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13 Jan 2009 : Column 713W—continued


Table 2: Number of offenders cautioned( 1) under the 2004 Hunting Act, England and Wales, broken down by police force area, 2005( 2) to 2007( 3,4,5)
Force 2005 2006 2007

Kent

2

Merseyside

3

North Yorkshire

1

Northumbria

1

1

Thames Valley

1

Total

1

0

8

(1) From 1 June 2000 the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 came into force nationally and removed the use of cautions for persons under 18 and replaced them with reprimands and final warnings. These figures have been included in the totals.
(2) The 2004 Hunting Act came into force on 18 February 2005.
(3) The cautions statistics relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been cautioned for two or more offences at the same time the principal offence is the more serious offence.
(4) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the police. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used.
(5) Only police force areas (PFAs) with data have been included in the table—if a PFA has not been included assume nil data.

Identity Cards: Criminal Records

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether she plans to extend the requirement for airside workers to undergo basic criminal record checks in order to have an identity card to the rest of the population; and if she will make a statement. [241082]


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Meg Hillier: There are no current plans to extend the requirement to obtain an identity card that is proposed for airside workers, to all people who need a criminal record check.

The Identity Cards Act secondary legislation consultation paper, published on 21 November 2008, set out the planned roll out of identity cards under the National Identity scheme as follows:

Immigrants: Social Security Benefits

Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what entitlements to (a) NHS treatment, (b) social security benefits, (c) housing and (d) other services will be withdrawn from immigrants and other non-UK citizens by proposed legislation and measures under her Department's responsibility as set out in the Gracious Speech. [244116]

Mr. Woolas: We intend to introduce the Bill in the current session. Details will be confirmed in the Bill.

Immigration

Mr. Evennett: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people in (a) Bexley, (b) London and (c) England applied for leave to remain in the UK outside of immigration rules in each of the last five years; and how many did not have valid leave to remain at the time of their application. [243057]

Mr. Woolas: The following table shows the number of applications made each year, over the last five years for leave to remain in the United Kingdom outside of the Immigration Rules.

It is not possible to provide extract data on the number of applicants who did not have valid leave at the time of their application.

Applications raised during each year

2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 Total

England

21,595

23,540

22,420

28,210

25,485

22,300

143,550

London

8,940

9,350

8,205

9,685

9,415

7,835

53,430

Bexley

90

115

100

95

145

110

655

Notes:
Figures are rounded to nearest five and are in respect of main applicants.
Because of rounding figures may not add up to totals shown.
The figures quoted are not provided under national statistics protocols and have been derived from local management information and are therefore provisional and subject to change.

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Mr. Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the reasons are for the time taken to deal with the application for indefinite leave to remain of the constituent of the hon. Member for Torbay (Home Office reference: B2192246). [245101]

Mr. Woolas: I wrote to the hon. Member on 22 December 2008.

Mr. Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department for what reason her Department (a) has yet to make a decision on the immigration case of Mr W. H. of Aylesbury (reference: J1019588) following the representations from his solicitors on 20 October 2006 and (b) was unable, in its letter to the hon. Member for Aylesbury of 4 December 2008, to indicate any timescale for a decision. [245441]

Mr. Woolas: The UK Border Agency has yet to make a decision in this case and was unable to give any timescale for a decision in its letter to you of 4 December because the case does not fall into one of the priorities for conclusion.

The UK Border Agency will prioritise those individuals who may pose a risk to the public and then focus on those who can more easily be removed, those receiving support and those where it is likely that a decision will be made to allow the individual to remain in the UK. All cases will be dealt with on their individual merits and in accordance with these priorities.

Every effort is being made to deal with all cases as efficiently as possible and your constituent will be contacted via his representative as soon as a decision has been made on his case.

Immigration: Peterborough

Mr. Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many individuals were awaiting determination in respect of applications for indefinite leave to remain in postal areas (a) PE1, (b) PE2, (c) PE3 and (d) PE4 in each quarter since May 2005; and if she will make a statement. [246149]

Mr. Woolas [holding answer 12 January 2009]: This information is not centrally recorded and could be obtained at only disproportionate cost.

Members: Correspondence

Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department with reference to the answer of 26 November 2008, Official Report, column 2214W, on anti-semitism, when she plans to write to the hon. Member for Southend West; and if she will make a statement. [242694]

Mr. Alan Campbell: I wrote to the hon. Member for Southend West on 10 December 2008.

