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1 Oct 2007 : Column 2354W—continued
Departments: Pay
Mr. Fallon: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what representations she has received on public pay since her appointment; and if she will make a statement. [155135]
Mr. McNulty [holding answer 12 September 2007]: Since my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary’s appointment, Home Office Ministers have received correspondence from right hon. and hon. Members, police officers and others on the subject of police pay. The subject has also been raised at some meetings attended by Home Office Ministers. The 2007 police officer pay award has been addressed through the Police Negotiating Board in the usual way. Following the PNB’s failure to reach agreement, the issue will now proceed to the Police Arbitration Tribunal, before my right hon. Friend makes her decision. In doing so she will consider very carefully the recommendations that result from this process.
Departments: Visits Abroad
Mrs. May: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many overseas visits were made by (a) officials and (b) Ministers within her responsibility, and at what cost, in each year since 1997. [151646]
Mr. Byrne: Prior to the machinery of Government changes, the Home Office employed approximately 78,000 people. The Department's expenditure on foreign travel and accommodation in each year since 1997 is shown in the following table . Figures for 1997-98 to 2002-03 are for overseas travel only. Details of overseas accommodation for these years could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
| £ million | |
The difference in costs over the period reflects the changing nature of the Home Office's business, in particular the growth of international terrorism, migration and international travel. Collaboration and information exchange with other countries on counter-terrorism activities and border control have become increasingly critical to the effective discharge of the Department's responsibilities for asylum, immigration and national security. This has involved higher levels of overseas travel.
Details on the number of visits could be provided only at disproportionate cost. Since 1999, the Government have published on an annual basis, a list of all overseas visits by Cabinet Ministers costing in excess of £500, as well as the total cost of all ministerial travel overseas. Copies of the lists are available in the Libraries of the House. Information for 2006-07 is currently being compiled and will be published before the summer recess. All travel is undertaken in accordance with the Civil Service Management Code and the Ministerial Code.
Deportation: Democratic Republic of Congo
Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people were removed under immigration law to (a) Democratic Republic of Congo and (b) Congo (Brazzaville) in each of the last six months; and what plans he has to remove people to either country in future. [155330]
Mr. Byrne [holding answer 12 September 2007]: The table shows the number of failed asylum applicants removed to Congo and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) between January and June 2007 inclusive. This is the latest six-month period for which figures are available.
Information on the total number of persons removed between January and June 2007 (including
non-asylum cases) is not available for release under National Statistics protocols.
On 23 August 2007, Justice Collins ordered that the removal of all unsuccessful asylum seekers to DRC must be deferred until the Country Guidance case is determined. In line with the High Court’s decision of 23 August 2007, the Border and Immigration Agency will not enforce the removal of Congolese asylum seekers to DRC until the Asylum Immigration Tribunal (AIT) has substantively considered the pending Country Guidance case. The High Court’s decision, however, applies only to unsuccessful asylum seekers and we shall continue to remove immigration offenders who are Congolese nationals and have no legal right to remain in the UK. There are currently no legal impediments stopping us from removing to Congo those Congolese nationals with no right to remain in the UK.
The Government are committed to providing protection to those individuals who are found to be in fear of persecution. It is only right that we provide that protection, but equally, it is only right that we enforce the return of those who have no right to remain here: this is a key part to upholding a robust and fair asylum system.
Copies of statistics publications are available from the Library of the House and from the Home Office’s Research, Development and Statistics website at:
| Removals, voluntary departures and assisted returns( 1) of asylum applicants( 2) , including dependants, to Congo and the Democratic Republic of Congo, January—June 2007( 3,4) | |||||||
| Number of removals | |||||||
| Destination | January | February | March | April | May | June | January - June total |
| (1) Includes enforced removals, persons departing voluntarily after enforcement action had been initiated against them, persons leaving under assisted voluntary return programmes run by the International Organisation for Migration and those who it is established have left the UK without informing the immigration authorities. (2) Persons who had sought asylum at some stage, including dependants. (3) Figures are rounded to the nearest five, (* = 1 or 2), and may not sum to the totals shown because of independent rounding. (4) Provisional figures. | |||||||
Entry Clearances
Richard Younger-Ross: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many non-EU citizens who reside in the UK gained entry to the UK through applying for a UK visa from another European member state. [140545]
Mr. Byrne: The Home Office does not collect the information requested.
