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31 Mar 2008 : Column 610W—continued
Immigration: Children
Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate she has made of the number of children under 16 years of age who have been brought to the UK by parents on a visitor’s visa from (a) Pakistan and (b) elsewhere and left with relatives settled in the UK while the parents returned home since 1978; and if she will make a statement. [196225]
Mr. Byrne: This information is not available.
Immigration: Gurkhas
Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether Ministers in her Department have had meetings with (a) Gurkha and (b) other ex-servicemen’s organisations on the immigration status of Gurkhas and their right to apply for British citizenship. [197020]
Mr. Byrne: There have been no recent meetings between Home Office Ministers and Gurkha and other ex-servicemen’s organisations on the immigration status of Gurkhas and their right to apply for British citizenship.
Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many Gurkhas who served in the Brigade of Gurkhas before 1997 have been granted UK (a) residency and (b) citizenship; [197021]
(2) how many Gurkhas who retired from the Brigade of Gurkhas since 1997 have been granted UK (a) residency and (b) citizenship; and what percentage of eligible persons this represents. [197022]
Mr. Byrne: I refer the hon. Member to my right hon. Friend’s reply of 18 March 2008, Official Report, columns 935-36W.
Immigration: Housing
Mr. Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 17 March 2008, Official Report, column 806W, on immigration: housing, how many individual agreements have been reached with local authorities; what the cost of such agreements has been; how many schemes to prevent homelessness have been included in the reimbursement package; what the cost of such schemes has been; how many units of social housing have been occupied by households moving from asylum support as a result of the legacy exercise, broken down by housing sector; and what estimate she has made of the cost to the public purse of the measures outlined in the answer. [196267]
Mr. Byrne [holding answer 25 March 2008]: In recent months the Border and Immigration Agency has worked with the Local Government Association, Council of Scottish Local Authorities and Welsh Local Government Association, as well as individually with relevant local authorities to agree an approach to the family cases we have recently prioritised who have been allowed to remain in the UK.
The agreements themselves do not hold a particular cost. A 'transitional costs fund' has been made available where unavoidable, additional expenses have occurred. Local authorities need to submit claims to this fund. Claims will then be assessed on an individual basis and local authorities will be reimbursed appropriately. As yet, this work is not complete.
Ipsos MORI
Mr. Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what payments (a) her Department and (b) its agencies have made to Ipsos MORI in the last 24 months; and for what purposes. [193962]
Mr. Byrne: Information on the Home Department and its agencies payments to Ipsos Mori in the last 24 months is as follows:
| Department/Agency | Total p ayment in last 24 months (£) |
Ipsos MORI has provided a wide variety of services to the Home Department in the last 24 months. They include Quarterly Opinion Polling on Crime and Immigration, Telephone Survey, facilitation of Young Witness Workshop, Local Victim and Witness Satisfaction Survey, Survey with Focus Group on Home Office Priorities, Arrestee Survey Review, EEA Nationals Survey and Multivariate Analysis of British Crime Survey (BCS) dataset.
The Identity and Passport Service (IPS) used Ipsos MORI for the 2006 staff survey and subsequent report.
Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) used Ipsos MORI for both staff surveys and customer surveys.
Last Resort Fund
Mr. Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what funding was allocated to the Last Resort Fund to assist women who have experienced domestic violence in 2007-08; and how much is to be allocated in 2008-09. [196724]
Mr. Coaker [holding answer 25 March 2008]: As a short-term remedy for victims of domestic violence who have no recourse to public funds, the Government made special provision over 2004-05 and 2005-06, with grants of £145,000 to Women's Aid to bolster their 'Last Resort Fund'.
However, the Government want to see sustainable local solutions for those in need and, in February 2006, circulated a letter to local authorities alerting them to the key issues experienced by these women and how they can be helped.
Soon we will be announcing details of a new scheme where victims of domestic violence who have no recourse to public funds may be able to have their housing and living costs met. This will be linked to indefinite leave to remain criteria.
Local Government Services: South West
Mr. Liddell-Grainger: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what the terms of the agreement between Southwest One and Avon and Somerset police are; and if she will make a statement; [194157]
(2) what discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government on the outsourcing of local services in the South West to a joint venture partnership; and if she will make a statement. [194158]
Mr. McNulty: There has been no discussion between my right hon. Friends, the Home Secretary and the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government on the outsourcing of local services in the south west. The terms of any agreement between Avon and Somerset police authority and Southwest One are a matter for the authority.
