| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
25 Jun 2007 : Column 324W—continued
Security Measures
Mr. Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 6 June 2007, Official Report, columns 618-20W, on security measures, how many individuals have been (a) charged with and (b) convicted of an offence of encouraging terrorism under the Terrorism Act 2006. [144380]
Mr. McNulty: Statistics are not broken down in the format requested. Figures compiled from police records show that between 13 April 2006 and 12 April 2007, 30 people have been charged under the Terrorism Act 2006. These individuals are currently awaiting trial.
Mr. Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 6 June 2007, Official Report, columns 618-20W, on security measures, how many individuals have been denied asylum under the provisions of section 54 of the Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Act 2006; and on how many occasions he has certified that an appellant is not entitled to the protection of the Refugee Convention under section 55 of the Act. [144381]
Mr. Byrne: The information requested is not collated centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Mr. Clappison:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 6 June 2007, Official Report, columns 618-20W, on security measures, what the timetable is for consulting on
setting a maximum time limit for all future extradition cases involving terrorism; and when he expects to reach a decision on that matter. [144382]
Joan Ryan: The working group referred to in the answer of 6 June 2007, Official Report, columns 618-20W, has engaged in a continuous consultation on extradition request made to the UK involving allegations of terrorism.
A statutory maximum time limit might hinder the ability of our independent courts to give full consideration both to the arguments of the requesting state and to those of the wanted person. Under the Extradition Act 2003 and its predecessor legislation, different procedures have had to be applied to different cases. Accordingly, the duration of each stage in each terrorist-related extradition case is now being expedited, so far as possible, through the working group.
Since the working group was initiated under the Prime Minister's 12-point plan, seven people have been extradited for terrorist-related offences; while two have exhausted all domestic proceedings under extradition legislation but have outstanding applications before the European Court of Human Rights.
Mr. Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 6 June 2007, Official Report, columns 618-20W, on security measures, how many individuals have breached their control orders. [144390]
Mr. McNulty: The Secretary of State reports quarterly on the exercise of his powers under the Prevention of Terrorism Act 2005. This includes the number of charges and convictions for breach. I refer the hon. Member to my most recent statement of 21 June 2007, Official Report, columns 109-11W.
Sexual Offences: Wales
David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what percentage of serious sexual crimes reported in Wales resulted in conviction in the courts in each of the last three years. [145461]
Mr. Sutcliffe: I have been asked to reply.
The statistics are not available in the form requested. Recorded sexual offences statistics relate to offences and convictions data relates to offenders. In addition, recorded crime data are published on a financial year basis and conviction data are published on a calendar year basis. For these reasons, the two data sources are therefore not directly comparable.
Figures for the number of offences recorded and the number of convictions are as follows:
| Number | |
Speed Limits: Cameras
Mr. Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 12 June 2007, Official Report, column 977W, on speed limits: cameras, what estimate he has made of the overall proportion of time spent by traffic police on each of the five main objectives; and whether there has been any change in the priorities over the last 10 years. [145659]
Mr. McNulty: The statement setting out the joint Home Office, Department for Transport and ACPO Roads Policing Strategy was issued in January 2005. It listed formally for the first time the five main objectives of roads policing and has not subsequently been amended. How police resources are deployed to meet those objectives, including the amount of time spent on each of them, is an operational matter for individual chief officers of police. Information is not collected centrally.
Srichand Hinduja
Mrs. May: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the cost was of the Hammond Review of the circumstances surrounding the application for naturalisation by Mr. S. P. Hinduja. [143707]
Mr. Byrne: Sir Anthony Hammond carried out two reviews for the Prime Minister. The first was to establish the circumstances of any approaches to the Home Office about an application for naturalisation by Mr. S. P. Hinduja and the later grant of that application. The second followed on to examine certain additional papers. The reviews were supported by members of Home Office staff. The costs were in the region of £20,000.
Terrorism: Finance
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether the names of (a) suspected terrorists subject to control orders and (b) any such suspected terrorists who have absconded have their names automatically passed to HM Treasury for the purpose of freezing their assets. [144564]
Mr. McNulty: The passing of such information to HM Treasury is decided on a case-by-case basis and is subject to operational and security considerations.
Terrorism: Sri Lanka
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps his Department is taking to prevent the financing from the UK of Tamil Tiger terrorists in Sri Lanka. [145575]
Mr. McNulty: The Home Office works closely with law enforcement agencies and other Government Departments to prevent the financing of terrorism.
Tul Bahadur Pun UI
Dr. Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what criteria were first used to decide whether former Rifleman Tul Bahadur Pun UI should be admitted to the UK; and what the revised criteria were which led to the final decision in his case. [141033]
Mr. Byrne [holding answer 11 June 2007]: The rules applying to applications for indefinite leave to enter or remain in the United Kingdom by former Gurkhas who completed their service on or after 1 July 1997 are set out in paragraphs 276E to 276K of the Immigration Rules. I would refer the hon. Gentleman to the relevant policy contained on the Border and Immigration Agency website at:
Discretion may be exercised for Gurkhas discharged from service before 1 July 1997, and who are not covered by the Immigration Rules, where there are strong reasons why settlement in the UK is appropriate. This guidance is contained in chapter 15, section 2A of the Immigration Directorate Instructions at:
The circumstances surrounding Tul Bahadur Pun’s case are clearly exceptional. In the light of this, the Secretary of State and I reviewed the case and made the decision to grant Mr. Pun a settlement visa. Our decision was not taken lightly and reflected the extraordinary nature of this case, in particular Mr. Pun’s heroic record in service of Britain which saw him awarded the Victoria Cross. Full account was also taken of Mr. Pun’s current medical condition.
Work Permits
Chris McCafferty: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many IT, communications and electronics work permits were withdrawn due to non-compliance with the terms of the scheme in (a) 2004, (b) 2005 and (c) 2006. [145080]
Mr. Byrne: The number of work permits that were revoked during the years in question is in the table.
The revocation process was not developed until late 2004. Employers are given the opportunity to make representations on the permits that are to be revoked and any such representations are considered carefully so the process takes several weeks. This is why permits were not revoked until 2005.
The figures quoted are not provided under National Statistics protocols and have been derived from local management information and are therefore provisional and subject to change.
| Number | |
Work Permits: Fraud
Chris McCafferty: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many investigations the Home Office Work Permits Section carried out into complaints of work permits abuse in (a) 2004, (b) 2005 and (c) 2006. [145078]
Mr. Byrne: This information is not recorded centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Work Permits: IT
Chris McCafferty: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which 10 sponsoring companies were issued the largest number of work permits for IT workers in each year since 2000; and how many such permits were issued to each company in each year. [145014]
Mr. Byrne: The Border and Immigration Agency is unable to release details of individual companies who have been issued with work permits. We consider the information provided by applicants to be confidential and that disclosure of such information would constitute a breach of confidence.
Workers Registration Scheme: North East Region
Jim Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many EU workers were registered in the Worker Registration Scheme in each local authority in the North East at the most recent available date. [144406]
Mr. Byrne: The following table shows the last published data by local authority for the number of workers when they first registered to the Worker Registration Scheme (WRS) in the ‘North East’ Government Office Region for the period 1 May 2004 to 31 March 2007.
The figures quoted are not provided under National Statistics protocols and have been derived from local management information and are therefore provisional and subject to change.
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |