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1 Jun 2009 : Column 160W—continued
Entry Clearances: Biometrics
Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which British embassies in Africa have the ability to collect biometric data. [273742]
Mr. Woolas: A total of 31 UK diplomatic missions and UK visa application centres in Africa have the ability to collect biometric data. They are located in the countries listed as follows. Where there is more than one biometric collection point, the number is shown in brackets.
Algeria
Angola
Botswana
Cameroon
Congo
Egypt (2)
Ethiopia
Gambia
Kenya
Libya
Malawi
Morocco
Mozambique
Namibia
Nigeria (4)
Rwanda
South Africa (4)
Sudan
Tunisia
Uganda
Zambia
Zimbabwe.
Fines
Mr. Dunne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what percentage of fines issued in each police force area under (a) fixed penalty notices and (b) penalty notices for disorder have been collected in each year since 1997-98. [266156]
Mr. Coaker [holding answer 24 March 2009]: Information on the outcomes (including payment rates) of fixed penalty notices for motoring offences in 2006 and 2007 (latest available) are provided in tables 1 and 2 placed in the House Library.
Information for the years 1997 to 2005 can be found in the annual Home Office publication ‘Offences relating to motor vehicles, England and Wales, Supplementary tables’—Tables 21(a) and 21(b) refer. Copies are available in the Library of the House.
The number of penalty notices for disorder (PNDs) issued to persons aged 16 and over in each police force area in England and Wales which were paid within the 21 day Suspended Enforcement Period (SEP) and registered as fines for non-payment, by type of offence from 2004 to 2007 (latest available) are shown in tables 3 to 6 placed in the House Library. 21 days is the minimum period before which forces can register a fine against the recipient for not responding to a notice, so forces can accept payments after the SEP for administrative purposes. It is not possible to identify the payment rate of fines arising from unpaid PNDs separately from other court-imposed fines. However, the latest enforcement rate for all fines including those from unpaid PNDs, is 85.2 per cent. for the period April to December 2008.
PNDs were implemented in all 43 forces in England and Wales in 2004.
PND data for 2008 will be available in the autumn of 2009.
Fraud: Banks
Mr. Vaizey: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if she will commission an inquiry into allegations of fraud committed by banks against their customers. [265684]
Mr. Alan Campbell [holding answer 23 March 2009]: The investigation of alleged criminal offences is an operational matter for which the police are responsible. Anyone who has evidence of a fraud being committed should therefore report the matter to the police without delay.
The Government have recently improved the enforcement capacity for fraud by allocating extra funding to the City of London police to enable that force to take on the most serious and complex fraud cases across England and Wales. The force will also provide assistance and training for local forces investigating complex fraud cases.
Fraud: Credit Cards
Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps her Department has taken to reduce the level of credit card fraud in Coventry in the last 12 months. [276689]
Mr. Alan Campbell: The Government take all fraud seriously wherever it is perpetrated, which is why we have allocated £29 million in new funding over three years to implement the National Fraud Programme which includes establishing a National Fraud Authority; a National Fraud Reporting Centre and a National Lead Force for investigating serious and complex fraud. The National Fraud Authority which brings together Government, law enforcement and industry representatives, became operational in October last year and on 19 March published the first National Fraud Strategy which will benefit all areas of the country. The National Fraud Reporting Centre will equip law enforcement agencies with a powerful intelligence tool, enabling the police to collate information from fraud cases across the country, leading to better intelligence and hence better targeted operations, as well as better prevention advice for businesses and the public. In its rote as national lead force, City of London Police will tackle serious and complex fraud wherever it occurs and assist other police forces by offering training and best practice advice.
On plastic card fraud specifically, we work closely with the card industry to encourage wider adoption by retailers and cardholders of new anti fraud initiatives and were, for example, pleased to support the industry’s Be Card Smart public education campaign last Christmas.
Heroin
Mr. Ancram: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proportion of heroin apprehended in the UK was of (a) South American and (b) Afghanistani and Pakistani origin in each of the last three years. [276253]
Mr. Alan Campbell: The Serious Organised Crime Agency estimates that over 90 per cent. of the heroin which reaches the UK is derived from Afghan opium. The remainder is from areas including south east Asia. There is little evidence of heroin of south American origin reaching the UK market.
Mr. Ancram: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate she has made of the proportion of heroin apprehended in the UK in each of the last three years which had been transported through (a) Somalia and (b) other African countries. [276254]
Mr. Alan Campbell: Most heroin that reaches the UK is routed overland from Afghanistan to Europe or from Pakistan directly to the UK. There is little evidence of heroin, destined for UK markets, being transported through Somalia or other African countries.
Hezbollah
Mrs. Ellman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if she will prevent the Hezbollah spokesperson Ibrahim Moussawi from entering the United Kingdom. [263410]
Mr. Woolas [holding answer 13 March 2009]: Mr. Moussawi was refused a visa on the grounds that his presence in the UK would not be conducive to the public good, in particular because it would increase tension between the Jewish and Muslim communities.
