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30 Nov 2009 : Column 464W—continued
Young People: Females
Tim Loughton: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many girls older than 12 and younger than 18 years old were resident in each local authority area in 2008. [302544]
Angela E. Smith: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your question asking how many girls older than 12 and younger than 18 years old were resident in each local authority area in 2008. (302544)
Table 1 shows the number of females aged over 12 and under 18 resident in each local authority area in the UK in mid-2008. These are the latest data available. A copy of the table has been placed in the Library of the House.
Home Department
Alcoholic Drinks: Young People
Mr. Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prosecutions of 10 to 17 year olds there were for being drunk and disorderly in (a) England and Wales and (b) each police force area in 2008. [302450]
Mr. Alan Campbell: Statistics for 2008 are planned for publication at the end of January 2010.
Asylum
Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what research his Department has evaluated on the extent to which (a) linguistic and (b) economic factors affect the decisions of (i) migrants and (ii) asylum seekers to seek to live in the UK. [301225]
Mr. Woolas: The information is as follows:
1. Linguistic factors affecting migrants' decisions
Other than the study referred to as follows in relation to asylum seekers, there are no reports published by the Home office which refer to linguistic factors affecting migrants' decisions to live in the UK.
2. Economic factors affecting migrants' decisions
Although there is no published information from the Department answering your query, the department has made use of work undertaken by the National Institute of Economic and Social Research in 2003, entitled "The Determinants of International Migration into the UK: A Panel Based Modelling Approach", by James Mitchell and Nigel Pain.
3. Linguistic factors affecting asylum seekers' decisions to live in the UK
In 2002, the Home Office published a study (Home Office Research Study 243) on the decision making of asylum seekers, entitled "Understanding the decision-making of asylum seekers", by Vaughan Robinson and Jeremy Segrott.
This work was undertaken by the Migration Unit in the Department of Geography at the University of Wales, Swansea.
4. Economic factors affecting asylum seekers' decisions to live in the UK
A number of studies making reference to economic factors have been used, the
first of which is referred to in (3), above. A number of other studies also refer to economic factors including:
"The social networks of asylum seekers and the dissemination of information about countries of asylum", by Khaled Koser and Charles Pinkerton (2002). Home Office Research Development and Statistics Directorate;
"An assessment of the impact of asylum policies in Europe 1990-2000", by Roger Zetter, David Griffiths, Silva Ferretti and Martyn Pearl (2003). Home Office Research Study 259;
"The Determinants of International Migration into the UK: A Panel Based Modelling Approach", by James Mitchell and Nigel Pain (2003). National Institute of Economic and Social Research;
"Why asylum policy harmonization undermines refugee burden-sharing", by Eiko R. Thielemann (2004), European journal of migration and law, 6 (1). Pp 47-65;
"Migration and the Economic Downturn: what to Expect in the European Union", by Demetrios G. Papademetriou, Madeleine Sumption, and Will Somerville (2009). Migration Policy Institute;
"Immigration in the United Kingdom: The recession and beyond", by Will Somerville and Madeleine Sumption (2009). Migration Policy Institute; and
"Does Policy Matter? On Governments' Attempts to Control Unwanted Migration", by Eiko R. Thielemann (2003). London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE. November 2003. IMS Discussion Paper No. 9.
Peter Bottomley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the outcome was of the Prime Minister's question-and-answer session with members of the Mumsnet forum on 16 October 2009; to what categories of asylum seeker the inflationary increases referred in the Prime Minister's discussion do not apply; what the change in the weekly amount of support to a single adult asylum seeker aged 25 years is; and if he will make a statement. [301645]
Mr. Woolas: The Prime Minister informed Mumsnet that the Government are not cutting the amount of money given to lone parent asylum seeking families. The lone parent rate will remain at £42.16 and the amount of money going to asylum-seeking children is going up by 5.2 per cent. These changes came into effect on 6 July 2009.
The existing support structure was modelled on that used by the Department for Work and Pensions for income support. This system distinguishes between persons aged under and over 25. Given that all asylum seekers who would otherwise be destitute have access to rent free accommodation with utilities included, we do not consider the essential living needs of supported asylum seekers change on the 25(th) birthday.
Therefore, there has been no increase to the existing over 25 rate and from 5 October no new support recipients have received this rate. Instead, a new unified rate of support for all single adult asylum seekers (excluding lone parents) regardless of age was introduced. This rate is £35.13 per week. We will honour the old over-25 rate for those asylum seekers already in receipt of it by 5 October until their appeals rights are exhausted or they are granted.
