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26 July 2007 : Column 1509W—continued


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Immigration: Detention Centres

Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if she will make a statement on the use of immigration removal centre places for non-immigration-related detainees. [152787]

Mr. Byrne: Immigration removal centres can only be used for the purpose of holding those detained solely under Immigration Act powers. Section 147 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 refers.

Naturalisation

Ian Stewart: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when a determination on application for naturalisation of A1079396, acknowledged by her Department on 21 December 2005, will be made. [150005]

Mr. Byrne: The application has now been determined. The applicant will be informed of the outcome in writing.

Passports: Fraud

Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps (a) her Department and (b) the Identity and Passport Service (IPS) has taken to improve the IPS detection of passport fraud since 2001. [151505]

Meg Hillier [holding answer 23 July 2007]: Over the last six years the Identity and Passport Service has undertaken a range of initiatives to improve the prevention and detection of passport fraud. These include:

On an operational level, IPS are using intelligence received and data on known frauds to actively manage passport fraud identified after the issue of the passport. It is currently investigating some 2,000 cases.

IPS work collaboratively with the Border and Immigration Agency on (BIA) matters relating to
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passport fraud and with the police and the Serious Organised Crime Agency on joint actions against those involved in passport fraud. The BIA's National Document Fraud Unit regularly provides training for IPS officers to assist them on detecting passport fraud, and works closely with IPS document experts to ensure the latest and most effective security measures are incorporated in UK passports. IPS and BIA exchange information and intelligence relating to document fraud and BIA accesses electronic records of issued, lost and stolen UK passports and notifies IPS when attempts are made to use UK passports fraudulently.

Going forward, IPS has developed a comprehensive counter fraud strategy to combat identity fraud in the passport issuing process. This strategy includes:

International Development

Angola: Overseas Aid

Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent assessment he has made of the (a) level of poverty, (b) access to basic health care, (c) access to a basic education and (d) level of government corruption in Angola; and what assistance he is giving to Angola. [151628]

Mr. Thomas: The last comprehensive assessment of income poverty in Angola was the Household Income and Expenditure Survey (IDR) in 2001, which was carried out by the National Institution of Statistics, financed by the World Bank. This found that 68 per cent. of the population lived below the poverty line, and 26 per cent. in extreme poverty. In 2004, Angola’s Ministry of Health stated that 30 to 40 per cent. of the population had access to primary health care. In 2005 the Ministry of Education reported a primary education net enrolment of 62 per cent.

Angola rates poorly on corruption indices, although it has shown some improvement in recent years.

DFID has a bilateral programme of £3 million in 2007-08 for Angola. During this period, Angola will also benefit from other funding sources, including £1.9 million for demining, over £1 million from the Africa Conflict Prevention Pool, and major regional programmes on HIV/AIDS and reintegration of ex-combatants.


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Thailand and Burma: Karen Refugees

Mr. Mullin: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what contribution the Government are making to support the work of non-governmental organisations working with Karen refugees on the Thai-Burma border; and if he will make a statement. [152867]

Mr. Malik: DFID will provide £1.8 million in the period from July 2005 to March 2008 to support Thai based non-governmental organisations to work with refugees, the majority of whom are Karen, and provide cross-border support to internally displaced people on the Thai-Burma border. The British Embassy in Bangkok regularly speaks to the Royal Thai Government on issues affecting Burmese refugees in Thailand.

DFID considers that both in-country and cross border support is important. It will continue to review the options for reaching displaced people, and the best balance between support from inside Burma and through cross-border border groups and support to refugees. Decisions will take into account planned new work by humanitarian experts from UN OCHA, which will provide better independent analysis of the needs of displaced people, a clearer picture of what other donors are doing, and a better assessment of where there are gaps.

Departments: Air Conditioning

Chris Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much was spent by his Department and its agencies on the hire of mobile air conditioning units in each of the last five years. [151973]

Mr. Malik: The only air conditioning units hired by DFID in our UK offices over this period was during 2003-04, when the cost was £703. There are no agencies for which we are responsible.

Departments: Employment Agencies

Mrs. May: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much the Department paid in fees to recruitment agencies for (a) temporary and (b) permanent staff in each year since 1997. [151671]

Mr. Malik: DFID does not make use of recruitment agencies when recruiting permanent staff to the Home Civil Service. In accordance with the Civil Service Commissioners code external appointments are made on merit on the basis of fair and open competition.

DFID periodically engages temporary staff through recruitment agencies, mainly in administrative grades. A management fee is included in the salary costs for each person supplied by the agency but it is not possible to disaggregate the total cost of these fees without incurring disproportionate costs.

Departments: Legislation

Dr. Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development which Bills introduced by his Department in the last five years contained sunset clauses; and what plans he has for the future use of such clauses. [151840]


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Mr. Malik: The International Development Act received royal assent on 26 February 2002. It does not contain a sunset clause

The appropriateness of a sunset clause for the whole or part of any proposed legislation is considered on a case by case basis. It is also addressed when a regulatory impact assessment relating to legislation is being prepared.

Dr. Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development which Bills introduced by his Department in the last five years did not contain sunset clauses; and if he will make a statement. [152488]

Mr. Malik: The International Development Act received royal assent on 26 February 2002. It does not contain a sunset clause

Departments: Manpower

Mr. Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many people have been appointed to his Department outside civil service grades in the last 30 days. [153120]

Mr. Malik: DFID has appointed two people outside civil service grades in the last 30 days.

Mr. Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many press officers are employed by his Department. [153122]

Mr. Malik: DFID currently employs nine press officers.

Departments: Press

Mr. Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development to which periodicals his Department subscribes. [153114]

Mr. Malik: The DFID Library has subscriptions to printed or electronic versions of the periodicals in the following list. Details of subscriptions held by individual DFID Country Offices and Divisions could be compiled only at disproportionate cost.


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Departments: Redundancy Pay

Mr. Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much was spent by his Department on redundancy payments in the last 12 months. [153110]

Mr. Malik: The amount spent by the Department for International Development on redundancy payments in the 12 months from June 2006 to May 2007 was £2,653,413.

Departments: Training

Mr. Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much was spent by his Department on (a) staff training and (b) communication training in the last 12 months. [153112]

Mr. Malik: In financial year 2006-2007, the Department for International Development (DFID) spent £5.94 million on staff learning and development.

DFID does not have the systems to identify the full range of training activity across its UK and overseas operations that fall under the banner of "communications" training. Information is only available on some of the larger-scale initiatives to improve communications capability in the last year (2006-2007). These are (with costs):


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