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25 Feb 2008 : Column 1259W—continued
Identity and Passport Service: Data Protection
Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many incidents of (a) data loss and (b) data security breaches reported in the Identity and Passport Service and its predecessor agencies in each of the last five years. [181677]
Mr. Byrne: Except in exceptional cases, when it is in the public interest, it has been the policy of successive Governments not to comment on breaches of security.
Illegal Immigrants
Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent estimate has been made of the number of illegal immigrants in the UK. [180043]
Mr. Byrne: No Government have ever been able to produce an accurate figure for the number of people who are in the country illegally. By its very nature it is impossible to quantify accurately and that remains the case.
Exit controls were phased out from 1994. As part of the Government's 10-point plan for delivery, by Christmas 2008 the majority of foreign nationals will be counted in and out of the country. This will build on the successes of our early testing of the e-Borders programme (Project Semaphore) which already covers over 30 million passenger movements and has led to 18,000 alerts and more than 1,500 arrests.
This is part of a sweeping programme of border protection which also includes the global roll-out of fingerprint visas, compulsory watch-list checks for all travellers from high-risk countries before they land in Britain and ID cards for foreign nationals.
Immigration
Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) whether her Department has received representations from the Church of England on the points-based immigration system; [185472]
(2) whether (a) the Church of England, (b) its dioceses and (c) its individual parishes will be entitled to obtain licences to sponsor immigrants; [185477]
(3) whether (a) the Roman Catholic Church, (b) its dioceses and (c) its individual parishes will be entitled to obtain licences to sponsor immigrants. [185478]
Mr. Byrne: The Border and Immigration Agency is discussing with the Church of England our proposals for the points based system of migration.
Religious organisations, including the Church of England and the Roman Catholic Church, will be entitled to apply to the Border and Immigration Agency for a licence to sponsor migrants. They will be free to decide at what level they seek registration.
Stephen Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many applications for (a) indefinite leave to remain in the UK and (b) a travel document are awaiting a decision from the Border and Immigration Agency; [188044]
(2) what the current average time for processing applications is for (a) indefinite leave to remain in the UK and (b) a travel document at the Border and Immigration Agency. [188045]
Mr. Byrne: Information on the total number of indefinite leave to remain applications awaiting decision is not held centrally and would require extensive examination of cases held in the regions and other areas of BIA attracting a disproportionate cost.
There are 972 applications awaiting a decision within the travel document section of BIA.
Statistical information on time taken to process applications is not collated.
Service standards are published annually on the BIA website in the form of general caseworking service standards reports. These cover both charged (those with an associated fee) and non-charged applications. While such reports can provide overall performance against targets, they do not differentiate between different streams of casework, such as indefinite leave to remain or those applying for travel documents.
The current published standards for processing charged applications are 70 per cent. of postal applications to be decided within 20 working days, with 90 per cent. of postal applications decided within 70 working days. For charged applications made in person at the Public Enquiry Office we aim to complete 98 per cent. of applications in 24 hours.
For non-charged postal applications we will decide 25 per cent. within 20 working days and 30 per cent. within 70 working days. For non-charged applications made in person at the Public Enquiry Office we aim to complete 98 per cent. of applications in 24 hours.
Stephen Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many representations her Department has received from hon. Members on delays in processing applications for (a) indefinite leave to remain in the UK and (b) travel documents at the Border and Immigration Agency; [188046]
(2) how many applications for (a) indefinite leave to remain in the UK and (b) a travel document at the Border and Immigration Agency have been expedited or treated as a priority following representations by hon. Members in each of the last five years. [188047]
Mr. Byrne: Although the making of representations from hon. Members is recorded on a correspondence tracking system (CTS), the purpose of this system is to monitor the timeliness of replies. The information recorded is limited and does not include the subject matter of the letter or the outcome of the case.
As there is no link between CTS and the system on which casework decisions and the issue of travel documents are recorded (the case working information database—CID), it is not possible to link decisions made to representations lodged by hon. Members. Similarly, it is not possible to arrive at an assessment of any priority accorded. Priority may be accorded for a number of reasons, such as the serious illness of a close family member. In these circumstances, the information requested could be obtained only by the detailed examination of individual case records, at disproportionate cost.
I can, however, assure the hon. Member that all representations received are taken into account before decisions are made and that careful consideration is given to any exceptional facts and circumstances which might warrant urgent consideration.
Immigration Officers: Crimes of Violence
Mr. Andrew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proportion of complaints of assault against staff involved in removals from the United Kingdom were upheld in each of the last three years. [184945]
Mr. Byrne [holding answer 6 February 2008]: This information has only been held centrally since October 2006 and relates to contractors' staff involved in the detention and overseas escort process only. Of the 51 complaints of assault made to date, two have been upheld.
Immigration: Armed Forces
Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many and what percentage of people eligible to apply for residence in the United Kingdom by virtue of providing assistance to UK armed forces (a) have been granted residence, (b) have been refused and (c) have their applications yet to be processed. [186163]
Mr. Byrne: As of 12 February 2008, of those staff who have contacted Her Majesty's Government, 293 people are eligible to apply for residence in the United Kingdom by virtue of providing assistance to the UK armed forces in Iraq. None have yet been granted residence. 93 have chosen not to opt for resettlement, and a further five have withdrawn their interest in resettlement. One has been refused.
Of the remainder, 103 have yet to decide which form of assistance to choose; 84 are under initial consideration for eligibility for the Gateway resettlement programme and seven have expressed an interest in indefinite leave to enter the UK but have not submitted their applications to UK Visas.
