed a criminal offence at disproportionate cost.
Mr. Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many attempted deportations of foreign nationals who have served prison sentences in the UK have had to be rescheduled in the last five years. [124232]
John Reid: This information is not collected in the format requested and could be obtained only at a disproportionate cost through a manual search of individual case records.
Mr. Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which 10 causes of delay to deportation are the most frequent where a foreign national offender is to be deported following a conviction in the UK; and what steps his Department has taken to tackle them. [124319]
John Reid: The Director General of the Immigration and Nationality Directorate, Lin Homer, wrote to the Home Affair Committee on 19 February 2007 to provide the most recent information available on the deportation of foreign national prisoners.
In her letter, the Director General outlined the factors that have contributed to delays in deportation and new strategy which has been put in place to ensure that the deportation system is as robust and swift as possible. A copy of this letter is available from the Library of the House.
Mr. Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the cost per day is of detaining a foreign national awaiting deportation following a conviction in the UK. [124332]
John Reid: The average daily cost of detaining a person in an immigration removal centre is £116.
Mr. Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the total cost of detaining foreign nationals awaiting deportation following a conviction in the UK was in each of the last five years for which figures are available. [124333]
John Reid: We do not differentiate between the cost of detaining foreign nationals awaiting deportation following a conviction in the UK and other detainees so the information requested is not readily discernible.
The information requested could be obtained only by examination of individual records to establish whether the person had committed a criminal offence at disproportionate cost.
Mr. Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what facilities are being used to house the foreign nationals convicted of a crime in the UK prior to their deportation. [124334]
John Reid: The Director General of the Immigration and Nationality Directorate, Lin Homer, wrote to the Home Affairs Committee on 19 February 2007 to provide the most recent information available on the deportation of foreign national prisoners. In her letter, the Director General set out that prior to removal, foreign national prisoners are housed in both the IND Removals Estate and in prisons. A copy of this letter is available from the Library of the House.
Mr. David Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many of the foreign nationals awaiting deportation have been held in prison in England and Wales for up to (a) one month, (b) six months and (c) 12 months after the end of the sentence handed down by the court to them. [125054]
Mr. Byrne [holding answer 2 March 2007]: The Director General of the Immigration and Nationality Directorate wrote to the Home Affairs Committee on 19 February 2007, providing the most accurate and robust information currently available on the detention of time-served foreign national prisoners. A copy of this letter has been placed in the Library of the House.
Open Prisons: Drugs
David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prisoners were found to be in possession of narcotics in each open prison in each of the last five years. [125342]
John Reid: The information requested is not held centrally and to obtain this information, for the period requested, would be at disproportionate cost.
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