House of Commons Hansard Written Answers for 27 Mar 2007 (pt 0017)

27 Mar 2007 : Column 1449W—continued

Passports: Photographs

Mr. Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 28 February 2007, Official Report, column 1363W, on passports: photographs, how many and what proportion of applications were rejected from applicants living in Scotland in each of the last three years. [125494]

Joan Ryan: Data on passport photograph rejections are not kept in a way that allows a figure to be obtained for a specific area. Although passport applications
27 Mar 2007 : Column 1450W
originating from Scotland are dealt with by the Glasgow passport office, they also deal with applications emanating from elsewhere in the UK as a consequence of their catchment area which includes part of England. Additionally, IPS routinely transfers work between offices in order to provide the most efficient and effective service to the public.

The figures that are available show that the reject rate for the Glasgow office is in keeping with the overall reject rate of around 5.5 to 6 per cent.

Passports: Somerset

Mr. Heath: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what discussions his Department had with Somerset county council before determining the location of passport interview centres. [128941]

Joan Ryan [holding answer 26 March 2007]: Consultation on the proposed location of passport remote interview facilities in sparsely populated parts of the UK, as defined by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), was undertaken with local and regional bodies in those areas. Somerset is not defined as a sparsely populated area in this context.

Mr. Heath: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the merits of hosting remote access facilities for passport interview centres in Frome in Somerset. [128942]

Joan Ryan [holding answer 26 March 2007]: Passport remote interview facilities are located in sparsely populated parts of the UK, as defined by the Office for National Statistics (ONS). Somerset is not defined as a sparsely populated area in this context.

Prison Service: Vacancies

Kelvin Hopkins: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prison officer vacancies there were in each prison establishment at the end of each quarter since January 2000; what the expected vacancy rate is projected to be at each establishment for each quarter in the next 12 months; and if he will make a statement. [126324]

Mr. Sutcliffe: Information on past shortfalls of officers for each establishment is contained in the tables. Information on staff shortfalls is not available for the public sector before March 2001. The shortfalls incorporate the contribution of contracted supplementary hours.

Although projections of vacancy levels are not available for public sector establishments, officer staffing levels are monitored regularly to ensure that they are within acceptable operating margins. Four contracted establishments have been able to provide projected vacancy numbers.

27 Mar 2007 : Column 1451W

27 Mar 2007 : Column 1452W

Private sector prison service establishments—prison custody officer vacancies

2000

2001

2002

PCO vacancies

Altcourse

⁽¹⁾—

Ashfield

n/a

Bronzefield

⁽²⁾—

Doncaster

n/a

Dovegate

⁽²⁾—

n/a

Forest Bank

n/a

Lowdham

—

Parc⁽³⁾

—

Peterborough

⁽²⁾—

Rye Hill

⁽¹⁾—

Wolds

⁽¹⁾—

	2003				2004				2005
PCO vacancies	Q1	Q2	Q3	Q4	Q1	Q2	Q3	Q4	Q1	Q2	Q3	Q4
Altcourse	⁽¹⁾—	⁽¹⁾—	⁽¹⁾—	⁽¹⁾—	⁽¹⁾—	⁽¹⁾—	⁽¹⁾—	⁽¹⁾—	⁽¹⁾—	⁽¹⁾—	⁽¹⁾—	⁽¹⁾—
Ashfield	—	10	4	1	—	15	25	48	5	11	21	10
Bronzefield	⁽²⁾—	⁽²⁾—	⁽²⁾—	⁽²⁾—	⁽²⁾—	⁽²⁾—	—	—	—	—	15	—
Doncaster	7	31	17	9	23	1	13	4	12	7	16	7
Dovegate	9	7	—	10	—	10	22	1	10	9	10	7
Forest Bank	n/a	n/a	n/a	—	—	7	11	—	11	—	—	3
Lowdham	4	4	13	6	9	—	8	2	3	1	9	6
Parc⁽³⁾	8	23	—	13	12	31	—	17	16	2	21	15
Peterborough	⁽²⁾—	⁽²⁾—	⁽²⁾—	⁽²⁾—	⁽²⁾—	⁽²⁾—	⁽²⁾—	⁽²⁾—	20	—	—	10
Rye Hill	⁽¹⁾—	⁽¹⁾—	⁽¹⁾—	⁽¹⁾—	⁽¹⁾—	⁽¹⁾—	⁽¹⁾—	⁽¹⁾—	⁽¹⁾—	⁽¹⁾—	⁽¹⁾—	⁽¹⁾—
Wolds	⁽¹⁾—	⁽¹⁾—	⁽¹⁾—	⁽¹⁾—	⁽¹⁾—	⁽¹⁾—	⁽¹⁾—	⁽¹⁾—	⁽¹⁾—	⁽¹⁾—	⁽¹⁾—	⁽¹⁾—

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