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27 Apr 2009 : Column 1026W—continued
Departmental Assets
Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when her Department last reviewed its assets and land and property holdings with a view to identifying and disposing of surpluses. [269863]
Mr. Woolas: My Department's Estates and Sustainability Board approved a strategy for managing our estate in June 2008. The strategy enables us to maximise value for money through better use of the estate, and helps ensure that the estate evolves to most efficiently support departmental objectives.
Foreign Workers: EU Nationals
Mr. Davidson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when the worker registration scheme for nationals of Eastern European EU member states is due to expire; what options to extend it there are; whether the Government have taken a decision on an extension; and if she will make a statement. [265820]
Mr. Woolas: On 8 April I announced that the UK Government would retain the worker registration scheme for a further two years, subject to a review in 12 months’ time. This decision was taken following receipt of advice from the independent Migration Advisory Committee. Their report can be found at:
A copy will be placed in the House Library. Retaining WRS will help protect our labour market at this difficult time. It will also mean that the UK can continue to collect A8 data to determine whether further steps may be needed over the next two years to prevent disruption of the UK labour market.
Identity Cards: Disclosure of Information
Mr. Maude: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 12 January 2009, Official Report, columns 508-9W, on disclosure of information: identity cards, what steps she plans to take following the latest Information Tribunal ruling requiring the disclosure of the Gateway Review documents. [270147]
Mr. Woolas: The Identity and Passport Service and the Office of Government Commerce have published two Gateway Reviews documents on the Identity Cards programme.
Electronic copies of the two reports are available on the Identity and Passport Service website at:
Members: Correspondence
Sir Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she plans to reply to the letter of 18 February 2009 from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton, on Mr Alam Khan. [271020]
Jacqui Smith: I wrote to my right hon. Friend on 25 March 2009.
Sir Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she plans to reply to the letter of 25 February 2009 from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton, on Shahin Vasi. [271025]
Jacqui Smith: I wrote to my right hon. Friend on 17 March 2009.
Overseas Students
Jim Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps she takes to ensure that those in possession of overseas student visas continue to be enrolled students and work no more than 20 hours a week. [264452]
Mr. Woolas: Individuals granted leave to enter or remain in the UK must continue to meet the requirements under which that leave was granted and comply with any conditions attached to that grant of leave, including any restrictions on the amount and type of work they can do.
If a student fails to enrol on a course of study, or ceases attending, they may have their leave curtailed or a future application refused.
Educational establishments are encouraged to report non-enrolment or non-attendance to the UK Border Agency and a facility exists to provide this information on our website.
Under the new points-based system for migrants, educational establishments must be licensed by the UK Border Agency and, in order to retain their licence, comply with a number of duties. These include reporting to the UK Border Agency any overseas student who fails to enrol, or stops attending their approved course of study. Educational establishments who fail to comply with these duties will risk having their licence withdrawn and will not therefore be able to bring in overseas students under Tier 4.
Details of the new arrangements were published on our website:
on 9 March. A copy will be placed in the House Library.
Where a student is found to be in breach of these conditions there are a range of sanctions that the UK Border Agency can use, including fines, prosecution and removal. Those employers who knowingly allow overseas nationals to take employment without the appropriate immigration permission may be fined up to £10,000.
The Government are committed to tackling those people who abuse the immigration laws. To aid this we have focused over 1,000 additional immigration staff on enforcement duties including working with local employers and colleges to support compliance with sponsor obligations and the law.
Police: Bureaucracy
Mr. Sharma: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the remit is of the Police Independent Bureaucracy Champion; what work the Champion has taken since July 2008; and if she will make a statement. [269103]
Mr. Coaker: Jan Berry took up her role as the independent Reducing Bureaucracy Advocate on 1 October 2008 and she was asked to bring a fresh perspective to reducing unnecessary bureaucracy in policing. Her role is independent from the Home Office and she has been given a broad remit, specifically to drive forward the implementation of the bureaucracy reducing recommendations made by Sir Ronnie Flanagan; to challenge the Government and the police service to remove or reduce unnecessary bureaucracy; and to tackle risk aversion where it is preventing police officers from exercising their professional judgment.
Since her appointment, Jan Berry has established a Reducing Bureaucracy Practitioner Group, comprising frontline police officers and support staff, to analyse common procedures undertaken by frontline officers and staff with a view to reducing the bureaucracy involved in them. The group has already drawn up an initial list of processes for future analysis; including accident reporting, call handling, case building, custody, missing persons investigations and the use of force.
Jan Berry has met with a number of policing representatives, across all ranks, as well as colleagues from across the criminal justice system, to inform her consideration of the bureaucracy involved in policing. She has also held meetings with the Attorney-General, Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) and the Chief Prosecuting Solicitor to seek agreement to work towards a complimentary and integrated IT system across the whole of the CJS. She is also working with the DPP and conducting research into custody processes with a view to making recommendations for change.
Throughout her work to date Jan Berry has emphasised her view that removing paper processes will not in itself remove unnecessary bureaucracy and that there is a need to provide police officers with experience to make good decisions and to rebuild trust and confidence.
Her interim report, ‘Reducing Bureaucracy in Policing’, was published on 16 February 2009 and is available in the House Library. Her full report is expected in summer 2009.
