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12 Nov 2008 : Column 1216W—continued
Departmental Public Expenditure
Mr. Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department for what losses which it incurred her Department was granted Treasury approval in each of the last five years. [234453]
Mr. Woolas: The Home Office has not incurred losses that were in excess of delegated authority in any of the last five years. As such, no Treasury approval was required.
Dungavel Detention Centre
Jo Swinson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many and what proportion of individuals held at Dungavel detention centre in each of the last five years had criminal records in respect of offences committed (a) in the UK and (b) overseas. [232799]
Mr. Woolas [holding answer 3 November 2008]: We do not hold this data centrally and to provide them would require each detainee’s file to be inspected independently which would be at disproportionate cost. All detainees are, however, risk assessed before being transferred to Dungavel Immigration Removal Centre, which includes a check against the police national computer to highlight criminal records and any other known risk factors.
Genetics: Databases
Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what race equality impact assessment has been made of the national DNA database. [195732]
Mr. Alan Campbell: A stage 1 equality impact assessment (EIA) of the National DNA database (NDNAD) was conducted by the National Policing Improvement Agency (NPIA) in June-July 2007. This was an initial screening process to identify any potential equality issues in NDNAD processes. It made a number of recommendations which are being progressed by a working group comprising NPIA officials and representatives from the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) and the NDNAD Ethics Group. It also recommended that the EIA should be reviewed after further information had been gathered in 12 months’ time.
The NPIA also carried out an initial stage 1 equality impact assessment of the ACPO DNA Good Practice Guide in June 2007. The ACPO guide provides good practice guidance for police forces on the use of DNA, including the taking of DNA samples from persons in custody. The stage 1 EIA made 10 recommendations which are also currently under consideration by the working group.
The working group has met several times since early autumn 2007. It has considered all the recommendations from both stage 1 EIAs and future action required. This consideration initiated the stage 2 EIA review process which is on-going, looking at any potential equality issues which were identified in greater depth. Work on some of the actions has been completed, but work on the majority is still in progress.
Copies of the two stage 1 assessments have been placed in the Library. It is anticipated that the stage 2 assessments will be available in December 2008. Copies of the stage 2 EIAs will be published on the NPIA website in late 2008 or early 2009.
Immigration
John Hemming: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if she will bring forward proposals to enable parents of dependent children, where the children are UK citizens and the parents foreign nationals, to work. [233729]
Mr. Woolas: A parent of a child who is a British citizen is entitled to work in the UK if they have been granted leave on the basis of employment; leave on the basis of their relationship with a British citizen or settled person; leave as a student, provided they work only part-time during term time or full-time during vacations; discretionary leave, refugee status or humanitarian protection; or indefinite leave to remain.
In addition, an asylum applicant may apply for permission to take up employment if a decision at first instance has not been taken on the applicant's asylum application within one year of the date on which it was recorded. The application to take employment will be considered only if the delay in reaching a decision cannot be attributed to the applicant. If permission to work is granted, this precludes self-employment, business or professional activity.
National Asylum Support Service Policy Bulletin 85
Mr. Gerrard: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department for what reason the National Asylum Support Service Policy Bulletin 85 does not apply to failed asylum seekers (a) in receipt of Section 4 support and (b) without dependent children. [233767]
Mr. Woolas: Policy Bulletin 85 (Dispersing Asylum Seekers with Health Care Needs) does not apply to supported persons in receipt of support under section 4 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999, because the policy bulletin was published in December 2005, which was before we dispersed those in receipt of section 4 support. Policy Bulletin 85 will be replaced by a new asylum instruction which will cover those in receipt of section 4 support. The new asylum instruction has already been consulted on and the UK Border Agency aims to publish the new instruction before the end of the year.
The principles set out in Policy Bulletin 85 on health care similarly apply to the dispersal of those granted support under section 4, regardless of whether there are dependants. Information on the dispersal of section 4 supported persons is set out within policy bulletin 31 (Dispersal Guidelines) and in the Section 4 Support Asylum Instruction. Information on health treatment available to refused asylum seekers is set out within the Section 4 “Frequently Asked Questions” guidance document.