It is important that police forces and authorities identify and implement ways to increase value for money. To assist them in this, we have recently agreed with the Association of Police Authorities and the Association of Chief Police Officers a new efficiency and productivity strategy for the police service. In pursuit of this strategy it is appropriate for forces and authorities to seek ways to improve the delivery of corporate service functions. This may include implementing internal improvements, exploring outsourcing, or collaborating with other forces and authorities, or with other organisations.
Migrant Workers: EC Enlargement
Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what estimate she has made of the number of self-employed workers from (a) Romania and (b) Bulgaria who arrived in Britain in 2007; [191194]
(2) how many seasonal agricultural workers' cards were issued to workers from (a) Romania and (b) Bulgaria in 2007; [191195]
(3) how many workers from (a) Romania and (b) Bulgaria were issued with a registration certificate in 2007. [191196]
Mr. Byrne: The Government publish quarterly figures on applications under the Accession (Immigration and Worker Authorisation) Regulations 2006 from Bulgarian and Romanian nationals. The publications provide a breakdown of the various schemes operating under the regulations.
The most recent publications, relating to the last quarter of 2007, were published on 26 February 2008. Each of the quarterly reports from 2007 are available on the Border and Immigration website:
Copies are available in the House Library.
Drinking Water
Mr. Peter Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many litres of bottled water were purchased by her Department in each of the last three years; and if she will make a statement. [191257]
Mr. Byrne: There are no central records of what volumes of bottled water are purchased by the Home Department. However our 2 Marsham Street HQ building purchased 7,500 litres during the 2006-07 financial year.
Offensive Weapons
James Brokenshire: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) warnings, (b) cautions and (c) charges have been brought against persons for possession of knives in each of the last 10 years. [194275]
Mr. Coaker: The number of persons given a final warning, caution, or 'proceeded against' at magistrates courts for offences involving the possession of knives in England and Wales for the years 1997 to 2006 is shown in the following table. Court proceedings data for 2007 will not be available until the autumn of 2008. Charging data is not held centrally, so information on the number of individuals proceeded against has been provided in lieu of charging data.
Police
Mr. Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what definition is used of (a) operational and (b) policy issues in relation to the police service and its accountability to local communities, with reference to Sir Ron Flanagan's review of policing. [174225]
Mr. McNulty: Day to day operational policing issues in forces are the responsibility of each Chief Constable, who is in turn responsible to that force's police authority for their conduct. The Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO), which represents Chief Officers, has defined best practice in areas such as recruitment practices and the conduct of certain kinds of operations. Policy on policing more generally is decided by the tripartite—the Home Secretary, Chief Officers and Police Authorities—in consultation. The final report of Sir Ronnie Flanagan's independent Review of Policing in England and Wales reinforced the importance of this distinction.
Police: Complaints
Mr. Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proportion of complaints against the police were (a) upheld, (b) dismissed and (c) dropped by the complainant in each year since 1997. [195699]
Mr. McNulty: The responsibility for the collation and publication of complaints against the police rests with the Independent Police Complaints Commission.
Police: Crime Prevention
James Brokenshire: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which (a) police forces and (b) other agencies will receive the portable knife arches and search wands referred to in her Department's Action Plan for Tackling Violence 2008-11. [194276]
Mr. Coaker: Search arches and wands are currently being supplied to the police in the Tackling Gangs Action Programme areas (London, Manchester, Birmingham and Liverpool) to supplement existing provision. We have committed to provide further search equipment to police and delivery partners across England and Wales over the next three years and arrangements for this are currently being finalised.
Police: Discipline
Mr. Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what progress she has made in implementing the Taylor review on police force discipline; and if she will make a statement. [195686]
Mr. McNulty: Much progress has been made and the new arrangements were recently approved by the Police Advisory Board for England and Wales. The new arrangements are designed to modernise the procedures for dealing with issues of misconduct and unsatisfactory performance in a proportionate and timely manner. The procedures are based on the ACAS principles for good employment practice. Provisions to enable the introduction of the new misconduct and unsatisfactory performance arrangements for all police officers in England and Wales are included in the Criminal Justice and Immigration Bill currently before Parliament. Once the Bill receives Royal Assent, the new Police (Conduct) Regulations 2008 and Police (Performance) Regulations 2008 that set out the detailed arrangements will be laid before Parliament to enable implementation of the new arrangements. Work is at an advanced stage with the National Police Improvement Agency to provide training to support the new arrangements.
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