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23 Mar 2009 : Column 117W—continued
Human Trafficking: Children
Margaret Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if she will make it her policy to use biometric identification of children to identify those trafficked into the UK. [250878]
Mr. Woolas: We are issuing identity cards for foreign nationals to children for the same purpose as adults. This is to provide more secure and reliable evidence of children’s immigration status and identity. By requiring children to be subject to the biometric registration provisions we are also able to fix their identities. This will help tackle child trafficking, as well as making it harder for those intending to exploit a child’s identity, for example, by placing a child into a family they claim to be theirs, for the purposes of fraudulently claiming public funds.
We will request DNA evidence from the guardians or carers who present with unaccompanied asylum seeking children to establish the credibility of claimed relationships in an attempt to stop child trafficking. This evidence or a failure to provide it will form part of the information we send to the police and Children’s (social) services where we suspect the child to be a trafficking victim. It can also be used as evidence towards an immigration application.
Illegal Immigrants
Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 29 January 2009, Official Report, column 818W, on illegal immigrants, what research has been (a) commissioned and (b) carried out by her Department on the likely number of illegal immigrants in the UK since the publication in 2001 of Home Office Online Report 29/05, Sizing the unauthorised (illegal) migrant population in the United Kingdom. [262366]
Jacqui Smith [holding answer 10 March 2009]: The Home Office has not commissioned or carried out any further research on the likely number of illegal immigrants in the UK since the Home Office Online Report 29/05, “Sizing the unauthorised (illegal) migrant population in the United Kingdom in 2001” was published in 2005.
We are determined to bear down on illegal immigration both on and after entry to the UK and as part of the Government’s 10-point plan for delivery by 2010 over 95 per cent. of non-EEA foreign nationals will be counted in and out of the country. This is part of a sweeping programme of border protection which also includes the global roll-out of fingerprint visas, watch-list checks for all travellers before they arrive or depart from the UK and ID cards for foreign nationals.
Illegal Immigrants: Arrests
Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many illegal immigrants were arrested in UK Border Agency operations conducted in (a) care homes, (b) hospitals, (c) higher education institutions, (d) schools and (e) childcare facilities in 2008; [263131]
(2) how many illegal immigrants were arrested in UK Border Agency operations on restaurants in 2008. [263219]
Mr. Woolas: The system on which the details of enforcement operations conducted by the UK Border Agency are recorded categorises the nature of the facility visited into one of several broad groups. Therefore, it is not possible to differentiate between hospitals and care homes without examination of individual records at disproportionate cost, as these are recorded together under one category (along with nursing homes); restaurants and takeaway food outlets are similarly categorised.
In 2008 there were a total of 58 enforcement visits made to hospitals, care homes and nursing homes, as a result of which 96 arrests of immigration offenders were made. In the same period, a total of 12 visits were made to colleges, and 18 immigration offenders were arrested as a result. There were no enforcement visits made to schools or child care facilities in 2008.
In 2008 there were a total of 1,685 enforcement visits made to restaurants and takeaway food outlets, as a result of which 3,168 arrests of immigration offenders were made.
These figures do not constitute part of National Statistics as they are based on internal management information. The information has not been quality assured under National Statistics protocols, and should be treated as provisional and is subject to change.
Illegal Immigrants: Deportation
Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what procedures her Department has put in place for the deportation of illegal immigrants; what (a) funding and (b) other resources her Department has provided for such procedures in the last 12 months; how much on average it cost to deport an illegal immigrant in 2008; how many people are awaiting a decision on deportation from her Department; and to which country the most illegal immigrants have been deported in the last 12 months. [263556]
Mr. Woolas: The procedures the UK Border Agency has in place for the removal and deportation of all categories of immigration offenders are set out in the Enforcement Instructions and Guidance (EIG) manual available to view on the UK Border Agency website via the link below. Procedures for deportation can be found in chapters 11-15; illegal entrants at chapter 47 and those subject to administrative removal at chapters 50 and 51. This is a ‘live’ document which is subject to constant change.
Appendix A of the UK Border Agency business plan for April 2008-March 2011 contains a table which shows the overall budget allocation and staffing plans for the agency for the current financial year. This document is available to view in the Library of the House and at the following website:
There are many staff involved, including seconded police officers, in the enforcement process across the UK Border Agency and the funding and other resources in place to support the removals process can not be disaggregated from the overall budget and resources. However, UK Border Agency plans for enforcing the immigrations laws including removing the most harmful first and the additional resources put in place to support enforcement and compliance activities are set out in the enforcement business plan, ‘Enforcing the Deal’, copies of which are available to view in the Library of the House and at the following web-link:
The UK Border Agency is not able to provide the average cost of a removal because there are many different factors which may or may not be involved in the cost of a case (such as detention costs, travel costs, and the cost of escorting the individual in question). We are therefore unable to disaggregate the specific costs and any attempt to do so would incur disproportionate cost.
