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25 Feb 2009 : Column 862W—continued
Asylum: Standards
Mr. Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the performance figures for the asylum tipping point target were for each quarter since 2004. [257387]
Mr. Woolas [holding answer 23 February 2009]: Levels of unfounded asylum applications and whether the tipping point target has been met in each quarter of 2004, 2005 and 2006 can be found on the UK Border Agency website at the following address:
Annual performance for 2007 was also published on the UK Border Agency website in November 2008.
Asylum: Zimbabwe
Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate she has made of the number of Zimbabwean nationals resident in the UK (a) in total and (b) with (i) asylum seeker status or exceptional leave to remain and (ii) a valid visa or other form of permission on the latest date for which figures are available. [257756]
Mr. Woolas: The Office for National Statistics collects data on nationality through the Annual Population Survey (APS). Estimates from the APS for the April 2007 to March 2008 period show that there were 63,000 Zimbabwean nationals in the UK.
Information is not available from the Home Office on Zimbabwean nationals in the UK (b) with (i) asylum seeker status or exceptional leave to remain and (ii) a valid visa or other form of permission as a person may leave the UK voluntarily without informing the UK Border Agency.
Information on immigration and asylum flows is published annually and quarterly and is available from the Library of the House and from the Home Office Research, Development and Statistics Directorate website at:
Departmental Sick Leave
Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many staff in her Department were recorded as having been on sick leave for over 12 months on 31 December in each of the last five years. [256629]
Mr. Woolas: The Home Office management information databases do not record sickness information in the form requested and to obtain it would incur a disproportionate cost.
Deportation: Peterborough
Mr. Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people who previously resided in the Peterborough City Council area and had no legal basis to remain in the United Kingdom were deported in the three months up to September 2008; and if she will make a statement. [257966]
Mr. Woolas [holding answer 24 February 2009]: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 10 February 2009, Official Report, column 1830W, in which he asked a similar question. The information could be obtained only by detailed examination of individual records at disproportionate cost.
Entry Clearances
Mr. Hands: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what visa application procedures are in place for visitors from (a) Croatia, (b) Serbia, (c) Montenegro, (d) Macedonia and (e) Bosnia-Herzegovina. [254798]
Mr. Woolas: Nationals of Croatia are non-visa nationals and therefore not required to obtain entry clearance before visiting the UK. Nationals of Serbia, Montenegro, Macedonia and Bosnia-Herzegovina are visa nationals and must apply for entry clearance and be issued with a visa before travelling to the UK for a visit or any other purpose.
Mr. Hands: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether she plans to change the visa application procedures for visitors from (a) Serbia and (b) Macedonia. [254799]
Mr. Woolas: The Home Secretary recently announced the outcome of the UK’s first global review of its visa regimes. No changes were proposed to the visa requirements for nationals of either Serbia or Macedonia.
Mr. Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many applications for visas were approved under the (a) International Graduates Scheme, (b) Science and Engineering Graduates Scheme and (c) Working in Scotland Scheme (Fresh Talent) in 2008; and how many dependants were included in such visas in each category. [257365]
Mr. Woolas [holding answer 23 February 2009]: The number of visas issued in 2008 to participants in these schemes is shown in the following table. We cannot state how many visas were issued to dependents of those who have entered in these specific employment categories. This is because they are admitted under the same provision in the immigration rules as dependents of those entering in other employment categories, and separate records are therefore not kept.
Entry Clearances: EU Countries
Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many EU nationals from each other EU member state have been refused entry into the UK on the grounds that their presence would threaten public safety in each of the last five years. [258252]
Mr. Woolas: The following table shows the total number of EU and EEA nationals who have been refused admission into the UK since 2004, under regulation 19 of the Immigration (EEA) Regulations 2006, on the grounds that their presence would threaten public policy, public security or public health.
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