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9 Nov 2009 : Column 33W—continued
Immigration
Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many immigration cases had not been resolved on 31 March in each of the last five years. [296291]
Mr. Woolas: The information requested is not regularly reported on by the UK Border Agency and could be obtained only at a disproportionate cost through the examination of individual case files and records.
Immigration Controls
Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many migrants entered the UK under each tier of the points-based immigration system in 2008. [294097]
Mr. Woolas: The requested information is provided in the following table.
| Passengers( 1,2) entering the United Kingdom under the Points Based System, 2008( 3) : United Kingdom | |
| Number of journeys | |
| (1) Figures rounded to the nearest three significant figures, except for figures less than 1,000, which are rounded to the nearest 5 (- = 0, * = 1 or 2). Figures may not sum to the totals shown because of independent rounding. (2) Excludes EEA and Swiss nationals. (3) Provisional figures. (4) The phased implementation of Tier 1 of the Points Based System took place between February 2008-June 2008 and Tiers 2 and 5 were implemented in November 2008. Source: Migration Statistics, Home Office | |
Immigration Controls: Ports
Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proportion of private vehicles entering the UK were searched by UK Border Agency officials at the (a) Hull, (b) Dover, (c) Portsmouth and (d) Southampton port of entry in the latest period for which figures are available. [297615]
Mr. Woolas: It is not possible to provide accurate figures relating to the number of private vehicles searched at UK ports. Records relating to vehicle searches do not routinely reflect whether the vehicle is privately owned.
It is not possible to provide the proportion of vehicles searched by the UK Border Agency at UK ports without excessive bureaucracy and disproportionate cost.
Immigration: Tibet
Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many individuals of Tibetan origin have been (a) granted and (b) refused (i) asylum and (ii) indefinite leave to remain in each year since 1997. [296882]
Mr. Woolas: The requested information is unavailable.
Information on asylum and settlement is published annually and quarterly. Annual statistics for 2008 and statistics for Q2 2009 are available from the Library of the House and from the Home Office Research, Development and Statistics Directorate web site at:
Robbery
James Brokenshire: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent estimate he has made of cash-in-transit robberies; and what common characteristics of such crimes his Department has identified. [297149]
Mr. Alan Campbell: The Government have been working very closely with key stakeholders from the police, security and banking industries, the retail sector and the trade unions on the tackling of cash in transit robberies and through this partnership approach have developed a good understanding of the extent and nature of these offences. Through this work we are aware that there were 1,000 cash in transit attacks in 2008. A wide variety of data are shared among these stakeholders including not only police intelligence but also data from the British Security Industry Association on the number of cash in transit robberies that take place on a daily basis, the location of these offences, the type of premises attacked and the time of day that they take place. These data help to inform the action that needs to be taken by ourselves and our partners to tackle these offences.
Small Retailer Grant Fund
Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many grants from the Small Retailer Grant Fund have been (a) applied for and (b) awarded since the fund's inception; and what average amount has been awarded. [296075]
Mr. Alan Campbell [holding answer 28 October 2009]: The grants administrator for the Small Retailers Capital Grants Fund has received 1,851 small grant, and 95 partnership grant, applications.
The applications are still being assessed and therefore no awards have yet been made.
Applicants for the fund could receive up to £3,000 for individuals and up to £50,000 for partnerships.
UK Border Agency: Correspondence
Mr. Hands: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when the UK Border Agency plans to respond to the letters of 20 July and 9 September 2009 from the hon. Member for Hammersmith and Fulham sent on behalf of his constituent Mrs Brenda Williams. [297118]
Mr. Woolas: In response to the letters of 20 July and 9 September 2009, the deputy director for family and economic migration of the London and south east region wrote to the hon. Member on 29 October 2009.
Defence
Afghanistan: Armed Forces
Dr. Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what percentage of the current roulement were unable to complete pre-deployment training prior to deployment in Afghanistan. [297930]
Mr. Bob Ainsworth: No armed forces personnel deploy to Afghanistan without being fully trained for the job they are required to do. Pre-deployment training is mandatory for all personnel. The quantity and nature of this training varies between individuals and units depending on existing skill levels and the role to be filled on deployment.