Hotels
Mr. Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much (a) her Department and (b) each of its agencies spent on hotel and other similar privately provided accommodation (i) in the UK and (ii) abroad in 2008-09. [269690]
Mr. Woolas: The requested information is set out in the table. It covers the hotel accommodation of around 25,300 staff.
| Expenditure in accommodation | |||
| £000 | |||
| Home Office, including UK Borders Agency | Identity and Passport Service | Criminal Records Bureau | |
Criminal Records Bureau cannot analyse UK or Overseas expenditure, without incurring disproportionate cost.
The Department expects all official travel, and the associated accommodation, to be undertaken by the most efficient and economic means available, taking into account the cost of travel and subsistence, savings in official time, management benefit, and the needs of staff with disabilities. This is in accordance with the Civil Service Management Code and the Ministerial Code.
Identity Cards: Airports
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what discussions she has had with the union Prospect on the decision to introduce compulsory identity cards for airside workers in the aviation sector. [275793]
Mr. Woolas: The Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department, my hon. Friend the Member for Hackney, South and Shoreditch (Meg Hillier) met with union representatives, led by the TUC and including Prospect, to discuss identity cards for airside workers on 10 September 2008.
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate she has made of the number of airside workers at each airport who will be required to carry identity cards once the pilot schemes are implemented nationally. [275794]
Mr. Woolas: We have agreed with Manchester and London City airports that the initial requirement to obtain an identity card will be placed on new airside workers only. Therefore the number of identity cards issued will depend on the levels of recruitment taking place at the airport for new airside employees.
The wider UK population will have the opportunity to apply for identity cards from 2011-12 when we start to enrol British citizens at high volumes, offering a choice of receiving a separate identity card, passport or both. Currently, over 5 million passports are issued per year.
The Identity Cards Act 2006 specifically prohibits making the carrying of an identity card compulsory.
Identity Cards: Local Government
Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the functions will be of local authorities in the trials of identity cards in beacon areas. [271230]
Mr. Woolas: As announced on 6 May 2009, residents of Greater Manchester (the city’s 10 boroughs) will be the first British citizens to be able to apply for a voluntary ID card from autumn 2009.
The precise details of the role that local authorities might play in the future rollout of ID cards in any chosen geographical location have yet to be determined, bearing in mind the need to make use of existing assets and infrastructure, where appropriate, to deliver the National Identity Service.
Illegal Immigrants
Mr. Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent assessment she has made of the effectiveness of measures to remove illegal immigrants from the UK. [275896]
Mr. Woolas [holding answer 15 May 2009]: The UK Border Agency is continuing in its large-scale modernisation programme to improve the effectiveness of its border and immigration control. These include increasing the security of our borders through the e-Borders system; starting the roll-out of local immigration teams; and introducing a new system of civil penalties for those employing illegal migrant workers—changes which are designed to make the UK harder to enter illegally, harder to stay in illegally, and less attractive to potential illegal migrants in the first place.
The Home Office publishes statistics on the number of persons removed and departed voluntarily from the UK, 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:
In 2008, these published statistics show that 66,275 people were removed or departed voluntarily from the UK, an increase of 5 per cent. from 2007 (63,365). In addition, the UK Border Agency deported nearly 5,400 foreign criminals, a record performance.
This is evidence that the UK Border Agency is succeeding in its commitment to removing individuals with no right to be here—with a focus on targeting the most harmful first.
Immigration
Mr. Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps are being taken to expedite the determination of immigration decisions. [264934]
Mr. Woolas [holding answer 20 March 2009]: The UK Border Agency is committed to delivering an efficient service for all customers and claimants.
In terms of economic and family migration, the principal means by which the UK Border Agency is working to speed up the determination of immigration decisions is through the introduction of the points based system for all those applying to work or study in the UK.
The tiers relating to highly skilled migrants, skilled migrants and temporary workers are already operational, having been introduced in 2008. Tier 4, which applies to students, was introduced on 31 March 2009.
In other economic and family migration categories there are performance improvement plans in place to speed up case processing times.
For asylum cases, the UK Border agency has published the milestones for the conclusion of cases it intends to fulfil on route to the ultimate objective of concluding 90 per cent. of cases within six months by December 2011. Most recently, UKBA successfully achieved the milestone of concluding 60 per cent. of cases in six months by the end of December 2008.
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what occupations in her Department's most recent shortage occupation lists relate to job titles in the software industry. [276188]
Mr. Woolas: The Government's latest shortage occupation list, which was announced on 13 May, contains roles within visual effects and 2D/3D animation for film, television or video games, R and D software and software engineer.
Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many outstanding applications for indefinite leave to remain are being processed by the UK Border Agency. [276371]
Mr. Woolas: There were 43,090 outstanding applications for indefinite leave to remain being processed by the UK Border Agency as at 12:30 pm on 18 May 2009.
Notes:
1. Data relate to lead applicants only.
2. Figures are rounded to the nearest five.
3. The figures quoted are not provided under National Statistics protocols and have been derived from local management information and are therefore provisional and subject to change.
Source:
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