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15 Mar 2007 : Column 536W—continued
Human Trafficking
Mrs. Ellman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he expects to publish the Government's action plan against trafficking; and if he will make a statement. [126531]
Mr. Steen: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 19 December 2006, Official Report, column 1958W, on human trafficking, in which month he plans to publish the UK Action Plan against human trafficking. [126758]
Mr. Coaker: The Action Plan on Tackling Human Trafficking is currently being developed and we are aiming to publish it in March.
Mr. Steen: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he expects to reply to question 124361, on human trafficking, tabled by the hon. Member for Totnes on 26 February 2007. [126759]
Mr. Coaker: A reply to question 124361 tabled on the 26 February 2007 by the hon. Gentleman on the Council of Europe Convention on Human Trafficking was answered on 7 March 2007, Official Report, column 2048W.
Identity Cards
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate his Department has made of the likely rate of error of identity cards. [126594]
Joan Ryan: An estimate for the likely number of errors on identity cards produced cannot be finalised until further design and testing of technologies underpinning the issuing process is completed.
There will be a number of steps taken to ensure the accuracy of information to be recorded on identity cards and held on the National Identity Register. These include the following:
Checks to verify information provided by applicants against other sources (e.g. identity information held by other Government Departments) in order to confirm its veracity.
Physical examination of relevant supporting documentation to ensure that it is valid and corresponds with information
provided on the application form and the results from the electronic checks mentioned above.
Attendance in person, allowing information to be clarified and checked with the applicant if necessary.
The production of effective enrolment procedures and materials. These will be designed on the basis of existing experience gained from the award winning customer service processes in place at the Identity and Passport Service for issuing passports to ensure they are clear and citizen friendly in order to reduce the potential for errors caused by innocent mistakes by applicants.
The implementation of robust anti-fraud procedures. Security policies and appropriate working procedures are being designed to prevent and detect fraud originating from either applicants or staff members.
The introduction of the recording of biometric information such as fingerprints. Biometric recording provides the ability to make a much stronger link between the information recorded on the register and the individual associated with it, thus providing a more powerful means to detect attempts by individuals to register multiple identities.
Identity Cards: Fees and Charges
Mr. Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent estimate he has made of the likely fee for an individual to obtain a stand-alone identity card without a passport element. [125644]
Joan Ryan: My right hon. Friend the Member for Norwich, South (Mr. Clarke) announced on 13 October 2005:
“It will be affordable to set a charge of £30 at current prices for a standalone ID card which is valid for 10 years. This will be affordable within current Home Office spending plans.”
Legislation
Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will subject the (a) Identity Cards Act 2006 and (b) Terrorism Act 2006 to post-legislative scrutiny. [126951]
Joan Ryan: We have no plans for formal post-legislative scrutiny of this legislation. However, the National Identity Scheme Commissioner, to be appointed under section 22 of the Identity Cards Act 2006, will prepare annual reports which will be published and laid before Parliament on the operation of the National Identity Scheme under the Identity Cards Act. In addition Lord Carlile of Berriew QC, the independent reviewer of terrorist legislation, provides an annual report on the operation of the Terrorism Act 2000. The Terrorism Act 2006 largely amends the 2000 Act and will therefore also be covered by his annual reports.
Licensing Laws
Mr. Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people were convicted of (a) allowing disorderly conduct on licensed premises and (b) selling alcohol to people who are drunk in each year since the implementation of the Licensing Act 2003. [126432]
John Reid:
Data from the court proceedings database held by the Office for Criminal Justice Reform show
that there were no convictions at all courts under the Licensing Act 2003 for either (a) allowing disorderly conduct on licensed premises or (b) selling alcohol to people who are drunk in England and Wales in 2005.
Court proceedings data for 2006 will be available in the autumn of 2006.
National Identity Register
Mr. Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what biometric information will be required for an EEA national to acquire a registration certificate under the plans for a national identity register. [122004]
John Reid: There are no immediate plans to record biometric information on registration certificates, although we will keep this under review in the light of developments elsewhere in Europe as well as plans for the National Identity Scheme, which include the issue of biometric immigration documents to foreign (non EEA) nationals from 2008 and biometric identity cards to British citizens from 2009.
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what provision is being made for the National Identity Register to be used as a population register. [127212]
Joan Ryan [holding answer 13 March 2007]: The National Identity Register is intended eventually to contain up-to-date identity information for all United Kingdom residents aged 16 and over. This will include name, age, address, nationality and biometric information, such as photograph and fingerprints. The National Identity Register will then be able to serve as a United Kingdom adult population register.
National Policing Improvement Agency
Nick Herbert: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what representations he has received from (a) the chairman designate and (b) the chief executive designate of the National Policing Improvement Agency on its budget. [127291]
Mr. McNulty [holding answer 13 March 2007]: The designate NPIA chair and chief executive have met my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary and I on a regular basis over the last six months and the NPIA budget for 2007-08 has been an item for discussion on several of those occasions.
The NPIA chief executive designate and director of resources have been fully consulted during the financial planning round and the provisional budget delegated to the NPIA on 28 February reflected those discussions with the NPIA.
Nick Herbert: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he expects the budget of the National Policing Improvement Agency to be agreed. [127292]
Mr. McNulty [holding answer 13 March 2007]: The Home Office issued the NPIA with a provisional 2007-08 budget delegation on 28 February and a formal delegation to the NPIA will take place once a number of residual issues around overhead costs transferring from the Home Office have been resolved.
The NPIA shadow board discussed the provisional budget at their meeting on 2 March and agreed savings initiatives required by the NPIA to enable the agency to deliver its programme of work within the budget available and subject to resolution of the residual issues mentioned above. The Home Office is satisfied that the budget delegated will meet the agency’s requirements for its first year of operation.
Offenders: Deportation
Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how much compensation was paid to foreign prisoners detained beyond the expiry of their sentence in 2006; [125645]
(2) how many foreign prisoners received compensation for being detained beyond the expiry of their sentence in 2006. [125646]
Mr. Byrne: The director general of the immigration and nationality directorate, wrote to the Home Affairs Committee on 19 February 2007 and provided the most accurate and robust information available on compensation payments to foreign national prisoners. A copy of this letter has been placed in the Library of the House.
Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many foreign prisoners had been detained for more than three months after the expiry of their sentence on 31 December 2006. [125647]
Mr. Byrne: The director general of the immigration and nationality directorate wrote to the Home Affairs Committee on 19 February 2007, providing the most accurate 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.
Parenting Orders
Justine Greening: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many parenting orders arising from criminal conduct or anti-social behaviour were issued in each of the last five years, broken down by local authority area; how many were breached; how many prosecutions were mounted against those breaching such orders; how many such prosecutions were successful; and if he will make a statement. [126145]
Mr. McNulty: A table showing parenting orders arising from criminal conduct or antisocial behaviour as reported by the Youth Justice Board using figures recorded by youth offending teams since parenting orders were commenced across England and Wales, follows. These figures are by youth offending team area; they are not recorded by local authority area.
Youth offending teams do not record numbers breached, prosecutions or convictions for breach. The figures reported to the Home Office on breaches of parenting orders have not been given because their accuracy cannot be guaranteed. Quality checks have shown that breach data are unsuitable for publication.
The Home Office has started a programme of work looking at the quality of existing data on court sentencing and how it might be improved.
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