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20 July 2009 : Column 919W—continued
| Table 3 - Alcohol Arrest Referral (AAR) pilot grant: Alcohol Arrest Referral (AAR) pilot grant funding | ||||
| £ | ||||
| Drug and Alcohol Action Team | 2007-08 | 2008-09 | 2009-10 | Total |
EU Law
Bob Spink:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what estimate he has made of the proportion of statutory obligations provided for by
legislation on matters for which his Department is responsible, which were introduced as a consequence of obligations arising from EU legislation in the latest period for which figures are available; [281862]
(2) what estimate he has made of the cost to his Department of the statutory obligations upon it provided for in legislation introduced as a consequence of obligations arising from EU legislation in the most recent 12 months for which figures are available. [283474]
Mr. Woolas: It is very difficult to provide precise figures for the proportion of UK legislation that stems from the European Union and the consequent cost. All proposals for EU legislation are, however, deposited with Parliament with an assessment of any legislative changes that would be required to implement them in the UK and an explanation of the HMG policy in the area concerned, including in the case of proposals on migration and asylum, by choosing not to opt in to them where appropriate.
The origins of a regulation could be a devolved Administration or a local authority, as well as the Government or the EU. All regulations, irrespective of their origins, should comply with the principles of better regulation. Regulations should be risk based, proportionate and well designed, so as to achieve their objectives whilst also keeping costs to a minimum. The Government continue to work with European partners to ensure that EU regulations meet these standards.
Entry Clearances
Mr. Carswell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many and what proportion of applications for family visit visas from (a) India, (b) Nigeria, (c) Bangladesh and (d) Pakistan have been refused in each of the last six years. [273592]
Mr. Woolas: The number of applications family visit visas (a) received and (b) refused at UK visa-issuing posts in India, Nigeria, Bangladesh and Pakistan in each of the last five calendar years is shown in the following tables, together with refusal rates for each country/year. Reliable data are not held for years prior to 2004.
| 2004 | 2005 | |||||
| Applications received | Refused | Refusal rate (percentage) | Applications received | Refused | Refusal rate (percentage) | |
| 2006 | 2007 | |||||
| Applications received | Refused | Refusal rate (percentage) | Applications received | Refused | Refusal rate (percentage) | |
| 2008 | |||
| Applications r eceived | Refused | Refusal r ate (percentage) | |
The data are unpublished and should be treated as provisional.
Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) visa entry clearance officers and (b) risk assessment officers are employed in (i) Islamabad, (ii) Pakistan and (iii) Afghanistan. [280138]
Alan Johnson: For security and efficiency reasons, we have transferred visa decision-making for Pakistan to our visa sections in Abu Dhabi and the UK. We have 34 Entry Clearance Officers (ECOs) in Abu Dhabi, including seasonal relief staff, and a full staffing capacity of five ECOs in the UK working on Pakistan casework. 13 ECOs currently remain in Islamabad.
Risk and Liaison Overseas Network staff are employed on a risk assessment basis.
We do not have a visa office in Afghanistan.
Entry Clearances: Pakistan
Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what percentage of visa applications received by the consulate in (a) Karachi and (b) Lahore in the last 12 months for which figures are available were checked for fraud by entry clearance officers in each post. [272744]
Alan Johnson: There are no entry clearance officers (ECOs) posted to Karachi or Lahore. All checks for fraud are carried out in Islamabad, where there are 10 ECOs. All applications are checked for fraud.
Forensic Science Service
Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent assessment has been made of the likely effect of a closure of the Chorley Forensic Science Service (FSS) laboratory on FSS response times for analysing evidence. [285003]
Mr. Alan Campbell: The Forensic Science Service has undertaken detailed analysis of projected casework demand, throughput and detailed force requirements in accordance with the National Forensic Framework Agreement, and in conjunction with the expected efficiencies from their ongoing Transformation programme. Their conclusion is that they can service demand, within contractually binding response times, from a reduced number of laboratories. Closure of the Chorley site is currently only a proposal, to be tested and challenged through the consultation process.
Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether the Forensic Science Service (FSS) has consulted all coroners on (a) the proposed headcount reduction in the FSS and (b) the proposed closure of the Chorley FSS laboratory. [285004]
Mr. Alan Campbell: The Forensic Science Service (FSS) has a pathology laboratory based in Sheffield. Staff at this facility have held discussions on the transformation of the FSS with local coroners.
The FSS has discussed the principles of a revised site structure with all of its core customers. There have been no specific discussions on these proposals with coroners beyond those spoken to by the facility in Sheffield.
Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether the Forensic Science Service (FSS) has consulted all police authorities in the North West on (a) the proposed headcount reduction in the FSS and (b) the proposed closure of the Chorley FSS laboratory. [285005]
Mr. Alan Campbell: Police authorities have not been consulted on proposed changes but each police force has been consulted. It is the police forces who are the direct customers of the Forensic Science Service, and as such, they are the people with whom such discussions have taken place.
Forensic Science Service Transformation Plan: Consultants
John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which consultants have been engaged to work on the Forensic Science Service Transformation Plan; what the monetary value of each contract is; and what task each contract is for. [283866]
Mr. Alan Campbell [holding answer 3 July 2009]: The only major consultancy services engaged by the Forensic Science Service (FSS) have been obtained from Deloitte (who assisted in 2008 with preliminary thinking on business transformation). Deloitte has also been the FSS pension advisers for some time. FSS have used a number of specialist providers in a smaller way to support the design of the business transformation programme. The transformation team itself has also been staffed by a number of agency and interim specialists to work alongside and train in-house resources (for example Lean Sigma training). Some components of the transformation (e.g. IT enabling projects) will involve the engagement of a number of our existing external service support providers (e.g. Cap Gemini), but these companies are not involved in the provision of broader consultancy services.
The work undertaken by Deloitte in 2008, which constitutes the only single major contract, cost £1.5 million.
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