Afghanistan: Peacekeeping Operations
Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans there are for the deployment of the Gibraltar regiment to Afghanistan; and if he will make a statement. [296910]
Bill Rammell [holding answer 2 November 2009]: The primary role of the Royal Gibraltar Regiment is to support the defence and security of Gibraltar. Deployments in support of other tasks have been undertaken by individual volunteers; 15 personnel from the Royal Gibraltar Regiment have deployed on operations in Afghanistan between August 2004 and February 2009. Since then there has been a temporary suspension in volunteers being deployed while we investigated a potential issue with compensation arrangements covering such deployments. The Royal Gibraltar Regiment are entitled to compensation benefits under their own terms and conditions of service including when deployed to Afghanistan. Work has commenced to bring these compensation arrangements in line with the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme through legislation. The temporary suspension has now been lifted.
Armed Forces: Hepatitis C
Mr. Breed: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what estimate he has made of the number of service personnel who contracted hepatitis C virus through treatment in hospital in each of the last 30 years. [298065]
Mr. Kevan Jones: It is estimated that the number of such cases in the UK in recent years is very small, but definitive information is not held centrally. To provide the information requested would require the identification and examination of the individual medical records of service patients who contracted hepatitis C and had received in-patient treatment in any hospital worldwide during the last 30 years. Such records should only be viewed for non-clinical reasons with the express consent of each individual concerned in order to protect patient confidentiality, and the information could therefore be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Armed Forces: Housing
Mr. Wallace: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much the London living-out allowance cost his Department in each year from 1992 until the end of that scheme. [297384]
Mr. Kevan Jones: We have been unable to locate any records corresponding to a "London living-out allowance" and therefore cannot provide the costs to the Department.
In 1997 living allowances were reviewed and over time have become progressively harmonised. At that time allowances for London consisted of London allowance, lodging allowance and meals out allowance. Costs attributable to each of these allowances are not held centrally and could be obtained only by searches of legacy systems and manual records thus incurring disproportionate costs.
London allowances currently consist of recruitment and retention allowance (London), for all those service personnel that work within five miles of Charing Cross, and food and incidental allowance for those personnel living in substitute service single accommodation.
Armed Forces: Pensions
Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether a retired former regular member of the armed forces who is now a member of the regular reserve force is entitled to additions to the existing pension on completion of additional service. [298468]
Mr. Kevan Jones: Former members of the regular armed forces who undertake a period of mobilised reserve service are eligible for membership of the Reserve Forces Pension Scheme (RFPS). Under this scheme, all benefits accrued will be paid at age 60 for those who serve until the age of 60. If they leave before aged 60, their benefits will be preserved and paid at age 65.
Under the RFPS periods of mobilised reserve service cannot be added to an existing armed forces pension.
Armed Forces: Postal Services
Mr. Breed:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make an assessment of the merits of subsidising overseas postage costs for British forces personnel incurred
as a result of the closure of British Forces Post Offices at (a) SHAPE, (b) Brussels, (c) Brunssum, (d) Ramstein, (e) Stavanger, (f) Karup, (g) Rome, (h) Milan, (i) Lisbon, (j) Valencia and (k) Norfolk, Virginia; and if he will make a statement. [298073]
Mr. Kevan Jones: Basic Forces Post Office services will be retained at the locations stated. When families are posted to locations which do not have access to the full Forces Post Office service, their local overseas allowance is calculated to take account of the increased expense of using the international postal service. This also reflects the charges levied by mail order companies posting out to international locations, including the cost of delivery services which provide secure delivery of mail or parcels.
Armed Forces: Secondment
Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many UK military personnel are (a) on secondment to foreign governments and (b) on attachment to the armed forces of other countries. [291974]
Bill Rammell: The information required is not held in the exact format requested. However, as at 1 November 2009, some 580 military personnel are either on loan, secondment or part of an individual exchange, with other Governments or Armed Forces. An additional 147 military personnel fill Defence Attache posts.
Armed Forces: Training
Dr. Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the (a) required, (b) actual and (c) fit for task strength of each corps of the Army is. [297924]
Bill Rammell: In the following table "required strength" and "actual strength" figures are shown as "funded liability" and "trained strength" respectively.
All figures shown in the table are from the Army Personnel Statistics Report (APSR), published on the Defence Analytical Services and Advice (DASA) website:
APSR data are derived from the Joint Personnel Administration (JPA) system.
As at 1 September 2009 figures for the Regular Army are provided in the following table.
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