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22 May 2007 : Column 1246W—continued
Entry Clearances
Mr. Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what studies have been undertaken for the purpose of reducing the cost of processing in-country applications. [127403]
Mr. Byrne: The Home Office is committed to controlling the underlying costs for processing in-country immigration and nationality applications. The Border and Immigration Agency has taken forward a number of operational reviews across the business following the recommendations of the Gershon Review and to secure continuous improvement in business processes. We intend to continue this programme to deliver better service for applicants and reduce operating costs. Overall, the Home Office has exceeded its target to achieve Value for Money improvements to the value of £1,970 million, of which £1,240 million is cashable by 2007-08. That includes £551 million savings made in the Border and Immigration Agency.
Forensic Science
Mr. Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many applications were received for the position of crime scene investigator in England and Wales in each of the last three years; and what proportion were successful. [138479]
Mr. McNulty: The information requested is not collected centrally in the police personnel statistics. The recruitment of police officers and police staff is an operational matter for individual chief constables.
Illegal Immigrants: Employment
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what penalties are applicable to those convicted of illegally employing migrant labour. [135516]
Mr. Byrne: It is a criminal offence under section 8 of the Asylum and Immigration Act 1996 to employ a person, aged 16 or over, who is subject to immigration control and who is not entitled to be in the UK or to undertake the employment in question. There is no upper limit to the level of fine that can be imposed on employers if convicted on indictment.
Immigration: Applications
Tony Baldry: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when his Department plans to inform Mrs. Fouzia Ilyas (reference J1072668) of the outcome of her application for leave to remain in the United Kingdom. [134299]
Mr. Byrne: I wrote to the hon. Member on 4 May 2007.
Immigration: Detention Centres
Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many times (a) the police and (b) ambulances were called to (i) Campsfield House Immigration Removal Centre, (ii) Colnbrook Immigration Removal Centre, (iii) Dover Immigration Removal Centre, (iv) Dungavel Immigration Removal Centre, (v) Harmondsworth Immigration Removal Centre, (vi) Haslar Immigration Removal Centre, (vii) Lindholme, (viii) Oakington, (ix) Tinsley House Immigration Removal Centre and (x) Yarls Wood Immigration Removal Centre in the last year for which figures are available. [136972]
Mr. Byrne: Removal centres are not required to record the number of occasions when either the police or ambulances have been called. The police attend centres as part of the liaison in cooperating over security information and ambulances would be called to centres only in cases of emergency.
Members: Correspondence
Martin Horwood: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the oral answer from the Prime Minister of 7 February 2007, Official Report, column 836, on engagements, when he expects to address the case of Mr. Gary Douglas, a constituent of the hon. Member for Cheltenham, and respond to the hon. Member's letter of 11 April; and what the reason is for the time taken to do so. [135354]
Mr. Byrne [holding answer 2 May 2007]: I wrote to the hon. Member on 25 April 2007. I will write separately in response to his letter of 11 April 2007.
Migrant Workers
Mr. Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many responses were received to the consultation with stakeholders on the points-based system for migrant workers; how many were (a) in favour and (b) against the system; and if he will make a statement. [136659]
Mr. Byrne: My Department has received 517 written responses spread across national, regional and sector-specific stakeholders. No single question asked if respondents were (a) in favour or (b) against the system.
The full results can be found on the Border and Immigration Agency website:
Offenders: Deportation
Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many offenders who were deported in 2006 have subsequently been found to have re-entered the UK. [134640]
Mr. Byrne: The information could be obtained by the detailed examination of individual case records only at disproportionate cost.
Police
Mr. Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 15 March 2007, Official Report, column 546W, on police, whether the position of Chief Constable has been filled in (a) Lancashire, (b) Durham and (c) North Yorkshire; when interviews will be held for posts in (i) Staffordshire and (ii) Sussex; and if he will make a statement. [138478]
Mr. McNulty: Stephen Finnigan was appointed Chief Constable of Lancashire on 23 March 2007, Jon Stoddart was appointed Chief Constable of Durham on 28 March 2007 and Grahame Maxwell was appointed Chief Constable of North Yorkshire on 16 May 2007. Interviews for the post of Chief Constable of Staffordshire will be held on 11 and 12 July 2007, and interviews for the post of Chief Constable of Sussex will be held on 25 July.
