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16 Jun 2008 : Column 676W—continued
Mr. Byrne: The UK Border Agency is aware of five flights where some passengers from international destinations entered the domestic arrivals area at Heathrow Terminal 5. The flights originated from Amsterdam, Berlin, Prague, Tripoli and Moscow. These instances occurred in the Terminal's first month of operation and there have been no further incidents in the following weeks.
All these incidents were a result of human error on the part of the employees of either British Airways or the British Airports Authority. When notified of these events UKBA staff worked closely with the airport operator to secure the domestic arrivals area and to redirect the passengers to the appropriate area.
On two occasions this was completely successful, but on the other three occasions a number of individuals left the domestic area prior to the error being identified. On these occasions, further checks were made which satisfied UKBA staff that the individuals who had entered did not present a known risk to the UK.
After each incident a review was conducted with both the British Airports Authority and British Airways and these reviews identified a number of ways to prevent such events from re-occurring. Since these steps were implemented the UKBA has monitored their effectiveness to ensure that further misdirections do not occur. In addition UKBA, the British Airports Authority and British Airways are continuing to carry out regular reviews.
Mrs. Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she was first informed that passengers from international flights landing at Heathrow Terminal 5 had been incorrectly processed through domestic arrival gates. [209270]
Mr. Byrne: All instances of international passengers being misdirected to domestic arrivals took place in Heathrow Terminal 5's first month of operation and there have been no further incidents in the following weeks. All of these incidents were a result of human error on the part of the employees of either British Airways or the British Airports Authority. The UK Border Agency was notified of these errors immediately after they were discovered and were able to take the appropriate remedial action and carry out the necessary immigration checks on these passengers.
When notified of these events UKBA staff worked closely with the airport operator to secure the domestic arrivals area and to redirect the passengers to the appropriate area.
On two occasions this was completely successful, but on the other three occasions a number of individuals left the domestic area prior to the error being identified. On these occasions, further checks were made which satisfied UKBA staff that the individuals who had entered did not present a known risk to the UK.
After each incident a review was conducted with both the British Airports Authority and British Airways and these reviews identified a number of ways to prevent such events from re-occurring. Since these steps were implemented the UKBA has monitored their effectiveness to ensure that further misdirections do not occur. In addition UKBA, the British Airports Authority and British Airways are continuing to carry out regular reviews.
Identity Cards: Foreigners
Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which biometrics will be used on the identity cards issued to foreign nationals from November 2008. [209973]
Mr. Byrne: The identity card for issue to foreign nationals from November 2008 will contain the holder's facial image and up to two fingerprints, all of which will be encrypted within a tamper-proof chip embedded in the card. The holder's facial image will be shown on the face of the card.
In total, we will record 11 biometric identifiers (a facial image and all 10 fingerprints) from each applicant, and store them centrally.
Illegal Immigrants
Mr. Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what her most recent estimate is of the number of illegal migrants in (a) Kettering, (b) Northamptonshire and (c) England. [209307]
Mr. Byrne [holding answer 6 June 2008]: 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.
Immigrants: Housing
Mr. Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 29 April 2008, Official Report, column 342W, on Immigration: Housing, what criteria have been established for (a) items of expenditure incurred by local authorities and (b) an agreed cohort of supported families cases. [208771]
Mr. Byrne: The UK Border Agency has issued instructions to local authorities as to the nature of expenditure which can be reclaimed.
Immigration: Uniforms
Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department with reference to the answer of 30 October 2007, Official Report, column 1261W, on Border and Immigration Agency: Uniforms, when she will write to the hon. Member for Ashford. [177559]
Mr. Byrne [holding answer 10 January 2008]: I wrote to the hon. Member on 28 May 2008.
Local Authorities: Asylum
Justine Greening: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 16 May 2008, Official Report, column 1798W, on local Authorities: Asylum, what funding her Department allocated from the Transitional Costs Fund in 2007-08, broken down by recipient local authority; how much has been allocated from the Fund for (a) 2008-09 and (b) 2009-10; and if she will make a statement. [208657]
Mr. Byrne [holding answer 5 June 2008]: The UK Border Agency is making available to local authorities limited sums from existing budgets in order to allow them to deal with additional transitory expenditure which they incur as a result of UKBA's programme to deal with outstanding claims for asylum. No payments have yet been made to local authorities. No funds have been allocated for 2009-10. The Home Affairs Select Committee is due to be updated later this month on the progress of the work to clear the backlog of older cases.
