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8 Oct 2007 : Column 165W—continued
Genetics: Databases
Mr. Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 11 June 2007, Official Report, column 894W, on genetics: databases, what studies have been conducted by her Department on the impact of the national DNA database on black and minority ethnic communities. [154203]
Jacqui Smith: The Home Office Forensic Science and Pathology Unit conducted a review in 2005-06. In April 2007 responsibility for the National DNA Database transferred to the National Policing Improvement Agency who are currently conducting an equality impact assessment on the database.
Mr. Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 11 June 2007, Official Report, column 894W, on genetics: databases, what consultations she has had with representatives of (a) the Commission for Racial Equality and (b) black and minority ethnic communities on the use of the national DNA database. [154297]
Jacqui Smith: The National Policing Improvement Agency has consulted with representatives from the Commission for Racial Equality (CRE), including the CRE director of legal services. The ongoing equality impact assessment of the National DNA Database will include a programme of consultation with minority communities and in particular young black people.
Human Trafficking
Mr. Steen: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department on what date she expects to launch Operation Pentameter 2; whether Devon and Cornwall Constabulary will be involved in the operation; who will be heading it; what its objective will be; what additional staff will be allocated to the operation; and what the budget will be for the operation. [155457]
Mr. Coaker [holding answer 17 September 2007]: The Home Secretary will be launching Operation Pentameter 2 with ACPO on 3 October. It will be a multi agency operation, UK wide, and will involve all 55 police forces co-ordinated by the UK Human Trafficking Centre.
The theme of the operation will be the same as last year and will aim to tackle trafficking for sexual exploitation.
The operation will be funded through existing resources. The UK Human Trafficking Centre receives a budget of £5 million per annum to support counter trafficking activity among local forces.
Immigrants: Criminal Records
Mr. Garnier: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many foreign nationals being held in immigration detention centres have (a) British and (b) foreign criminal records; and for which categories of crimes. [154934]
Mr. Byrne [holding answer 10 September 2007]: The information requested could be obtained only by conducting police national computer checks and liaising with foreign governments for all individuals held in immigration detention centres which would incur a disproportionate cost.
Immigrants: Skilled Workers
Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if she will make a statement on the Commission for Racial Equality's letter to the Border and Immigration Agency stating that the changes to the rules on highly skilled migrants were discriminatory. [154027]
Mr. Byrne: The chief executive of the Border and Immigration Agency responded to the letter she received from the Commission for Racial Equality on 6 July. I am placing a copy of her response in the Libraries of both Houses.
Independent Police Complaints Commission: Information Officers
Mr. Spring: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many press officers are employed by the Independent Police Complaints Commission. [154120]
Mr. McNulty: This is a matter for the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC).
Overseas Students
Jo Swinson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps are being taken to prevent fake educational institutions enabling people to enter the UK posing as students. [154511]
Mr. Byrne: Since 1 January 2005, only overseas students who can show that they have a place to study or are already studying at an institution which appears on the Register of Education Providers (REP) have been granted entry clearances or extensions of stay as students. The REP is operated by the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills (DIUS) and the application process requires institutions to prove that they operate out of registered premises etc. The REP has been very successful in combating bogus colleges, particularly those which were entirely fictitious. In 2004, some 1,200 were visited ahead of the REP being implemented and 25 per cent were found not to be genuine and were prevented from registering. A further 69 colleges have so far been removed from the Register through a combination of visits conducted by compliance officers in the Border and Immigration Agency (BIA) as well as removals instigated by DIUS. Since July 2007, as the BIA has expanded its compliance resource in preparation for the introduction of the new points based system (PBS) for managing migration, officers have also begun to make more pro-active visits to colleges applying to get on the REP to prevent the registration of those found not to be bona fide.