Migration Advisory Committee

Mr. Paul Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many staff are employed in organising the Migration Advisory Committee; and
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what estimate she has made of the Committee's running costs in (a) 2008-09, (b) 2009-10 and (c) 2010-11. [245691]

Mr. Woolas: The Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) itself consists of five members and two ex-officio members. The MAC is supported by a secretariat of 10 staff, nine of which are full-time and one part-time.

The MAC was awarded funding of £1.5 million for 2008-09, of which £670,000 was allocated for pay and allowances for committee and secretariat, and the majority of the remainder for research. The MAC's budget is set by the UK Border Agency. The UK Border Agency is currently reviewing plans and forecasts for 2009-10 and 2010-11 and we are unable to provide this information until these plans have been finalised and agreed by the UK Border Agency Board.

National Identity Register

Mr. Todd: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what (a) methodologies and (b) technology she plans to specify to secure the accuracy of amendments to the National Identity Register; and what accuracy rate is to be specified. [242246]

Meg Hillier: While there may be a need to make some corrections to the National Identity Register if information is found to have been recorded incorrectly, the majority of amendments will be at the request of the individual concerned and based on information that they have provided in relation to changes in their identity details, such as changes of name or address.

It is intended that secure remote authentication and biometric verification systems will be in place to verify an individual’s identity when an amendment is requested by an individual to his or her record on the National Identity Register. The Identity and Passport Service is in the process of procuring the systems that will enable the establishment of this service and the details and accuracy of these systems will depend on the final design proposed by the successful bidder.

National Retail Crime Steering Group

James Brokenshire: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many times the National Retail Crime Steering Group has met. [246854]

Mr. Alan Campbell: The National Retail Crime Steering Group was set up last year, following meetings between the then Director-General of the British Retail Consortium and my hon. Friend the Minister for Security, Counter-Terrorism, Crime and Policing (Mr. Coaker), to discuss the crime issues affecting the retail sector. The Group met for the first time on 24 July 2007, and has since met on 27 Feb 2008, and 12 November 2008. The Group meets twice a year.

Nurses: Zimbabwe

Mr. Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many work permits have been issued to (a) doctors and (b) nurses from Zimbabwe since 1 January 2008. [244300]


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Mr. Woolas: The following table provides information on work permits issued to Zimbabwean nationals. The figures relate to work permit applications granted both at initial consideration stage and those successful on review, for the period 1 January 2008 to 30 November 2008.

Caveats:

The term ‘work permit application’ includes all work permit application types—including work permit extensions, change of employment and technical changes to existing work permits—and therefore does not equate to the number of individuals to whom permits were issued.

The term doctors/nurses refers to the occupation description containing the word ‘nurse’ or ‘doctor’; and excludes persons admitted under the Highly Skilled Migrant programme or the points-based system.

These figures include applications made both in and out of country.

Nationality Doctor Nurses Total

Zimbabwe

10

1,100

1,110

Total

10

1,100

1,110

Note:
Figures are rounded to nearest 5. Because of rounding figures may not add up to totals shown.

The figures quoted are not provided under National Statistics protocols and have been derived from local management information and are therefore provisional and subject to change.

Offensive Weapons

Andrew Stunell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many people aged (a) 16 and under, (b) between 17 and 18, (c) between 18 and 21 and (d) 21 years were arrested for carrying firearms in (i) Stockport Metropolitan Borough, (ii) Greater Manchester and (iii) the North West in each of the last five years; [246072]

(2) how many people aged (a) 16 and under , (b) between 17 and 18, (c) between 18 and 21 and (d) 21 years were arrested for carrying knives in (i) Stockport Metropolitan Borough, (ii) Greater Manchester and (iii) the North West in each of the last five years. [246073]

Mr. Alan Campbell: The main arrests collection held by the Home Office covers arrests for recorded crime (notifiable offences) only, broken down at a main offence group level, covering categories such as violence against the person and robbery. From these centrally reported data we are not able to identify specific offences from within the main offence groups.

Under section 1 of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 (PACE) and section and 60 of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 police have the power of stop and search for offensive weapons and firearms. Information on the number of arrests as a result of the use of these powers for possession of firearms and offensive weapons (which includes knives) is provided in the following table.


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