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17 Oct 2007 : Column 1106W—continued
A breakdown of expenditure by engagement by company is not held centrally and to attempt to assemble it would incur disproportionate cost. The top 10 companies by total expenditure across the Home Office in the last three years are as follows. The
companies are listed in alphabetical order; the amount spent with each company is not shown on grounds of commercial confidentiality.
| Table 1: Home Department expenditure with consultancy companies for 2005-06 and 2006-07 | ||||
| Borders and Immigration Agency | Home Office | Identity and Passport Service | Total | |
Top 10 companies by total expenditure across the Home Office in the last three years
Cap Gemini
Capita Resourcing Ltd.
Deloitte
Drivers Jonas
Hedra BearingPoint
IBM
LogicaCMG
PA Consulting Group
Parity Resources
Siemens Business Services Ltd.
Detention Centres: Hunger Strikes
Mr. Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many detainees in immigration detention centres went on hunger strike in each of the last five years; [154572]
(2) what guidance has been issued to immigration detention centres on how to deal with those on hunger strike. [154573]
Jacqui Smith: We only record detainees who have refused to eat the meals provided. The information requested is not readily available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
It is normal procedure to place a detainee on a missed meals log if they have missed four consecutive meals, not including breakfast, as this allows staff to monitor their health and welfare to ensure they receive appropriate treatment where necessary.
Detention Services Order 07-2004 was issued to immigration removal centres on how to deal with those on hunger strike. A copy has been placed in the House Library.
European Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings
Mr. MacShane: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if she will make a statement on the timetable for the UK’s ratification of the Council of Europe Convention on Trafficking of Human Beings. [158533]
Mr. Byrne: The Government are determined to ratify the Convention as soon as we can but are determined to get the arrangements right before doing so. We need to be compliant with the Convention before formal ratification. Some of the other signatories to the Convention have legal systems that allow or require ratification before implementation—ours does not. The UK is already largely compliant with the Convention but some amendments to primary/secondary legislation will be required, as will the development of guidance and the institution of new processes. A dedicated project team within the Border and Immigration Agency is leading delivery of the changes needed to comply with the Convention and is reporting regularly to a cross-government official project board and Ministerial Group. Action against trafficking is continuing and is not on hold pending ratification. During the ongoing, police-led anti-trafficking operation, Pentameter 2 we are piloting an identification process and a 30-day reflection period, as required by Article 10 and 13 of the Convention.
Forensic Science Service
Dr. Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps she is taking to re-organise the Government’s Forensic Service. [157533]
Meg Hillier: The Forensic Science Service was an Executive agency of the Home Office until December 2005 when it was vested as a Government-owned limited company (GovCo). In accordance with commitments given to Parliament in March 2006, I am currently considering whether there should be a further change of status, and if so, what that status should be. I hope to be in a position to make an in principle decision by the end of the year.
Immigration Officers: Airports
Mr. MacShane: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether she has plans to increase the number of staff on duty at immigration counters at UK airports. [158536]
Mr. Byrne: We are currently recruiting 118 additional immigration officers at UK airports.
We deploy staff based on published flight schedules and anticipated passenger loads as this is the most effective way to ensure prudent spending of public money. We do not allocate resources based on the number of desks a port operator makes available as this would lead to staff being completely unoccupied for significant periods of their working day. We take a number of measures at peak times to ensure that maximum numbers of staff are available.
This year these measures include:
The re-deployment of mobile search teams to the front-line;
The re-deployment of staff from support functions such as passenger caseworking
Legislation
David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what criminal offences have been created by each Act sponsored by her Department since May 1997. [156309]
Jacqui Smith: In the period since 1997, the Home Office has had responsibility for a wide range of subjects, including electoral law, data protection, licensing, police, prisons, criminal law and criminal justice, as well as immigration, serious crime and terrorism, and brought forward legislation on these issues as appropriate. In some cases, the legislation created new offences; in other cases, it re-enacted, or gave statutory form to, existing offences, sometimes with modifications to their extent or scope.
A list of all criminal offences created in all Acts sponsored by the Home Office since 1997 is not held centrally, and could be produced only at disproportionate cost in time and resources.
Members: Correspondence
Sir Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she plans to answer the letter of 9 August from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton on Mr. Larry Allen. [156904]
Jacqui Smith: I wrote to my right hon. Friend on 11 October 2007.
Sir Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she plans to answer the letter of 6 August from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton on Mr. M. Sultan. [156905]
Jacqui Smith: I wrote to my right hon. Friend on 4 September 2007.
Police: South West Region
Matthew Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the Government funding provision was (a) in total and (b) per capita for police services in (i) Devon and Cornwall and (ii) England and Wales in each year since 1979. [156359]
Mr. McNulty: The information requested where available is set out in the following table.
Information from before 1995-96 is unreliable due to the changed structures of police authorities.
We do not distribute grant to police authorities purely on the basis of population. The police funding formula uses a range of socio-demographic data to reflect the relative needs of each authority. Grant allocations also take into account the relative resources of each authority. Grant allocations are stabilised by damping changes to limit year-on-year variations. Devon and Cornwall actually receives £1.9 million more than it would on a strict application of the funding formula.
Matthew Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the gross revenue expenditure for police authorities per capita was in (a) Devon and Cornwall and (b) England and Wales in (i) 2005-06, (ii) 2006-07 and (iii) 2007-08. [156360]
Mr. McNulty: We do not distribute grant to police authorities purely on the basis of population. The police funding formula uses a range of socio- demographic data to reflect the relative needs of each authority. Grant allocations also take into account the relative resources of each authority. Grant allocations are stabilised by damping changes to limit year-on-year variations. Devon and Cornwall actually receives £1.9 million more than it would on a strict application of the funding formula.
| Gross revenue expenditure per capita 2005-06 to 2007-08 | ||
| Devon and Cornwall | England and Wales | |
| Source: Gross Revenue Expenditure—Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy Police Statistics (Estimates for 2006-07 and 2007-08) Resident Population—Department for Communities and Local Government. | ||
Work Permits
Mr. Clappison:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 9 October 2007, to question 149263, on work permits,
if she will give a breakdown of the 20 non-EU nationalities receiving the most work permits for (i) doctors and (ii) nurses in each of the last 10 years. [158339]
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