Under the PBS we have plans to go even further. Under Tier 4: (Students) of the PBS, all education institutions will need to be registered on a new register of sponsors in order to recruit international students. No private educational institution will be able to qualify for the sponsor register unless they can demonstrate that they have been independently inspected or accredited by one of a limited number of BIA-approved accreditation bodies. As announced by DIUS on 24 July 2007, accreditation will be used to provide an independent qualitative check on an institution to demonstrate it is a genuine education provider. Tier 4 is expected to replace the current system for students in the first quarter of 2009. Unaccredited educational institutions have some 16 months to obtain the necessary accreditation in order to continue bringing international students to the UK after that date and we are confident that less reputable education providers will not be able to pass this additional test.
Jo Swinson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what protection and recourse is available for foreign students arriving in the UK who have unwittingly paid money to fake educational institutions and may not work under the terms of their student visa. [154512]
Mr. Byrne: The immigration rules set out provisions for international students to study at a bona fide private education institution which is included on the Register of Education and Training Providers. A definition of a bona fide private education institution is contained in the rules. Where it is found that an institution fails to meet this definition, it is prohibited from enrolling any more international students by being removed from the Register. Where the students at such institutions are unable to continue their studies, or where students are dissatisfied with the tuition at a college, the student rules permit them to move to another institution which is included on the Register of Education and Training Providers.
Such students may also wish to report their circumstances to their local Trading Standards Office or seek legal advice about the loss of their fees. Where a student has more serious concerns that an institution is facilitating illegal migration, then they should also contact the police.
The immigration rules permit those studying in the UK with a student visa to work part-time term-time and full-time in vacations.
Police Stations
Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police stations were closed in London in each of the last five years; and if she will make a statement. [154816]
Mr. McNulty: The management of the police estates in London are operational matters for the Commissioner for the Metropolitan Police and the City of London Police.
Police: Cambridgeshire
Mr. Paice: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many and what proportion of police officers in Cambridgeshire had the primary function of traffic policing in each of the last five years. [153772]
Mr. McNulty: The data are available are from 2002-03 to 2005-06 and are given in the table.
| Police officers (FTE)( 1) whose main function( 2) is “Traffic” in Cambridgeshire from 31 March 2003 to 31 March 2006 | ||
| Traffic | Proportion of total officer strength | |
| Note s : 1. This and other tables contain full-time equivalent figures that have been rounded to the nearest whole number. Figures include those officers on career breaks or maternity/paternity leave. 2. Staff with multiple responsibilities (or designations) are recorded under their primary role or function. The traffic function includes staff who are predominantly employed on motorcycles or in patrol vehicles for the policing of traffic and motorway related duties. The does not include officers employed in accident investigation, vehicle examination and radar duties. | ||
Prisoners: Deportation
Mr. Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many foreign national prisoners have been deported in 2007; [154206]
(2) how many foreign national prisoners were deported in each of the last 10 years. [154208]
Jacqui Smith: The chief executive of the Border and Immigration Agency wrote to the Home Affairs Committee on 14 June. A copy of this letter is available from the Library of the House.
Statistics on the deportation of foreign nationals were last published in 2002. These data are available through the Home Office’s Research Development and Statistics website at:
Published information on persons removed as a result of deportation action has not been available from 2003 onwards due to data quality issues. The Border and Immigration Agency is putting in place new systems to improve its data collection systems for the future in this area.
Mr. Rob Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what progress has been made towards the Prime Minister’s target of deporting 4,000 prisoners of foreign origin by the end of the year; and what categories of crimes these prisoners were convicted of. [155647]
Mr. Byrne: The chief executive of the Border and Immigration Agency wrote to the Home Affairs Committee on 14 June in which she provided an update on progress being made with foreign national prisoners. A copy of this letter is available in the Library of the House.
Prisons: Drugs
John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prison governors have visited prisons abroad to examine their drug treatment systems. [156495]
Mr. Hanson: I have been asked to reply.