Plain English
Mr. Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much her Department paid to the Plain English Campaign for (a) corporate membership fees, (b) additional training for officials, (c) use of the Approved by Plain English Campaign mark on documents, (d) use of the Internet Crystal Mark on her Department’s website and (e) other fees in each year since 1997-98. [234450]
Mr. Woolas: The Home Office has held corporate membership of the Plain English Campaign since 2000 and Life membership since 2006. The following table provides available information on the payments made to the Plain English Campaign since 2000. A more detailed breakdown of expenditure could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
| £ | ||
| Corporate membership | Other | |
| n/a = Not available (1) Over the five year period | ||
UK Border Agency: Lost Property
Dr. Iddon: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether compensation is given or dispensation made to an applicant when the UK Border Agency accepts that it has misplaced or lost their file. [234022]
Mr. Woolas: The UK Border Agency will consider paying compensation for the financial loss of reasonable costs necessarily incurred by an individual as a consequence of documents being lost while being processed by the Agency.
Dr. Iddon: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what happens to the case of an applicant when the UK Border Agency accepts that it has permanently lost the applicant’s file. [234023]
Mr. Woolas: The UK Border Agency decides on a case by case basis what measures are required to address any loss of an applicant’s file.
Dr. Iddon: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many files relating to applications for leave to remain have been lost in transit between units of the UK Border Agency in the last three years. [234024]
Mr. Woolas: The information is not available in the form requested.
The UK Border Agency maintains a rolling programme of locating files, and parts of files, which have been identified as lost. On 10 November there were 17,208 principal files recorded as lost which is approximately 0.2 per cent. of the overall file holding.
Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Airwave Service
Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what organisations for which his Department is responsible (a) use and (b) are planning to use Airwave handsets. [234702]
Huw Irranca-Davies: We are not aware of any organisation for which the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs is responsible that (a) use or (b) plan to use Airwave handsets.
Animals: Diseases
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent discussions he has had with the Department of Health on the interrelationships between animal and human disease; and what diseases have been discussed. [233875]
Jane Kennedy: DEFRA and its agencies are involved in many cross government committees which include representatives from the Department of Health (DH) and its agencies. These committees facilitate discussion on human and animal related diseases of both domestic and international importance. This collaboration enables informed decisions to be made regarding planning and control, horizon scanning for new and emerging diseases and the development and implementation of various cross-government strategies.
Recent collaborations between DEFRA, the DH and their agencies include investigations into the recent outbreak of Avian Influenza in Dorset and Suffolk, co-ordinating West Nile Virus surveillance activities of both humans and wild birds, management of the Salmonella National Control Programme, and developing public health evidence to support current UK tick and tapeworm control measures.
In response to the October Anthrax incident, DEFRA is working closely with the Health Protection Agency, the DH and local authorities to ensure effective containment measures are in place and subsequent investigations carried out. DEFRA is also collaborating with the Health and Safety Executive on the National Bovine TB strategy, and surveillance of Q-Fever in the UK.
BSE: Disease Control
Mr. Roger Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when his Department expects to be able to provide a surveillance system to identify bovine spongiform encephalopathies and other transmissible spongiform encephalopathies in slaughtered cattle and fallen stock. [233427]
Jane Kennedy: DEFRA tested over 394,000 cattle for bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) in Great Britain in 2007, including all suspected BSE cases, all fallen stock aged over-24-months and all healthy slaughtered cattle aged over-30-months. This testing identified 53 BSE cases, at a cost of over £55 million. DEFRA has produced a report on BSE surveillance for the Food Standards Agency. The report will be published on the DEFRA website.
Carbon Emissions: Construction
Mr. Bone: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment he has made of the environmental effects of actions required to meet the target of building three million new homes by 2020. [233728]
Mr. Iain Wright: I have been asked to reply.
The Housing Green Paper ‘Homes for the future: more affordable, more sustainable’ (published in July 2007) outlined the Government’s plans to achieve higher housing supply targets. It also set out a range of actions to address the challenge of climate change and to protect the environment. The Housing Green Paper was subject to an impact assessment, which includes a specific impact test on sustainable development, carbon assessment and other environmental assessments. This was published alongside the Housing Green Paper and its sister documents. These documents have been placed in the House Library.
It is for regional spatial strategies to determine the appropriate level of housing growth and the best location
for it in their region. A sustainability appraisal, incorporating a strategic environmental assessment, is part of the process of preparing regional spatial strategies.
Common Agricultural Policy
Mr. Paice: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the estimated value was of direct aid under the Common Agricultural Policy in each of the last five years, broken down by product; and by what date this support will be phased out in each case, where applicable. [230869]
Jane Kennedy: The European Commission list direct aid amounts as presented in table 1. Only some of this support is coupled, as table 1 makes clear.
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