Extradition: Russia
Andrew Mackinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if she will list the steps which must be taken, and the requirements which must be met, for the relevant authorities of the Russian Federation successfully to obtain extradition of a person from the UK; and if she will make a statement. [155546]
Meg Hillier [holding answer 17 September 2007]: The outcome of individual cases is determined by the provisions of the Extradition Act 2003 (as amended). Within what the law permits, the United Kingdom stands ready to render maximum assistance to all of its extradition partners. It is also open to those partners to consult the Crown Prosecution Service directly about the requirements of UK extradition law.
Fines: Cinemas
Mr. Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many offences were recorded in respect of cinemas allowing underage children into age-rated films in each year since 1997; how many police cautions were issued; and what the average fine levied was. [154986]
Mr. Coaker [holding answer 10 September 2007]: The information requested is not collected centrally.
Fines: Retail Trade
Mr. Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many offences were recorded in respect of retailers selling video games or DVDs to under-age customers in each year since 1997; how many police cautions were issued; and what the average fine levied was. [154985]
Mr. Coaker [holding answer 10 September 2007]: Information on the number of recorded offences of retailers selling video games or DVDs to under-age customers is not collected centrally. This is a summary offence and is not included in the police recorded crime statistics.
Statistics for the number of police cautions issued and the average fine have been provided by the Ministry of Justice and are given in the table for 1997-2005. Data for 2006 will be available in the autumn of 2007.
| Retailers selling video games and DVDs to underage customers( 1) | ||
| Number of police cautions issued( 2, 3) | Average fine (£) | |
| (1) Video Recording Act 1984 S.11 as amended by the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 S. 88 (4).4 (2) These data are on a principal offence basis. (3) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative databases generated by the police. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. | ||
Foreign Workers: Work Permits
Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many work permits were issued to overseas nationals in each of the last 10 years. [152969]
Mr. Byrne: Work Permit information is published in the 'Foreign labour in the United Kingdom: current patterns and trends' report authored by John Salt and Jane Millar from the 'Migration Research Unit, University College London' and is available at the following link:
Genetics: Databases
Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what percentage of individuals on the DNA database are under 16; and if she will make a statement. [155258]
Meg Hillier [holding answer 12 September 2007]: On 10 September 2007, 3.38 per cent. of persons on the National DNA Database were currently aged under 16. This figure represents persons sampled by police forces in England and Wales only, and includes some persons who provided a DNA profile voluntarily.
Mr. Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the annual cost was of (a) storing and (b) processing (i) DNA samples and (ii) DNA profiles taken for the National DNA Database in each year since 2000. [155342]
Jacqui Smith [holding answer 12 September 2007]: Cost figures for the storage of DNA samples are not centrally available. The costs for retaining DNA samples fall to individual police forces and are dependent on the contractual agreement between the force and the forensic supplier. This information is commercially confidential. The costs of retaining DNA profiles on the National DNA Database are essentially the costs of running and operating the database. These are set out in the National DNA Database Annual Reports for the years 2002-03 to 2005-06, copies of which are available in the House of Commons Library. The Annual Report for 2002-03 was the first annual report produced; and no information is available for the years 2000-01 and 2001-02. The costs of processing DNA samples for the DNA Database are available for the years 2000-01 to 2005-06 and are set out in the following table. In 2006-07, the Home Office ceased the payment of a separate specific grant for funding DNA activity.
| DNA sample processing costs (£m) | |
| (1 )The data for 2005-06 is DNA Expansion Programme funding only. It covers the processing costs of suspect offender samples and crime scene samples; and also includes force expenditure on additional forensic staff, vehicles and equipment. A separate figure for processing costs alone is not currently available. Note: The data for years 2000-01 to 2004-05 includes DNA Expansion Programme expenditure and expenditure from force budgets. It covers the processing costs of suspect offender samples and crime scene samples. | |
Human Trafficking
Mr. Steen: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many arrests have been made by (a) the Paladin team, (b) the Maxim team and (c) the Human Smuggling Unit since their inception; and how many of those arrests have resulted in (i) prosecutions and (ii) convictions. [154948]
Mr. Coaker [holding answer 10 September 2007]: The Paladin team was formed in October 2005 and became fully operational in February 2006. Since its inception they have arrested 25 people for trafficking-related incidents. They have had six convictions; all of these convictions are for facilitation. They have cautioned 11 persons— all for “facilitation” or “harbouring”—through their work at the Asylum Screening Unit.
Operation Maxim has been operational since March 2003 and has achieved the following arrests since its inception:
March 2003 to April 2004: 178 arrests
April 2004 to April 2005: 194 arrests
April 2005 to April 2006: 125 arrests
April 2006 to April 2007: 123 arrests
April 2007 to August 2007: 50 arrests.
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