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3 July 2007 : Column 968W—continued


Reintegration assistance is provided in kind in the country of return; however, during 2006 the enhanced package offered included the option to take phased cash payments. This is included in the “Other” category.

The average cost of a VARRP return in 2006 was £2,024.59 per returnee. No criteria are used to select recipients for help with reintegration in their country of return as all those who return through VARRP are eligible.

The other major AVR scheme is the assisted voluntary return for irregular migrants (AVRIM). Those who return via this scheme do not generally receive reintegration assistance. However, it can be considered for a limited number of vulnerable applicants who are likely to fall into categories such as victims of trafficking or unaccompanied minors.

Asylum: Iraq

Mr. Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many Iraqis have (a) applied for and (b) been successful in gaining asylum in the United Kingdom in each year from 2003 to 2007. [146744]

Mr. Byrne [holding answer 29 June 2007]: Information on asylum applications, initial decisions and appeals for nationals of Iraq is shown in the following table. Initial decisions do not necessarily relate to applications made in the same period. Appeal determinations do not necessarily relate to initial decisions made in the same period.

Information on asylum applications, initial decisions and appeals for nationals of Iraq is 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:


3 July 2007 : Column 969W

3 July 2007 : Column 970W
Asylum applications( 1) received in the United Kingdom, excluding dependants, and initial decisions( 2) on applications, 2003 to 2006, nationals of Iraq
Principal applicants
Applications
Total Port In country

2003

4,015

385

3,630

2004

1,695

105

1,590

2005

1,415

50

1,360

2006(3)

950

105

850


Principal applicants
Decisions
Total decisions Grants of asylum Grants of ELR Grants of HP( 4) Grants of DL( 4) Total refusals Certified refusals Other refusals Third country refusals( 5) Non-compliance refusals( 6)

2003

6,805

70

2,105

*

45

4,580

50

3,575

465

490

2004

4,815

10

n/a

185

4,615

10

3,850

400

355

2005

1,835

5

n/a

10

150

1,675

5

1,370

150

150

2006(3)

730

30

n/a

60

640

*

530

60

55

n/a = Not applicable. (1) Figures rounded to nearest 5, with * = 1 or 2. (2 )Information is of initial determination decisions, excluding the outcome of appeals or other subsequent decisions.
(3 )Provisional figures. (4 )Humanitarian protection and discretionary leave replaced exceptional leave to remain from 1 April 2003. (5) Refused on the grounds that the applicant had arrived from a safe third country. (6) Paragraph 340 of Immigration Rules. For failure to provide evidence to support the asylum claim within a reasonable period, including failure to respond to invitation to interview. Source: Immigration and Research Statistics.

Departments: Good Communication Awards

Mr. Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what public expenditure her Department incurred to send staff to attend the Good Communication Awards on 30 May held at the Marriott Grosvenor Hotel, London. [146876]

Mr. Byrne: The Home Office welcomes external endorsement of the high quality of its website. Two members of the website team attended the Good Communication Awards ceremony on 30 May. Tickets for the event were free, the staff attended in their own time and travelled at their own expense. There was no public expenditure cost incurred in attending.

Departments: Sick Leave

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what percentage of sick leave taken by staff in her Department was stress-related in each of the last three years. [145977]

Mr. Byrne: The available information for Home Office Headquarters, Border and Immigration Agency and HMPS are as set out in the following table.

Information concerning the Identity and Passport Service and the Criminal Records Bureau is not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Public sector Prison Service data relate to absences due to mental and behavioural disorders which include, but are not exclusively to do with, stress related conditions.

Percentage
Year ending 31 March
Department 2004 2005 2006

Home Office Headquarters

10.60

10.83

8.83

Border and Immigration Agency

9.50

9.07

11.14

HMPS Prison Service

25.00

23.80

23.50


Illegal Immigrants: Mauritania

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what discussions she had with her Mauritanian counterpart on assistance the UK can give to Mauritania to deal with illegal immigrants sailing from Mauritanian ports to European Union territory. [146997]

Mr. Byrne: I have not had any meetings with my Mauritanian counterpart regarding any assistance the UK can give to deal with illegal immigrants sailing from Mauritanian ports to European Union territory. I am not aware that my predecessor had any such contact.