Repatriation: Zimbabwe
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many Zimbabwean citizens were repatriated to Zimbabwe from the UK in 2008. [269485]
Mr. Woolas: In 2008, 375 Zimbabwean nationals were removed or voluntarily departed from the UK to Zimbabwe.
National Statistics on removals and voluntary departures in 2008 from the UK, by country of nationality and destination are published in the supplementary Excel Table I of the “Control of Immigration: Quarterly Statistical Summary United Kingdom Q4 2008” bulletin. Copies of this publication are available from the Library
of the House and the Home Office's Research, Development and Statistics website at:
Published statistics on immigration and asylum are available from the Library of the House and from the Home Office Research, Development and Statistics Directorate website at:
Terrorism: West Midlands
Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what her most recent assessment is of the effectiveness of anti-terror policing in the West Midlands. [270384]
Mr. Coaker: One of the UK's four counter-terrorism units is situated in the West Midlands. These are strategically located national assets which enhance and support the work of police forces by providing coordination and specialist support to deliver our counter-terrorism strategy. The unit has a broad operational capability incorporating intelligence, investigation and surveillance functions. As well as day-to-day prevention and disruption activity to counter the threat posed by terrorism, the unit has been responsible for a number of arrests and prosecutions under the Terrorism Act.
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
Afghanistan
Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of progress made in achieving the goals of the Afghanistan Compact. [270096]
Bill Rammell: The goals of the Afghan Compact, agreed in London in 2006, are wide-ranging, addressing security; governance, rule of law and human rights; and economic and social development.
Progress against these goals was reviewed at the Paris Conference on Afghanistan on 12 June 2008. Some important examples of progress highlighted at the Conference, were:
Afghanistan's first parliamentary elections in 36 years were held in September 2005.
27 per cent. of the seats in the Lower House of Parliament are now held by women.
Between 2002-3 and 2005-6 the economy grew by 42 per cent.
Almost six million children, a third of which are girls, are now in school compared to one million in 2001.
82 per cent. of Afghans now have access to basic healthcare, compared to 9 percent in 2002.
More information on the Paris Conference can be found at:
For a more recent UK overview of progress in Afghanistan, also addressing many of the themes in the Compact, please see the link following to the recent Foreign and Commonwealth Office Memorandum of
Evidence; submitted to the Foreign Affairs Committee as part of their Global Security Inquiry into Afghanistan:
Afghanistan: Peacekeeping Operations
Mr. Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what contribution the Government have made to the US Administration's strategy review of Afghanistan. [270549]
Bill Rammell [holding answer 22 April 2009]: As a key ally of the US, the UK provided assistance to a US-led review of American defence and security policy in the Greater Middle East and Central Asian area, including the secondment of Ministry of Defence, Foreign and Commonwealth Office and Department for International Development officials to contribute to this work.
I also refer the hon. Member to the answer my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Gillian Merron) gave on 26 November 2008, Official Report, columns 1795-96W.
Beijing
Mr. Heathcoat-Amory: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many visits were made by Ministers to Beijing in the financial year 2007-08. [269676]
Bill Rammell: There were 14 visits made by Ministers to Beijing in the financial year 2007-08. The following Minsters visited Beijing during this period:
Mr. Liam Byrne MP, Minister-Home Office: 19-21 April 2007
Right hon. John Prescott MP, Deputy Prime Minister: 22-24 April 2007
Right hon. Margaret Beckett MP, Foreign Secretary: 18-19 May 2007
Right hon. Douglas Alexander MP, Secretary of State For Transport: 4-7 June 2007
Lord Malloch Brown, Minister, Foreign and Commonwealth Office: 27-29 August2007
Mr. Liam Byrne MP, Minister Home Office: 8-10 October 2007
Right hon. John Denham MP, Secretary of State For Innovation, Universities and Skill: 28-30 October 2007
Ms Tessa Jowell MP, Minister for the Olympics: 11-15 November 2007
Lord Jones, Minister for Trade Promotion: 19-23 November 2007 and 17-19 January 2008
Right hon. John Hutton MP, Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform, BERR: 18-19 January 2008
Right hon. Gordon Brown MP, Prime Minister: 18-19 January 2008
Mr. Tom Harris MP, Minister, Department for Transport: 27 February - 2 March 2008
Right hon. David Miliband MP, Foreign Secretary: 24-29 February 2008
Burma: Arms Trade
John Battle: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what information his Department holds on which countries are the main arms suppliers to the Government of Burma. [271107]
Bill Rammell: We understand that the Burmese Government looks to procure military equipment from its traditional allies in the region. However, we do not collate or hold information on Burmese arms supplies or their sources.
John Battle: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with the Government of Japan on a global arms embargo against Burma. [271193]
Bill Rammell: The UK supports the imposition of a UN arms embargo but this would require the adoption of a Chapter VII resolution by the Security Council. The current composition of the UN Security Council makes a universal arms ban unlikely at the short term. We have had no recent discussions with Japan on the prospects for the imposition of a global arms embargo.
A strict EU arms embargo against Burma is already in place and we discourage all other arms producing countries from selling arms to Burma.
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