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20 Oct 2009 : Column 1354W—continued
Departmental Procurement
Mr. Prisk: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what percentage of procurement contracts (a) his Department and (b) its agencies awarded to small businesses in (i) 2006-07, (ii) 2007-08, (iii) 2008-09 and (iv) 2009-10; and if he will make a statement. [293234]
Mr. Woolas: The Home Department is committed to implementing the recommendations of the Glover Report and is working to achieve these. It has the ability to identify small and medium enterprises (SMEs) on its system and currently has 1,883 registered.
The Department does not capture company size information in relation to number of employees below that of the definition of SMEs, which are enterprises that employ fewer than 250 employees.
To provide information of the number of contracts awarded to small businesses for the Home Department and its agencies for each of the last four financial years would incur disproportionate cost.
Departmental Travel
Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much his Department spent on first class rail travel for officials in each of the last three years; and if he will make a statement. [293334]
Mr. Woolas: During 2008-09 the Home Office spent £3.8 million on first class rail travel with its main travel service provider. The Department's spend on all travel 2008-09, not including expenditure incurred by its agencies, was £14.6 million. The cost of travel for previous financial years cannot be provided without incurring disproportionate cost.
All Home Office expenditure on rail travel conforms to the principles of regularity, propriety and value for money, and any other guidance as applicable contained within Managing Public Money and the Treasury handbook on Regularity & Propriety.
Justine Greening: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much his Department spent on (a) train travel, (b) hotels and (c) restaurant meals for (i) Ministers and (ii) staff in his Department in each of the last five years. [290167]
Mr. Woolas: Information required to answer this question could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Details of business expenses and hospitality received by departmental senior officials for the quarter 1 April to 30 June 2009 can be viewed at:
The Cabinet Office annual list of overseas travel over £500 undertaken by Ministers for 2008-09 was published on 16 July and can be viewed at:
Travel by Ministers and civil servants is undertaken in accordance with the Ministerial Code and the Civil Servant Management Code respectively. All spending on official entertainment is made in accordance with the principles set out in Managing Public Money.
Disadvantaged People
Justine Greening: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the purpose of the Adults Facing Chronic Exclusion pilot is; how much funding under the pilot has been (a) distributed to and (b) spent by each local authority in each year since the pilot began; and how much such funding he expects to be (i) distributed and (ii) spent in the next two years. [291944]
Mr. Malik: The ACE Programme is a three-year, £6 million fund designed to test new approaches to tacking chronic social exclusion among the most marginalised people in society.
12 pilot projects have been directly funded across England. They are testing out ways to improve outcomes for adults with chaotic lives and multiple needs through developing new types of intervention and changing local service provision. They are led by voluntary organisations, working in partnership with other local agencies.
The funding breakdown is as follows:
| Funding (£) | ||||||
| Pilot location | Pilot organisation | September 2007-08 | 2008-09 | 2009-10 | 2010-11 | Total |
Justine Greening: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent assessment he has made of progress made under the Adults Facing Chronic Exclusion pilot to date; to what areas of expenditure funding under the pilot is available; what estimate he has made of the number of people supported under the pilot in each year since its establishment; and what forecast he has made of the equivalent number in each of the next two years. [291945]
Mr. Malik: Assessment of the progress made by the Adults facing Chronic Exclusion pilots is being measured through the ACE national evaluation, which is being undertaken by Matrix Consultants. The evaluation aims to assess the project process, its impact on outcomes for both service users and services, and the cost effectiveness of the interventions.
The ACE programme is spent on services which achieve one or more of the following:
Simplifying the complexities associated with several statutory services working collaboratively (Housing, benefits, health and criminal justice system) to offer co-ordinated support to someone with multiple needs.
Offering practical help to people to access several social services at one time
Helping people to negotiate difficult times in their lives such as leaving prison, leaving care and fleeing domestic violence
The pilots work with approximately 1,000 people per year.
Drug Seizures: London Airports
Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much cocaine has been seized at (a) Gatwick and (b) Heathrow airport in each month since April 2009. [293126]
Mr. Woolas: From April 2009 until the end of September 2009, a total of 496.51 kilos of cocaine were seized by UK Border Agency officers working in the Border Force south region, which includes all ports along the south coast and Gatwick airport. During the same period, a total of 234.07 kilos of cocaine were seized by UK Border Agency officers in the Heathrow region.
The following table provides a monthly breakdown of these seizures.
| Cocaine seizures | |||||||
| Quantity (kilos) | |||||||
| Year to date | April | May | June | July | August | September | |
The above data have been extracted from locally-collated management information. They are provisional and therefore may be subject to change.
Entry Clearances
Mr. Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the average time taken by the UK Border Agency was from the receipt of an application from a European national for permanent residence to the determination of a case in the latest period for which figures are available. [293115]
Mr. Woolas: In the current operational year to date the average time taken to determine an application for permanent residence submitted by a European national is 7.3 months from the date of receipt.
Mr. Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what target his Department has set for the average length of time for the UK Border Agency to determine applications for leave to remain under the seven years child concession. [293116]
Mr. Woolas: The UK Border Agency considers each case on its own individual merits and as such the length of time taken to consider an application under the seven years child concession will vary. Therefore we are unable to provide a specific time frame for considering these applications. However, all remaining applications made under the seven year child concession will be considered by the UK Border Agency by spring 2010.
Entry Clearances: Appeals
Fiona Mactaggart: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how long on average it took for a visa to be issued following a successful appeal against a visa refusal in the last three months. [291871]
Mr. Woolas: It takes approximately six weeks for the decision of the AIT to be notified to visa sections overseas, including time taken for the UK Border Agency to decide whether to appeal against the decision. The visa section will then contact the appellant within three weeks, to request return of the passport. Once this is obtained, further checks may be carried out to ensure there has not been a change of circumstances since the decision. The visa is then issued. The visa section aims to complete the further processing as soon as possible but this will depend on the speed with which the passport is returned and the number of checks that need to be carried out. It is too early to give details on the last three months.
Offenders: Mentally Ill
Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proportion of people arrested were deemed to have mental health problems in the latest period for which figures are available. [293980]
Mr. Hanson: The information requested on arrests is not collected centrally.
The arrests collection held by the Home Office covers arrests for recorded crime (notifiable offences) only, broken down at a main offence group level, covering categories such as violence against the person and robbery. Information on the mental health of persons arrested does not form a part of the collection.
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