Immigration Controls: Passports

Mr. Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what changes she proposes for the system of passport checks of people flying into the UK; and what steps she intends to take to reduce delays for passengers, with particular reference to those arriving this summer. [146797]

Mr. Byrne: The level of staff working in frontline border control is at an all time high. Tough checks at our airports are imperative if we are to prevent illegal immigration, turn away criminals and maintain
3 July 2007 : Column 971W
Britain's secure borders. For this reason we will continue to make every necessary check of those trying to gain entry.

We recognise that we have a responsibility to process genuine passengers without delay but the safety and security of the public is our priority.

Immigration: Crime

Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people were arrested by the police for immigration offences in each year since 1997. [146969]

Mr. Byrne: The information requested regarding all those arrested is not collated centrally by the Office for Criminal Justice Reform and could be obtained only by the detailed examination of individual records at disproportionate cost.

Written Questions

Mr. Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she expects to answer question 109676, on Harmondsworth Immigration Detention Centre, tabled by the hon. Member for Sheffield, Hallam on 13 December 2006. [127761]

Mr. McNulty: My right hon. Friend, the former Home Secretary, replied to the hon. Member on 26 June 2007, Official Report, column 716W.

Yarl’s Wood Detention Centre

Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 25 June 2007 to question 144841, on Yarl’s Wood Detention Centre, how the prices charged by the contractor are independently monitored to ensure there is no overcharging. [146616]

Mr. Byrne: The shop prices at Yarl’s Wood are not charged by the monitor but are set in line with the Recommended Retail Price. Accounts are returned to the monitor on a monthly basis and are checked to ensure that the profit margin remains below 10 per cent.

Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 25 June 2007 to question 144839, on Yarl’s Wood Detention Centre, for what reasons women are held in confinement away from the main accommodation areas; for what periods of time; for what reasons satellite news broadcasts were not available on (a) 26 April to 4 May, (b) 9 to 10 May and (c) 22 to 23 May; and if she will make a statement. [146617]

Mr. Byrne: The reasons why women may be held in temporary confinement, away from the main accommodation areas, are governed by the Detention Centre Rules 2001, Rule 42, and Paragraphs 1 to 8. Detainees are held in temporary confinement due to their refractory or violent behaviour, but only because that behaviour presents a risk to either themselves, to others or to the good order and discipline of the centre. The average length of stay in temporary confinement is one day.


3 July 2007 : Column 972W

Sky satellite news broadcasts were temporarily unavailable during the period of transition between Global Solutions Ltd. and Serco, 26 April to 4 May, due to a payment problem to the supplier and difficulties tuning the system to the correct channels. These problems were resolved and detainee choice continues to govern channel selection. During the other dates mentioned the full Sky satellite service including Sky news was available to all residents.

Northern Ireland

Departments: Consultants

Mr. Meacher: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much the Department spent on (a) management consultants and (b) other external consultants and advisers in each year since 2000; and which of these consultants undertook work for the Department with a total contractual value in excess of £10 million over this period. [146332]

Mr. Woodward: The following table indicates how much the Department spent on (a) management consultants and (b) other external consultants and advisers in each year since 2000.

(a) Spend on management consultants (b) Spend on other external consultants and advisers

2000-01

(1)51,840.00

(1)707,026.00

2001-02

(1)384,880.29

(1)322,664.10

2002-03

1,035,134.15

1,280,635.83

2003-04

1,503,126.34

1,947,273.74

2004-05

1,623,616.44

1,482,823.21

2005-06

1,169,737.51

2,497,137.22

2006-07

481,797.38

1,678,098.72

(1) There was limited information available for the periods 2000-01 and 2001-02.

No consultants undertook work for the Department with a total contractual value in excess of £10 million over this period.

Culture, Media and Sport

Bingo

Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what assessment he has made of the effects of the implementation of the Gambling Act 2005 on the bingo industry; and if she will make a statement. [146560]

Mr. Sutcliffe: An assessment of the impact of implementation of the Gambling Act 2005 on the bingo industry has not been carried out since the Act does not come fully into force until September 2007.

The estimated costs of implementation to the gambling industry, including bingo, were set out in the ‘Regulatory Impact Assessment’ which was published in April 2005 with the Gambling Act 2005.


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