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25 Feb 2009 : Column 865W—continued
The data provided are based on locally-collated management information, which may be subject to change and does not represent published national statistics.
Entry Clearances: Marriage
Mr. Evennett: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many applications were made for marriage visas to enter the UK where the intended spouse was resident in the London Borough of Bexley in the last 12 months. [254804]
Mr. Woolas: In 2008, six applications for entry clearance as a fiancé, and a further 66 for entry clearance as a spouse, were received where the sponsor (ie the intended spouse or spouse) was resident in the London borough of Bexley.
This information is unpublished and should be treated as provisional.
Immigrants: Stop and Search
Mr. Rob Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) illegal and (b) legal immigrants were (i) stopped, (ii) searched and (iii) arrested by the police in each police authority area in each of the last five years. [258165]
Mr. Coaker: The information requested is not collected centrally.
Information on stops and searches and resultant arrests reported to the Home Office does not include information on the immigration status of persons searched.
Immigration: Peterborough
Mr. Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 29 January 2009, Official Report, column 819W, on immigration: Peterborough, how many of the 200 other non-EEA nationals were of each nationality; and if she will make a statement. [257965]
Mr. Woolas [Holding answer 25 February 2009]: The following table details the number, by nationality, of ‘Other non-EEA nationals’ in Peterborough who were awaiting a decision on their leave to remain application as at 15 January 2009 pursuant to the answer given on 29 January 2009, Official Report, column 819W.
| Nationality | No. Of Cases |
Mr. Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department at which location the UK Border Agency holds paper files on people resident in the administrative area of Peterborough City Council who are applying for indefinite leave to remain; and if she will make a statement. [257967]
Mr. Woolas [Holding answer 24 February 2009] : All files where an application for indefinite leave to remain is extant and requiring further work are sent to Beddington Cross in London for storage. Files are not held in the regional public enquiry office (PEO) as the team operates a fast turnaround policy for processing applications and therefore file storage is not required.
Asylum case files remain with individual caseowners until conclusion upon which they are sent to ‘layby’. It should be noted however that asylum cases will not be classed as applications for ILR as those granted status are given leave of up to five years after which ILR may or may not be granted.
All ILR application cases that are concluded are sent to ‘layby’; one central source is in Canning Town, Unit 3C, East London. Files sent to this location require no further work.
National Identity Register: Data Protection
Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether a person who has consented to share across Government information held on her Department’s database will be able to withdraw the consent. [258115]
Mr. Woolas: There is no single departmental database in the Home Office. If the Home Office is sharing personal information, including across Government, it needs to have a legal power to do so and it needs to be a lawful exercise of that power. The Home Office therefore needs to comply with the Data Protection Act 1998 when sharing personal information.
While consent is one of a number of conditions that can be relied on for data sharing to be considered fair and lawful under that Act, it is not the only condition, therefore the sharing of personal information can take place without the individual’s consent. However, if consent is being relied on to enable the data sharing to take place, an individual has the right to withdraw that consent. If consent is withdrawn and there is no other basis for the sharing then it would stop.
National Security: Data Protection
Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many certificates were issued under Section 28 of the Data Protection Act 1998 in (a) 2005, (b) 2006, (c) 2007 and (d) 2008; and if she will make a statement. [252513]
Mr. Woolas [holding answer 2 February 2009]: I can confirm the existence of one certificate signed by the Home Secretary, relating to Transport for London Traffic data signed in July 2007; and also of another signed in March 2008 relating to the Security Service. Copies of both these certificates have been placed in the Library in response to a parliamentary question from my hon. Friend the Member for Birmingham, Selly Oak (Lynne Jones) on 26 November 2008, Official Report, column 2277W.
In line with the established policy of successive governments when asked about national security matters, I can neither confirm nor deny whether these certificates represent all certificates.
Departmental Lobbying
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether Ministers in her Department received representations from (a) Lord Moonie, (b) Lord Taylor of Blackburn, (c) Lord Snape and (d) Lord Truscott in the last seven months. [255242]
Mr. Woolas: No ministers in my Department have received representations from (a) Lord Moonie, (b) Lord Taylor of Blackburn, (c) Lord Snape and (d) Lord Truscot in the last seven months.
Police: ICT
James Brokenshire: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what information is intended to be recorded via the Pentip computer system; and how the system is intended to be implemented by police forces. [253324]
Mr. Coaker: PentiP will provide a single national computer system and improved business processes for the processing of penalty notices. It will replace the existing VP/FPO systems that are used in most police forces and magistrates courts in England and Wales. It will enable them to process the various types of penalty notices more efficiently and effectively than is possible with the existing systems.
PentiP will record offence and offender information pertinent to the processing of the following disposal methods; penalty notices for disorder (PND), endorsable and non-endorsable road traffic offences, vehicle defect rectification scheme (VDRS), HO/RT1 and HO/RT2, national driver offender retraining schemes (NDORS), graduated fixed penalties (GFP), roadside deposits and verbal warnings.
The primary data items that will be recorded on PentiP are as follows:
Title
Name
Address
DOB
Gender
Ethnicity
Offence
Date of offence
Time of offence
Location of offence
Licence Number
Vehicle Plate Number
Vehicle make, model, colour
Vehicle defects
PentiP will be rolled out across police forces in England and Wales over a period of 12 months, commencing in September 2010.
Repatriation: Zimbabwe
Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if she will review her policy on assisting Zimbabwean nationals resident in the UK to return to their country of origin to take account of changes in the political situation in Zimbabwe. [257757]
Mr. Woolas: Zimbabweans have continued to return home voluntarily. Each returnee has been eligible for the basic voluntary assisted return and reintegration package to assist with their reintegration needs on return. This programme is implemented by the International Organisation for Migration (IOM).
We recognise that the economic situation within Zimbabwe presents major challenges to Zimbabwean returnees. In order to make a more effective contribution to sustainable return it was decided that with effect from 1 February 2009 the reintegration assistance available would be enhanced as follows:
A relocation grant increased from £500 to £1,000. This is given in sterling at the airport, before departure, where it can be converted into US dollars.
An in-kind business set-up grant increased from £2,000 to £3,000. £2,500 worth of assistance will be available initially to obtain supplies and a further £500 will be available after a six month review of individual circumstances.
Health education and advice as well as a supply of water purification tablets and a basic commodities and dry goods package.
The enhancement will be implemented for six months as a pilot project.
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