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29 Jan 2009 : Column 801W—continued

Drugs: Hillingdon

Mr. Randall: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many crack house closures there were in (a) Uxbridge constituency and (b) the London borough of Hillingdon in each of the last five years. [250772]

Mr. Alan Campbell: The Anti-Social Behaviour Act 2003 introduced the provision for police to serve a closure notice on any premises that is believed by the police to be used for the production, supply or use of Class A drugs, and which is causing serious nuisance or disorder.

The Home Office collects data on the number of closure orders issued through the voluntary Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnership (CDRP) survey of antisocial behaviour tools and powers. Latest available data from this survey cover the period from October 2003 to September 2007 and show that in the Hillingdon CDRP area no such orders were served in this period. Data are not collected at a parliamentary constituency level, although as the Uxbridge constituency is entirely within the Hillingdon CDRP area, there have also been no closure orders issued.

Data for 2007-08 will be published early in 2009.


29 Jan 2009 : Column 802W

Entry Clearances: China

Mr. Swayne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if she will place in the Library a copy of the guidance issued to staff for the purposes of determining tourist visa applications from applicants from mainland China; and if she will make a statement. [247908]

Mr. Woolas [ holding answer 27 January 2009]: All tourist visa applications are considered against paragraph 41 of the Immigration Rules for General Visitors. In addition to paragraph 41 of the Immigration Rules, Chinese tourist visitors seeking leave to enter under the approved destinations status (ADS) agreement with China will have their applications considered against paragraph 56G-56J of the immigration rules.

Chinese tourist visitors who apply under paragraph 56G-56J of the immigration rules are required to use an accredited ADS travel agent, of which there are over 60 throughout China.

All visa officers are subject to intensive training in the United Kingdom prior to overseas deployment to ensure they are able to assess all types of visa applications to enter the United Kingdom. The guidance used throughout this training period and subsequent reference material used by visa officers is substantial. All immigration rules, including those for paragraph 41 and 56G-56J, are publicly available and can be located on the internet. The section on Visit and Transit in Entry Clearance Guidance gives additional guidance to entry clearance officers for dealing with visit visa applications. This guidance can also be found on the internet.

Mr. Swayne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many applicants for visas from mainland China were refused visas in each of the last three years, broken down by category of refusal. [248117]

Mr. Woolas [ holding answer 27 January 2009]: The following table provides issue and refusal statistics per year for 2006, 2007 and 2008 broken down into categories for total applications received in mainland China at our embassy in Beijing and the Consulate-Generals in Shanghai, Chongqing and Guangzhou.


29 Jan 2009 : Column 803W

29 Jan 2009 : Column 804W
UK Border Agency Applications from m ainland China

Endorsement Applications i ssued Applications r efused Percentage i ssued

2006

EEA Family Permits

66

13

84

Family Visit

16,664

1,332

93

Other Non Settlement

1,787

185

91

Other Visitor

95,815

5,938

94

Settlement

1,259

204

86

Student

21,149

2,578

89

Transit

2,403

202

92

Work permit

5,115

512

91

Working Holiday Maker

11

5

69

Total

144,269

10,969

93

2007

EEA Family Permits

87

18

83

Family Visit

18,814

1,261

94

Other Non Settlement

2,209

212

91

Other Visitor

101,529

6,731

94

Settlement

1,274

267

83

Student

24,176

5,179

82

Transit

1,903

148

93

Work permit

4,519

411

92

Working Holiday Maker

13

7

65

Total

154,524

14,234

92

2008

EEA Family Permits

69

25

73

Family Visit

18,946

1,737

92

Other Non Settlement

4,269

388

92

Other Visitor

81,520

5,663

94

PBS Tier 1

357

196

65

PBS Tier 2

0

0

0

PBS Tier 5

0

0

0

Settlement

1,295

264

83

Student

28,274

9,159

76

Transit

1,091

140

89

Work permit

3,326

514

87

Working Holiday Maker

11

4

73

Total

139,158

18,090

88


Entry Clearances: Marriage

Mr. Todd: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many times application of the two-year rule has resulted in the removal of the right of a spouse to remain in the UK in the event of relationship failure in 2007-08; and what steps were taken following the application of the rule in each case. [250679]

Mr. Woolas: The specific data requested could be obtained by the detailed examination of individual case records only at disproportionate cost.