Prisoners: Foreigners
Mr. Steen: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 16 April 2007, Official Report, columns 483-84W, on prisoners: foreigners (1) how many of the non-EU foreign nationals as at (a) 30 June 2005, (b) 30 June 2006 and (c) 28 February 2007 have been sent back to their country of origin; [136545]
(2) what percentage of the prison population of non-EU foreign nationals referred to in the answer were sent back to their country of origin before the termination of their sentence. [136546]
Mr. Byrne [holding answer 14 May 2007]: The information requested is unavailable and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. On 19 February the chief executive of the Border and Immigration Agency 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.
Serious Organised Crime Agency: Prosecutions
Mr. Nicholas Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prosecutions have been brought in each major city in the United Kingdom by the Serious Organised Crime Agency since its launch. [135690]
Mr. Coaker: SOCA is not itself a prosecuting body, but its work often results in prosecutions in the UK or overseas. Investigatory work to prepare for such prosecutions may be done directly by SOCA, or by one or more of SOCA’s partners with SOCA support. Prosecutions in the UK are taken either by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) or the Revenue and Customs Prosecutions Office (RCPO). The venue for the prosecution is not necessarily where the offences took place.
Figures are available for prosecutions taken in the UK during 2006-07 as a result of SOCA led investigations, which are set out in the following table. These do not include prosecutions taken overseas or in the UK as a result of work carried out by partners with SOCA input.
| City | Total |
Vetting: Fees and Charges
Mr. Nicholas Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much revenue was raised in fees for clearance checks on those intending to work with children by the Criminal Records Bureau in the last year for which figures are available; and how much was charged per clearance check. [138534]
Joan Ryan: During the financial year 2006-07 a total of £64,434,255 has been raised in fees for clearance checks on those who had indicated on the application forms that the position involved working with children. During this period, standard disclosures were charged at £31.00 per check and enhanced disclosures were charged at £36.00 per check. The CRB announced a fee freeze in January 2007 and the these costs are what are currently charged. Applications for voluntary positions are processed free of charge.
Yarl’s Wood Detention Centre
Mr. Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proposals he has received from Serco for changes in the detention regime for women at Yarl’s Wood in relation to (a) locked room detention, (b) access to mobile telephones and (c) access to satellite television news. [138003]
Mr. Byrne [holding answer 18 May 2007]: The contractor operating Yarl’s Wood, Serco has not made any proposals, nor do they seek to make proposals to introduce changes in the detention regime for women at Yarl’s Wood. The regime will continue as previously with no detainees being locked up at night. They will continue to have access to mobile telephones and access to satellite television news.
The re-tender of the contract required all bidders to meet a demanding operational specification which seeks to improve rather than reduce the service for detainees at Yarl’s Wood.
International Development
Departments: Sovereign Strategy
Mrs. May: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many meetings (a) Ministers and (b) officials from his Department held with Sovereign Strategy in each year between 1997 and 2006. [136863]
Hilary Benn: The information requested is not readily available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
International Assistance: Group of Eight
Tony Baldry: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what estimate he has made in following up the Gleneagles commitments of (a) the annual increase of gross national income (GNI) to overseas aid by G8 countries since the 2005 summit and (b) the proportion of GNI being allocated to debt relief by those countries. [138021]
Hilary Benn: At the 2005 Gleneagles summit, the G8 and other donors committed to increasing Official Development Assistance (ODA) by $50 billion a year by 2010, compared to 2004. The summit also agreed a proposal to cancel the outstanding debts of eligible heavily indebted poor countries.
Figures from 2006, the most recent year available, show that ODA from G8 countries was $75 billion, 0.26 per cent. of GNI. Debt relief from G8 countries as a proportion of GNI was 0.06 per cent. The following table shows total ODA, and ODA which was allocated as debt relief from G8 countries from the Gleneagles baseline year of 2004, to 2006.
| ODA from G8 countries | |||
| $ billion, constant 2004 prices | |||
| 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | |
| Source: Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, 2007. | |||
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