Immigration: Detention Centres
Mr. Garnier: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many of those held in immigration detention centres have previously served prison sentences in England and Wales. [187106]
Mr. Byrne: The information requested can be obtained only through the detailed examination and cross referencing of information held by the Border and Immigration Agency and Ministry of Justice at disproportionate cost. The chief executive of the Border and Immigration Agency advised the Home Affairs Committee in her letter of 17 December that there were approximately 1,200 foreign nationals prisoners held in the Border and Immigration Agency detention estate where deportation action was being pursued.
Migrant Workers
Danny Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many people from (a) Cyprus, (b) the Czech Republic, (c) Estonia, (d) Hungary, (e) Latvia, (f) Lithuania, (g) Malta, (h) Poland, (i) Slovakia and (j) Slovenia held UK working visas on 1 May 2004, broken down by type of visa; and what guidance is provided to such people on steps they are required to take once their visas have expired if they want to keep working in the UK; [185108]
(2) what guidance her Department provided to employers on the legal implications of employing individuals from member states who joined the EU on 1 May 2004; [185109]
(3) how many people from (a) Cyprus, (b) the Czech Republic, (c) Estonia, (d) Hungary, (e) Latvia, (f) Lithuania, (g) Malta, (h) Poland, (i) Slovakia and (j) Slovenia have left the worker registration scheme having worked in the UK continuously for 12 months. [185111]
Mr. Byrne: Information on the number of nationals from the 2004 accession states who held a UK working visa on 1 May 2004 could be obtained only by detailed examination of individual case records at disproportionate cost.
The Home Office has published guidance on the worker registration scheme for ‘A8’ nationals, those from the 2004 accession states excluding Cyprus and Malta, and employers. This includes a booklet entitled “Living and Working in the UK”, detailing their rights and responsibilities from 1 May 2004. This is available on the Border and Immigration Agency website:
A copy will be placed in the House Library.
The number of ‘A8’ nationals who have left the worker registration scheme is not known as there is no requirement to “de-register” once an individual has worked in the UK continuously for 12 months. The “Accession Monitoring Report May 2004 to September 2007” gives information on ‘A8’ nationals and their intended length of stay. This is available on the Border and Immigration Agency website:
A copy is available in the House Library.
Nationals of Cyprus and Malta are not required to register on the worker registration scheme and are not subject to those conditions placed on nationals from the ‘A8’ countries.
Naturalisation
Mr. Evennett: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people have been naturalised as UK citizens in each London borough since 2005. [186145]
Mr. Byrne: Statistics on persons attending a British citizenship ceremony by region and authority 2005-06 are published in the Home Office Statistical Bulletin ‘Persons Granted British Citizenship United Kingdom, 2006’.
This publication may be obtained from the Library of the House and from the Home Office Research, Development and Statistics website at:
Naturalisation: Assessments
Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many failed citizenship tests there were in 2006-07; what happened to the failed applicant in each case; and if she will make a statement. [185321]
Mr. Byrne: During 2006, there were 50,476 Life on the UK tests taken that resulted in failures and 93,421 during 2007.
Candidates who fail the test are not tracked through the system so it is not possible to state what action candidates took following a failure. There is no limit on how many times a candidate may take the test.
Candidates who fail the Life in the UK test and who still want to apply for permanent settlement or nationality must either retake and pass the test to satisfy the Knowledge of Life requirement or successfully complete an appropriate ESOL course.
Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much providing citizenship tests in Essex cost the public purse in the last year for which figures are available; and how many such applicants were successful. [185322]
Mr. Byrne: The Department has a commercial contract with the University for Industry (Ufi) to provide the Life in the UK test. Candidates taking the Life in the UK test pay a fee of £34 to the test centre. There is no limit on how many times a candidate may take the test and the fee is payable each time a test is taken. The fee is set at a level to meet the costs of delivering the overall testing service. There are currently no plans to change the fee.
Test results are recorded against the test centre where the test is taken, but it is not possible to provide a breakdown of the figures for Essex. Candidates may take the test at any test centre, but it is known that
many candidates take the test at a location convenient to their place of employment rather than their place of residence.
Offenders: Deportation
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many immigrants were convicted of crimes in each of the last five years; and what proportion of these offenders have subsequently been deported. [186900]
Mr. Byrne: The information requested can be obtained only through the detailed examination and cross-referencing of individual case records held by the Border and Immigration Agency and the Ministry of Justice at disproportionate cost. The chief executive of the Border and Immigration Agency appeared before the Home Affairs Committee on 15 January and advised that over 4,200 foreign national prisoners had been removed or deported from the UK in 2007, exceeding the Prime Minister's target, which was an increase of around 80 per cent. compared to 2006.
Mr. Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what progress she has made in deporting foreign nationals from English prisons. [186964]
Mr. Byrne [holding answer 18 February 2008]: The chief executive of the Border and Immigration Agency regularly updates the Home Affairs Committee with the most robust and up to date information on the progress of deporting foreign national prisoners. She appeared before the Committee on 15 January and advised that over 4,200 foreign nationals prisoners had been removed or deported from the UK in 2007, exceeding the Prime Minister’ target, which was an increase of around 80 per cent. compared to 2006. The Home Secretary has also confirmed that this included more than 1,100 drug offenders, more than 200 sex offenders and more than 20 killers.
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what representations have been made to prison authorities by the Border and Immigration Agency on the deportation of foreign criminals serving custodial sentences of less than 12 months; and if she will make a statement. [177341]
Mr. Byrne: Monthly liaison meetings are held between all relevant parties in Ministry of Justice and Border and Immigration Agency to consider general issues and specific cases.
The Border and Immigration Agency deported over 4,200 foreign national prisoners from the United Kingdom in 2007. A large number of these individuals were deported following completion of custodial sentences lasting less than 12 months and that will continue to be the case for any future deportations that take place.
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