Written Answers to Questions
Thursday 11 June 2009
Home Department
Animal Experiments
Dr. Palmer: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many generic licences issued under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 are in operation; how many designated establishments hold such licences; how many generic licences were extant in (a) 2007 and (b) 2008; how many procedures were conducted under those licences in each of those years; and if he will make a statement. [278252]
Mr. Alan Campbell: For the purposes of this question we have taken ‘generic licences’ to refer to thematic licences issued for the testing for regulatory purposes of specific classes of test materials in line with specified regulatory requirements. The Home Office does not record information on such licences separately, but we have carried out a special exercise to extract the information requested. We estimate that there are currently 71 ‘generic licences’ extant and that there were 67 at 31 December 2008 and 65 at 31 December 2007. The annual statistical return for 2007, the latest year for which figures are available, indicates 183,909 procedures were conducted during 2007 under the licences identified as generic that were in force at 31 December 2007.
Borders: Personal Records
Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what percentage of coaches entering the UK will be required to have all their passengers disembarked for immigration checks under the e-borders system; and if she will make a statement. [278543]
Mr. Woolas: All passengers seeking entry or admission to the UK are required to provide evidence of their nationality and identity, which is checked against the UK's watchlist. Under e-borders, carriers will be required to provide biographic and travel document information in advance of travel.
This advance passenger check will allow for a significant increase in the volume of coach passengers who can be subsequently checked at the border, without disembarking from the coach.
A pilot scheme is operating with one particular coach company and we continue to develop the best operating models, in discussion with maritime, rail and coach operators.
Jeremy Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent assessment he has made of the likely operation of the e-borders system in respect of UK nationals who hold dual nationality. [278759]
Mr. Woolas: The e-Borders system will not negatively affect travellers who hold dual nationality. Data from travel documents presented by dual nationals on inbound and outbound journeys will be transmitted to e-Borders and screened against watchlists as normal. Key facts, such as an individual’s date of birth, will remain the same, irrespective of the travel document they use. Any discrepancies will continue to be addressed by UK Border Agency staff at the border.
Departmental Data Protection
James Brokenshire: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many notifications his Department made to the Information Commissioner in the year ended 30 April 2009 in respect of the loss or mishandling of personal information or data; what was notified in each such case; and how many individuals were the subjects of personal information or data in respect of which such notifications were made. [278719]
Mr. Woolas: Under the mandatory requirements of the Data Handling Report published on 25 June 2008, the Home Office is required to give a summary report on data breaches reported to the Information Commissioner in our annual resource accounts.
The Home Office has published details of the protected personal data related incidents notified to the Information Commissioner’s Office in 2007-08 in its resource accounts published on 8 August 2008 (a copy of which is in the House Library). We will be publishing information on any personal data security breaches reported to the Information Commissioner for the 2008-09 reporting year before Parliament rises in July. The information is currently being compiled and is to be audited and verified before it is laid before Parliament.
In 2008-09, the Home Office made two notifications to the Information Commissioner. One related to the PA consulting data loss incident, which included information set out in my predecessor’s formal notification to the Information Commissioner (a copy of which is in the House Library) about the number of individual subjects affected. The other was a potential incident in the UK Border Agency involving the loss of a data stick on UKBA premises. The data stick was subsequently found at an internal location so this was not in fact a notifiable incident.
James Brokenshire: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many officials in (a) his Department and (b) its agencies have been (i) disciplined and (ii) dismissed for (A) breaches of data protection requirements and (B) inappropriate use of personal or sensitive data in the last 12 months. [278720]
Mr. Woolas: The information requested is set out in the following table:
Departmental ICT
Mr. Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department with reference to the answer of 3 November 2008, Official Report, column 30W, on departmental ICT, when he expects all of his Department’s IT systems to be fully compliant with ISO 27001 under the new standard set by the data handling report published in June 2008. [278612]
Mr. Woolas: All IT systems across Government are subject to Cabinet Office approved policies and procedures for Information Security Management which are fully compliant with the controls in ISO 27001 and also incorporate the recommendations from the data handling report published in June 2008. Compliance is assessed via a regime known as accreditation.
All IT systems and networks within the Home Office are subject to this continual accreditation process as they enter service for the first time or when significant changes are made to existing systems; there is also a process of periodic review of all accredited systems.
Departmental Internet
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much his Department has spent on the maintenance of its website in each year since 1997. [278231]
Mr. Woolas: The cost of maintaining Home Office websites (i.e. hosting, licensing, domain registration, and updates, but excluding staff costs) has been as follows:
| £ | |
Prior to 2006, costs were embedded in other communications budgets and could not be separately extracted, other than at disproportionate cost.
Deportation: Private Sector
Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 1 June 2009, Official Report, column 154W, on deportation: private sector, with which three operators the UK Border Agency (UKBA) has contracts; and how much UKBA spent on those contracts in 2008. [278597]
Mr. Woolas: The UK Border Agency has contracts with G4S Justice and Care Services, Serco Home Affairs and Molynes International Security to escort individuals who are being removed from the United Kingdom. The value of contracts between the UK Border Agency and its escorting suppliers is commercially sensitive and cannot therefore be disclosed.
Domestic Violence
Julie Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what contribution (a) HM Treasury and (b) the Department for Work and Pensions has made towards his Department’s consultation on Together We Can End Violence Against Women and Girls. [278672]
Mr. Alan Campbell: The consultation document “Together We can End Violence Against Women and Girls” was considered and cleared by the Domestic Affairs Committee which includes representation from both Her Majesty’s Treasury and the Department for Work and Pensions.
Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps his Department is taking to ensure adequate funding for specialist voluntary sector organisations dealing with violence against women. [278805]
Mr. Alan Campbell: In general, funding decisions for local services are determined by local commissioners based on local areas identifying needs. These are then included in their priorities for improvement with outcomes specifying how the issues will be addressed and how they contribute to wider national aims. Addressing domestic and sexual violence will be a key priority in helping local partnerships to deliver fully on the public service agreement requirements.
The consultation “Together We Can End Violence Against Women and Girls” closed on 29 May 2009. A key theme for consultation was the promotion of better consistency and quality of provision of services for victims of violence against women and girls. This work will be taken forward during development of a cross-Government strategy.
Among other initiatives, the Home Office provides £3.5 million to regional Government offices who then allocate it locally to domestic and sexual violence services.
Educational Accreditation Bodies
Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much his Department paid to educational accreditation bodies in each of the last five years. [278545]
Mr. Woolas: The Home Office, including the Identity and Passport Service and the Criminal Records Bureau, has not made any payments to educational accreditation bodies.
Entry Clearances: Tourists
Mrs. Curtis-Thomas:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many tourist visas were issued to persons of each nationality in each of the last
four years; how many such visas were issued to children; and what estimate she has made of the number of such children who overstayed their visa. [269160]
Mr. Woolas:
The number of tourist visas issued to each nationality in each of the calendar years 2005-08,
including the number issued to persons under the age of 18, is shown in the following tables. I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave on 20 April 2009, Official Report, columns 175-76W.
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