Justine Greening: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 16 May 2008, Official Report, column 1798W, on local authorities: asylum, how much her Department allocated to the Transitional Costs Fund in 2007-08; how much has been allocated for (a) 2008-09 and (b) 2009-10; and if she will make a statement. [208658]
Mr. Byrne [holding answer 5 June 2008]: The UK Border Agency (UKBA) is making available to local authorities limited sums from existing budgets in order to allow them to deal with additional transitory expenditure which they incur as a result of UKBA's programme to deal with outstanding claims for asylum. No payments have yet been made to local authorities; UKBA has established a panel to adjudicate on claims but, until that panel has met, it is not possible to provide reliable estimates of the likely cost. The panel is scheduled to hold its first adjudication meeting on 11 June. No funds have been allocated for 2009-10 as UKBA will only meet transitional costs arising from this programme. The Home Affairs Select Committee is due to be updated later this month on the progress of the programme.
Members: Correspondence
Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to her letter in response to Question 179071 on Mukhtar Ibrahim, when she will write to the hon. Member for Ashford with reference to Questions 156981, 150411 and 150410 on Mr. Ibrahim tabled on 30 October 2007. [206860]
Mr. Byrne [holding answer 20 May 2008]: I wrote to the hon. Member on 11 June 2008.
Damian Green:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to her letter in response to question 179071, on Mukhtar Ibrahim, when she will
write to the hon. Member for Ashford; and when she expects to answer the parliamentary questions on Mukhtar Ibrahim tabled by the hon. Member for Ashford on 16 July 2007. [193173]
Mr. Byrne [holding answer 12 March 2008]: I wrote to the hon. Member on 11 June 2008.
Migration Advisory Committee
Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many staff from her Department assist the Migration Advisory Committee; what their job titles and responsibilities are; and whether they assist the committee in a full-time capacity. [208992]
Mr. Byrne: The MAC has a dedicated secretariat of nine staff, eight of which are full time and one part time, some of whom are on secondment from Government Departments. The job titles and responsibilities are:
Head of Secretariat
Head of Policy
Head of Analysis
Assistant Economist
Senior Research Officer
Policy Leader (Stakeholder engagement)
Policy Leader (Visits and Finance)
Policy Developer (Correspondence and Office Manager).
Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the cost to the public purse has been of the Migration Advisory Committee and its staff, broken down by (a) salary, (b) accommodation, (c) consultant and external fees and (d) other costs. [209077]
Mr. Byrne: Funding for the Migration Advisory Committee for 2007-08 was £0.5 million. This sum reflected the fact that the committee and secretariat would not be fully functional until November 2007.
The funding included the cost of setting up the committee, the cost of operating the secretariat and the cost of committee members' series of regional visits across England Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland. These costs are estimated as follows:
| £ | |
For 2008-09, the committee and secretariat have been awarded funding of £1.5 million, projected to break down as follows:
| £ | |
Accommodation costs are met centrally.
Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many times the Migration Advisory Committee has met since February 2008. [209080]
Mr. Byrne: In addition to other activities, since February 2008 the Migration Advisory Committee has met formally on:
15 February 2008;
28 March 2008 (held in Scotland); and
2 May 2008.
The Committee will meet next on 20 June 2008 and 21 July 2008.
Offensive Weapons
Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many persons were arrested for an offence of possession of an offensive weapon or bladed article as a result of police usage of metal detection devices in the most recent period for which figures are available. [209301]
Mr. Coaker: Information collected centrally by the Ministry of Justice on number of persons arrested is based on aggregated data reported by the 43 police forces in England and Wales. From these data we are not able to determine the circumstances of an arrest.
Offensive Weapons: Lancashire
Mr. Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) firearms and (b) knives were seized by police in (i) Ribble Valley constituency and (ii) Lancashire in each of the last three years. [210907]
Mr. Coaker [holding answer 13 June 2008]: Information on firearms seizures is not collated centrally. However, the development and implementation of the National Ballistics Intelligence Database (part of the National Ballistics Intelligence Service) should provide information in future about firearms seized by police.
In 2003, a national firearms amnesty resulted in the surrender of 44,000 firearms and more than 1 million rounds of ammunition. The national knife amnesty, held from 24 May to 30 June 2006, saw almost 90,000 items handed in to police.
Offensive Weapons: West Midlands
Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent steps the Government has taken to reduce knife crime in the West Midlands. [209167]
Mr. Coaker [holding answer 10 June 2008]: The Government are implementing a range of actions to tackle knife crime across England and Wales.
On 5 June, the Government announced that anyone over the age of 16 caught in possession of a knife should expect to be prosecuted on the first offence. Those under 16 who commit offences without aggravating factors can still expect to receive a warning coupled with referral to a knife education scheme to help them understand the dangers and consequences of carrying knives, and reduce the chances of reoffending.
The Home Office also announced a targeted programme on the Tackling Gangs Action Programme model, working with police forces and local authority partners to tackle knife crime. £2 million has been allocated to support police partnerships in specific areas, including the West Midlands, which will include:
Increased use of searches, in targeted and intelligence-led operations, to complement the 100 new portable knife arches and 350 search wands brought in over the last three months.
Fast-tracking the ‘knife referral project’ in which all young people convicted of a knife offence but not receiving a custodial sentence attend a course to bring home the consequences of knife crime
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