Prison governors may occasionally visit overseas prisons to examine aspects of their penal system. No records are kept of prison governors specifically visiting prisons abroad in order to examine prison drug treatment systems.
Repatriation
Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many prisoners have been deported to (a) Libya, (b) Lebanon, (c) Jordan and (d) Algeria since the Repatriation Agreement with each country was signed; [154301]
(2) what monitoring of Libyan prisoners has taken place following their repatriation under the Repatriation Agreement; [154302]
(3) what monitoring of Lebanese prisoners has taken place following their repatriation under the Repatriation Agreement; [154303]
(4) what monitoring of Jordanian prisoners has taken place following their repatriation under the Repatriation Agreement; [154304]
(5) what monitoring of Algerian prisoners has taken place following their repatriation under the Repatriation Agreement. [154305]
Mr. Byrne: The repatriation arrangements to which my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister, referred in his statement to the House on 25 July are the memoranda of understanding (MoUs) on deportation which were signed with Jordan, Libya, and Lebanon in 2005, and the separate arrangements we have agreed with Algeria. Copies of the MoUs, and of the exchange of letters between the previous Prime Minister and the President of Algeria, are in the Library.
The terms of the MoUs signed with Jordan, Libya and Lebanon provide for the independent monitoring of assurances. Such monitoring has however not yet been needed as the Jordanian and Libyan individuals we wish to deport from the United Kingdom on national security grounds under the MoUs are still within the process of appealing against our decisions.
Since July 2005, eight men have been deported to Algeria on grounds of national security. There are no formal arrangements for post-deportation monitoring. However, the eight individuals concerned were given details of how to contact the embassy in Algiers, and were asked if they wished to provide details of next of kin who could be contacted by the embassy. Two chose to take up this offer, a third merely wanted us to let his relatives know his arrival details.
Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) whether the provisions of the UN Convention on Torture are included in the Repatriation Agreements being concluded by the UK with other countries; [154298]
(2) which countries the Government are in negotiations with about a Repatriation Agreement; [154299]
(3) what conditions are placed by the UK on a country before a repatriation agreement can be signed. [154300]
Mr. Byrne: The agreements referred to are the Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) on deportation with assurances (DWA) agreed with Jordan, Libya and Lebanon in 2005, and the separate arrangements under which we are able to obtain assurances in respect of people we are seeking to deport to Algeria.
These questions seek information about the numbers of prisoners deported under the arrangements and what monitoring has taken place.
The ongoing appeals process means we have not yet deported anyone under the MoUs with Jordan and Libya, and we have not yet found it necessary to seek assurances under the MoU with Lebanon. Although monitoring arrangements are in place for all three countries, to date, no actual monitoring has occurred.
Since July 2005, eight men have been deported to Algeria on grounds of national security. (A further individual who held dual Algerian and French nationality was deported to France on national security grounds). The arrangements with Algeria do not provide for formal monitoring following deportation. The deportees are given details of how they can contact the British embassy in Algiers, and are also asked if they wish to provide the details of next-of-kin who can serve as a contact point. Two of the eight opted to maintain contact with the embassy, a further individual merely asked for his relatives to be informed of his flight details.
All the men deported to Algeria were detained and questioned following their return, as provided for under Algerian law. Six were subsequently released; two are still detained in custody and are now facing criminal charges.
The terms of the draft answer have been cleared with LAB, OSCT and the FCO's Counter-Terrorism Policy Department.
Resettlement: Iraq
Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what response the Government has made to the representations of Amnesty International for the UK and US to provide resettlement programmes for Iraqis who have fled their homes since 2003. [156081]
Mr. Byrne: The Government are aware that the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and Amnesty International have called for countries to resettle some Iraqi refugees in the region. The Border and Immigration Agency has started discussions with UNHCR regarding the feasibility of resettling some of the Iraqi refugees in the region to the UK. The UK’s resettlement programme, the Gateway Protection Programme, currently resettles 500 refugees a year from across the world.
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