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6 Jun 2007 : Column 605W—continued
Prisons: Rochester
Mr. Heald: To ask the Minister of State, Ministry of Justice if she will make a statement on planning permission for the proposed prison in Rochester. [140811]
Mr. Sutcliffe: The HMP Rochester project to provide an additional 300 places forms a part of a major programme to expand prison capacity. NOMS original planning application was submitted in early April 2007 and a revised application, which took into account certain local concerns, was submitted to the local planning authority in late May 2007. NOMS awaits the local planning authority's determination which is expected in late June 2007.
Probation: Redundancy
Mr. Garnier: To ask the Minister of State, Ministry of Justice whether any (a) assistant chief officers, (b) business managers and (c) staff of other grades will be made (i) compulsorily and (ii) voluntarily redundant in (A) the Greater London Probation Area and (B) other probation areas in England and Wales in 2007-08. [140421]
Mr. Sutcliffe: London Probation Area is in the process of restructuring and as part of that exercise has considered the appropriate levels of staffing at management levels. As a consequence assistant chief officers, business managers and directors from the area are facing possible redundancy. Currently figures from London indicate that there will be a loss of 13 assistant chief officer posts, two director posts and 10 business manager posts. Expressions of interest for voluntary redundancies are being considered. Where possible, London will seek to avoid compulsory redundancies.
There are four other Probation Areas, Cheshire, Devon and Cornwall, Dyfed Powys and Thames Valley that have indicated they are considering the possibility of redundancies within the 2007-08 time frame. These redundancies will equate to 27 posts across a range of posts including middle managers and probation service officers. Again, where possible, compulsory redundancies will be avoided.
Sentencing
Mr. Clegg: To ask the Minister of State, Ministry of Justice (1) what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of lifer programmes in dealing with prisoners on an indefinite sentence of public protection with a short minimum term; [135849]
(2) how many and what percentage of prisoners on an indefinite sentence of public protection are part of a lifer programme; and if he will make a statement. [135850]
Mr. Sutcliffe [pursuant to the reply, 15 May 2007, Official Report, c. 711W]: I erroneously informed the hon. Member that of the 8,300 completions of accredited offending behaviour programmes in custody in 2006-07, approximately 320 were by prisoners serving indeterminate sentences of public protection. The latter figure should in fact have read approximately 460 completions. Taking account of those who completed more than one course, this involved approximately 420 prisoners.
The reason for the error is that the earlier information did not relate to a full year.
Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal
John Mann: To ask the Minister of State, Ministry of Justice (1) on how many occasions the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal sat in 2006; [140899]
(2) what the longest current delay is of any case awaiting resolution at the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal. [140900]
Bridget Prentice: The Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal has advised that it sat for 178 days from 1 May 2006 to 30 April 2007 and for 136 days in the same period for 2005-06.
Information on the case which has been awaiting a substantive hearing for the longest period of time is not available.
However, the Tribunal has advised that cases are delayed for a number of reasons including: non-availability of witnesses; illness of respondents; and non-availability of legal representatives.
An additional four new lay members and 11 new solicitor members have recently been appointed to the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal. This brings the total number of members of the tribunal to 49, which will enable it to sit more frequently.
Standford Hill Prison: Prisoner Escapes
Mr. Garnier: To ask the Minister of State, Ministry of Justice how many prisoners absconded from (a) HMP Standford Hill and (b) HMP Sudbury in each year since 1997; and how many of those remain at large in each case. [140635]
Mr. Sutcliffe: The information on the number of absconds is set out in the following table and covers the period from 1 April 1997 to 31 March 2007. Figures for 2006-07 are provisional and subject to validation. Currently there is no central record of absconders who are subsequently returned to custody. Recaptures reflect police rather than Prison Service performance and these data have not been held centrally for this reason.
| Standford Hill | Sudbury | |
Young Offenders: Education
Miss McIntosh: To ask the Minister of State, Ministry of Justice what representations she has received on the level of education given to young female offenders; what response she has made to those representations; and if she will make a statement. [138087]
Phil Hope: I have been asked to reply.
I understand that the Ministry of Justice has received no representations on the level of education given to young female offenders.
However, the Department for Education and Skills has launched a consultation on the issues affecting the education of all young people supervised by the youth justice system and is undertaking a series of consultation events and visits. The consultation closes on 4 July. The responses will inform proposals for reform, which will be published by the end of this year.
Home Department
Asylum
Norman Baker:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether Illarian Stepanovich
Borodine remains in the UK following the refusal on 24 January 2002 of his application for asylum; and if he will make a statement. [139662]
Mr. Byrne [holding answer 4 June 2007]: It is not our policy to comment on individual cases.
