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16 Mar 2009 : Column 915W—continued
Union Learning Fund
Mr. Maude: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills with reference to the answer to the hon. Member for Chichester of 18 February 2008, Official Report, column 396W, on the political levy, what funding his Department has provided to trades unions through the Union Learning Fund to promote awareness and understanding of trades union members' right to opt out of political funds. [258584]
Mr. Simon: The Union Learning Fund does not provide funding to trade unions to promote awareness of trade union members' right to opt out of political funds. Its primary objective is to help trade unions and their Union Learning Representatives drive up the demand for learning in the workplace.
There are now over 20,500 trained Union Learning Representatives who have helped more than 600,000 workers into learning since the Union Learning Fund was introduced. Over 200,000 were helped last year alone, many from those hard to reach groups who employers and training providers find it so difficult to engage with, including over 34,000 workers with poor basic literacy and numeracy skills.
With their real-life experience and credibility in the workplace, Union Learning Representatives inspire trust and foster ambition in others, giving them the confidence to seek new ways to improve their skills. They are making a big difference to the lives of working people right across the country, helping them to learn new skills and update existing ones and giving them a real stake in the future.
That is why we will continue to support the Union Learning Fund and unionlearn, the TUC's learning and skills organisation, to develop and promote the work of Union Learning Representatives so that by 2010 there will be 22,000 trained Union Learning Representatives helping over 250,000 workers back into learning each year.
Home Department
Asylum
Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the average length of time taken was to make a decision on the asylum claims of people in receipt of section 4 support in each of the last five years. [258001]
Mr. Woolas: Support under section 4 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 is available for failed asylum seekers who are temporarily prevented from leaving the United Kingdom through no fault of their own.
Information on the time taken to reach an initial decision on asylum applications made by people subsequently in receipt of section 4 support can be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Asylum: Detainees
Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many failed asylum seekers were detained in the immigration detention estate on 28 February 2009; [263202]
(2) how many people were detained in the immigration detention estate on 28 February 2009, broken down by nationality. [263203]
Mr. Woolas:
Published national statistics on persons (including those who had claimed asylum at some stage) held in detention solely under Immigration Act powers on a snapshot basis are published quarterly. Information on persons detained as at 27 December 2008 by country of nationality has been published in Table J of the Control of Immigration: Quarterly Statistical Summary, United Kingdom—4th Quarter 2008 supplementary
tables, which are available from the Library of the House and from the Home Office's Research, Development and Statistics website at:
Comparable information for March 2009 will be published on 20 May.
It is not possible to say, within these statistics, how many of the detainees are failed asylum seekers.
Asylum: Housing
Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many asylum seekers were living in National Asylum Support Service-funded dispersal accommodation on 1 January 2009. [263210]
Mr. Woolas: The National Asylum Support Service (NASS) no longer exists, although its functions continue to be exercised by the UK Border Agency.
Published statistics take a snapshot of asylum seekers supported at the end of the quarter. As at the end of December 2008, there were 25,145 asylum seekers recorded as supported in accommodation in the United Kingdom. This excludes any asylum seekers in initial accommodation and unaccompanied asylum seeking children.
Information on asylum support is published annually and quarterly in the Control of Immigration statistical bulletins. Copies of these publications are available from the Library of the House and from the Home Office Research, Development and Statistics Directorate website at:
Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many houses were rented by her Department under the National Asylum Support Service scheme on 1 January 2009. [263211]
Mr. Woolas: The National Asylum Support Service (NASS) no longer exists, although its functions continue to be exercised by the UK Border Agency. The UK Border Agency has 28 contracts with providers to supply accommodation for eligible asylum seekers. To collate the accommodation they provide to accommodate asylum seekers would be disproportionate cost.
Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much was spent on housing under the National Asylum Support Service scheme in 2008. [263212]
Mr. Woolas: The National Asylum Support Service no longer exists. Its functions have been taken by the UK Border Agency. In the calendar year 2008, the UK Border Agency and its predecessor the Border and Immigration Agency, spent £214 million on accommodation for asylum seekers.
Biometrics: Airports
Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many airports were using iris-recognition technology systems on 28 February 2009. [263198]
Mr. Woolas: Four airports, Heathrow, Gatwick, Manchester and Birmingham, were using IRIS technology systems on 28 February 2009.
British Nationality
Ms Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many citizenship ceremonies have been conducted in each (a) English region and (b) London local authority area in each of the last two years. [261861]
Mr. Woolas: The available data for 2006 and 2007 are given in the following table. Data for 2008 are scheduled for publication in May 2009.
Statistics on persons attending a British citizenship ceremony by region of the United Kingdom and authority 2006-07 are published in table 8 of the Home Office Statistical Bulletin “Persons Granted British Citizenship United Kingdom, 2007”. This publication may be obtained from the Library of the House and from the Home Office Research, Development and Statistics website at:
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