In order to qualify for settlement on the basis of marriage, an applicant must show that they are still married to the person they were admitted or granted an extension of stay to join and that relationship is subsisting. If the parties are no longer married or their relationship no longer subsists, the applicant will not meet the requirements of the immigration rules for settlement and the application will fall for refusal on this basis.

Foreign Workers

Mr. Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 13 January 2009, Official Report, columns 706-07W, on foreign workers, if she will break down the figures by year, and indicate the percentage of the relevant work force they constitute. [249751]

Mr. Woolas: The following tables provide information on the number of work permits approved and Worker Registration Scheme certificates issued by occupation category. We are unable to provide an indication of the percentage of the relevant work force they constitute as data are not held on the size of each work force.


29 Jan 2009 : Column 805W

29 Jan 2009 : Column 806W
Work permit approvals for the period 1 January 2000-30 September 2008
Occupation 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 Total

Acupuncturist

10

25

35

40

25

40

20

20

20

230

Assistant dentist

160

115

140

105

70

20

30

20

5

655

Assistant optometrist

0

(1)

(1)

(1)

0

0

0

(1)

0

5

Biomedical scientist

15

45

90

100

110

120

135

100

75

785

Chiropodist/podiatrist

10

10

5

5

5

(1)

(1)

(1)

(1)

45

Chiropractor

55

40

15

25

25

25

25

25

10

245

Dental anaesthetist

(1)

10

15

5

5

5

5

(1)

0

45

Dental nurse

0

20

40

40

40

100

60

45

40

380

Dental surgeon

195

260

275

225

160

175

215

155

120

1,785

Dietician

20

40

70

50

55

45

30

20

20

350

Doctor

0

840

2,440

3,265

4,315

3,880

3,035

910

750

19,435

Foundation programme doctor

0

0

0

0

0

0

355

220

130

705

Hospital consultant

0

30

75

140

170

95

80

50

50

690

Medical practitioner

580

940

605

410

205

95

55

35

55

2,975

Midwife

90

90

95

100

85

85

70

90

65

780

Nurse

15,040

24,265

28,640

29,490

29,095

22,580

13,615

8,520

7,060

178,305

Occupational therapist

115

165

250

205

235

250

180

155

120

1,680

Optician

90

120

105

90

90

75

80

45

30

735

Other health/medical occupation

3,345

3,800

7,005

10,670

13,670

10,030

6,495

3,350

2,470

60,845

Pharmacist

580

575

620

620

645

585

660

685

685

5,655

Physiotherapist

195

325

425

440

460

410

305

245

130

2,935

Psychiatrist

120

220

240

215

190

140

110

40

20

1,295

Psychologist

55

45

65

65

45

40

30

20

10

375

Radiographer

75

165

400

435

510

450

345

445

250

3,075

Senior carer

0

0

0

0

0

1,870

5,690

2,250

2,660

12,465

Senior house officer

0

0

0

0

0

0

640

345

55

1,045

Social worker

185

380

640

940

1,050

945

785

570

450

5,955

Specialist registrar

0

0

0

0

0

0

595

250

155

1,000

Speech therapist

50

80

70

65

40

45

35

35

15

440

Total

20,990

32,605

42,350

47,755

51,305

42,115

33,675

18,655

15,455

304,910

Note:
Work permit approvals 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 figures do not equate to the number of individual nationals because they include those applications approved to extend or amend an existing permit or where the individual has moved to another job with a different employer. Additionally, not all of those who are granted a permit take up the job, some may be refused entry clearance or further leave to remain.

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