Dr. Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what non-financial support is provided to failed asylum seekers. [139814]
Mr. Byrne [holding answer 4 June 2007]: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave on 3 May 2007, Official Report, column 1871W.
In addition, grant funded voluntary sector agencies provide advice and assistance to asylum seekers and to those who have exhausted appeal rights. The International Organization for Migration provides advice and assistance under the Voluntary Assisted Returns and Reintegration Programme.
Asylum: Bromsgrove
Miss Kirkbride: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many failed asylum seekers reside in Bromsgrove constituency. [130134]
Mr. Byrne: Information on decision outcomes relating to asylum seekers in particular areas of the UK is not available.
If an asylum application has been finally determined as refused, but the asylum seeker is destitute and there are reasons that temporarily prevent them from leaving the United Kingdom then they can be eligible for support under section 4 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999. As at the March 2007 there were 8,780 applicants, excluding dependants, in receipt of section 4 support in the UK. Further regional breakdowns are not available.
Statistics regarding the location of asylum seekers in receipt of support are available. As at the end of March 2007 there were no asylum seekers in receipt of support in Bromsgrove constituency.
The numbers of asylum seekers in receipt of support, broken down by Government Office Region and local authority, and those in receipt of section 4 support are published on a quarterly and annual basis. The latest publication, covering the first quarter of 2007, is available on the Home Office Research, Development and Statistics website at:
Further breakdowns, of those in receipt of support, by parliamentary constituency, are also available from the Library of the House.
Asylum: Religion
Mr. Burrowes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many asylum seekers sought asylum in the UK on grounds of religious persecution in each of the last three years; [130115]
(2) how many asylum seekers who have converted to Christianity while in the UK sought asylum on religious persecution grounds in each of the last three years for which figures are available; [130116]
(3) how many failed asylum seekers who have subsequently changed their religion made the basis of their appeal the fear of religious persecution, in the last three years for which figures are available. [130117]
Mr. Byrne: This information is not available and could be obtained by examination of individual case records only at disproportionate cost.
Information on asylum applications, initial decisions and appeals by nationality are 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:
Asylum: Repatriation
Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what criteria are taken into account when assessing the safety of a country for repatriating failed asylum seekers and immigrants. [125175]
Mr. Byrne: Each asylum and human rights claim is considered on its individual merits in accordance with our international obligations and full account is taken of conditions in the country concerned as they impact on the individual. Information obtained from a wide range of governmental and non-governmental and human rights organisation sources is provided to asylum claim decision makers by means of “Country of Origin Information Reports”, which are published on a regular basis.
British Nationality
Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate his Department has made of the number of foreign nationals resident in the UK who were born before 1961 to British mothers and foreign fathers. [138197]
Mr. Byrne: No such estimate has been made.
Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what percentage of those foreign nationals now resident in the UK who were born to British mothers and foreign fathers before 1961 applied for British citizenship on average in each year since 2001. [138198]
Mr. Byrne: The information requested could only be obtained by the detailed examination of individual case records at disproportionate cost.
CCTV
Mr. Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what guidance he has issued to police authorities on the use of the closed circuit television camera system codenamed the Bug. [133365]
Mr. McNulty [holding answer 23 April 20007]: The Home Office is aware of this product, but has not issued guidance to the police in relation to it, nor has any current plans to evaluate it.
Citizenship
Dr. Tony Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people have been granted citizenship at his discretion when they do not meet the other criterion stated in the British Nationality Act 1981, in the last 12 months; and on what grounds. [138874]
Mr. Byrne: There are a number of requirements for naturalisation as a British citizen, some of which are discretionary and some of which are mandatory. Naturalisation is never awarded where one of the mandatory requirements has not been met.
Crime Prevention: Macclesfield
Sir Nicholas Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what priorities he has set for reducing crime in the Macclesfield borough in the Cheshire constabulary east division; and if he will make a statement. [134404]
Mr. Coaker: A target has been agreed with the Macclesfield CDRP for a reduction in British Crime Survey comparator crime of 15 per cent. between 2003-04 and 2007-08. It is for the local area to set specific crime type priorities within that overall target.
Departments: Consultants
Mrs. May: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the outside (a) agencies and (b) consultancies which are undertaking work commissioned by his Department; and what the (i) purpose and (ii) cost is of each commission. [138452]
Mr. Byrne: To identify current outside consultancies which are commissioned by the Department and live contracts with employment agencies, together with their purpose and cost for each, would incur disproportionate cost. Current management systems do not allow effective cross referencing across all parts of the Home Office and its Agencies as this is not a standard business requirement.
Consultancies provide advice and guidance in a broad range of areas from business change to technical analysis. Typically agency staff are used to fill time bound requirements for additional or specially skilled resources in areas such as project and programme work, seasonal work (such as passport issue) and to provide cover for staff absent on leave and sickness.
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