However, the National Audit Office (NAO) gave a breakdown of what it costs to enforce the removal of a failed asylum seeker in appendix 2 of their report “Returning Failed Asylum applicants”, published on 19 July 2005. In this they estimated the average cost of an enforced removal as being £11,000. This report has since been superseded by their report “Management of Asylum Applications by the UK Border Agency” which was published on 23 January 2009. This does not give a single average figure for the cost of removal but instead (on page 36 of the report) breaks it down into upper- and lower-end estimates for a range of people in different circumstances (for example, a single undetained adult who is removed after exhausting his/her appeal rights, the cost range given is between £7,900 and £17,000 excluding accommodation and support costs, and between £12,000 and £25,600 including accommodation and support costs). This report is available to view at the following website:
http://www.nao.org.uk/publications/0809/management_of _asylum_appl.aspx
There is no central pool of information on the numbers awaiting a removal/deportation decision on their case and this information could be obtained by the detailed examination of individual case records only at disproportionate cost.
The destination country to which the most number of people were removed or departed voluntarily from the UK in 2008 was France; this includes non-asylum cases refused entry at port (including cases dealt with at juxtaposed controls) and subsequently removed. Excluding such cases, the destination country to which the most number of people were removed or departed voluntarily from the UK in 2008 was India. This is the latest 12 month period for which published statistics are available; the information is provisional.
The Home Office publishes statistics on the number of persons removed and departed voluntarily from the UK, broken down by destination, on a quarterly and annual basis. National Statistics on immigration and asylum are placed in the Library of the House and are available from the Home Office’s Research, Development and Statistics website at:
Immigration
Mr. Blunkett: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if she will investigate the loss of correspondence regarding the case of Mrs Arwa Alansi, Home Office reference: R1145376 and CTS M17617/8 and the effect of that loss on the time taken to resolve the case; if she will take account of that delay in deciding on the timescale for potential removal action undertaken in the case; and if she will make a statement. [264816]
Mr. Woolas: I will write to the right hon. Gentleman.
Immigration Controls: Freight
Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she plans to launch her Department’s consultation on the authority-to-carry scheme. [264188]
Mr. Woolas: The Government have committed to a full consultation period on the introduction of an Authority to Carry Scheme (ATC). This consultation period will be launched in due course following the completion of ongoing development work and initial discussions with stakeholders.
The introduction of an ATC Scheme will only be brought forward for parliamentary approval, once the full 12 week consultation period with all stakeholders has taken place.
Members: Correspondence
Sir Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she expects to reply to the letter dated 21 January 2009 from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton on the All Party Dance Group. [263651]
Jacqui Smith: I wrote to my right hon. Friend on 16 March 2009.
Police: Translation Services
Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how much her Department spent on reimbursing police forces for translation services in 2008; [263217]
(2) how much her Department spent on reimbursing police forces for the detention of illegal immigrants in 2008. [263218]
Mr. Woolas: The following table sets out the recharge payments made to police forces in the last two financial years. Final costs for 2008-09 are not yet available.
| Police detention costs | |
| £000 | |
The figures above include translation costs. We are unable to split out these costs as they are included in the final invoice received from each force.
Sexual Offences
Chris Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment she has made of trends in the extent of under-recording of rape against women over the last 10 years. [260933]
Jacqui Smith: Home Office Counting Rules (HOCR) provide guidance to police forces about how crime reported to the police should be recorded and detected. The HOCR were updated in 2004 to reflect changes made to legislation governing sexual offences in the Sexual Offences Act 2003. This change in recording practice means that direct comparisons between reporting rates over the last 10 years cannot be made.
Sexual Offences: Forensic Science
Chris Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proportion of rape complainants were offered a forensic examination in the last five years, broken down by (a) police force area and (b) rural/urban areas. [260929]
Jacqui Smith: The Home Office do not collect this information.
Standing Advisory Committees
Chris Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 23 February 2009, Official Report, columns 185-6W, on standing advisory committees, how many current members of her Department’s science advisory committee have taken part in projects in the capacity of key researcher. [260042]
Jacqui Smith: The Home Office do not centrally hold information about all the personnel involved in research projects it commissions.
Theft: Motor Vehicles
Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many incidents of vehicles being stolen during (a) robberies and (b) domestic burglaries have been recorded by each police force in each of the last five years. [262389]
Jacqui Smith: The available information is given in the following table. Statistics relating to the number of recorded offences of vehicles stolen during robberies or domestic burglaries are only available for 2007-08.
These data are normally used for management information only and are not subject to the detailed checks that apply for National Statistics. The data are provisional and may be subject to change.
The Policing Green Paper announced that Sir David Normington, Permanent Secretary to the Home Office, would lead a review of the strategic data collection burden placed by the Home Office on police forces in England and Wales. Sir David's report was published on 16 February. As a result, the Home Office propose to cease the collection of data on vehicles stolen during robberies and domestic burglaries during Phase 2 between 1 April 2009 to 31 March 2010.
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