With the exception of the rate for lone parents, and the rate for single adults over 25, on 6 July all other asylum support rates were increased by 5.2 per cent. in line with the Consumer Price Index for September 2008.
Asylum Seekers: Aviation
Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department on how many occasions an airline refused to take on grounds of disruptive behaviour an asylum seeker who was being deported in the last (a) six months and (b) two years. [301307]
Mr. Woolas: Agency records show that in the last six months, on 15 occasions an airline has refused to take on grounds of disruptive behaviour an individual we are seeking to deport.
Asylum: Iraq
Patrick Mercer: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many unsuccessful asylum seekers of Iraqi nationality have (a) been granted a right to remain in the UK, (b) been deported to Iraq and (c) been taken into detention after a refusal to travel to Iraq in (i) each of the last three years and (ii) 2009 to date. [300973]
Mr. Woolas: The table shows the number of Iraqi failed asylum seekers who have been subsequently granted some form of leave and been forcibly removed (or voluntarily departed) from the United Kingdom in each of the last three years to the end of June 2009 (the latest period for which figures are available).
The figures in (a) do not constitute part of National Statistics as they are based on internal management information. The information has not been quality assured under National Statistics protocols and should be treated as provisional and subject to change.
National Statistics on immigration and asylum, including those in (b), are placed in the Library of the House and are available from the Home Office's Research, Development and Statistics website at:
Since August 2009 the UK Border Agency has published statistics for the numbers of people entering detention, broken down by country of nationality. These data are currently available for January to June 2009, and can be viewed in Tables G and H of the Control of Immigration: Quarterly Statistical Supplementary Tables, April to June 2009:
However, the reason for an individual's detention, including a refusal to return to their country of origin, is not recorded centrally. To retrieve this information would require the manual examination of individual records at disproportionate cost.
| (a) Granted leave | (b) Removed( 1) | |
| (1) Including those who have departed voluntarily. | ||
Biometrics
Mr. Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the average waiting time was for a biometric information enrolment appointment following a postal application to the biometric enrolment centres at (a) Croydon, (b) Sheffield, (c) Liverpool, (d) Birmingham, (e) Glasgow and (f) Belfast was in 2008. [301902]
Mr. Woolas [holding answer 26 November 2009]: As at 24 November 2009, the waiting time for a biometric enrolment appointment following a postal application was two days in Croydon, Sheffield, Liverpool, Birmingham and Glasgow and four days in Belfast.
Borders: Personal Records
Mrs. Laing: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether there is a statutory basis for the e-borders programme. [300512]
Mr. Woolas: Primary legislation was enacted in 2006 to provide the framework enabling powers for the programme. The primary legislation (paragraphs 27 and 27B of schedule 2 to the Immigration Act 1971 as amended in 2006 and sections 32 to 38 of the Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Act 2006) creates powers for the UK Border Agency and the police, to obtain passenger, crew and service data from carriers in advance of all movements into and out of the UK and a duty for the border agencies to share that data among themselves.
This was followed by five statutory instruments in 2007 and 2008, which:
(a) Commenced the above powers,
(b) Extended the powers to cover channel tunnel trains,
(c) Specified the data that can be requested by UKBA and the police,
(d) Specified the data that must be shared between the border agencies, and
(e) Brought the code of practice regarding data sharing into force.
The Immigration Simplification Bill will update the clauses of legislation enacted in this area.
Christmas
Mr. Roger Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many Christmas parties his Department plans to host in 2009; what has been budgeted for each such reception; what estimate he has made of the proportion of (a) lamb, (b) beef, (c) chicken, (d) pork, (e) turkey, (f) other meats, (g) vegetables, (h) fruit and (i) alcohol to be served at each such function which is produced in the UK; and if he will make a statement. [300872]
Mr. Woolas: Home Office policy is that no official funds are used for Christmas parties: any parties attended are entirely at the cost of the individual member of staff.
Climate Change
Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) Ministers and (b) civil servants from his Department will be attending the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen in an official capacity. [300891]
Mr. Woolas: No Ministers or officials from my Department will be attending the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen in an official capacity.
Crime: Business
Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will take steps to collect data on the annual cost of crime to small businesses; and if he will make a statement. [301105]
Mr. Alan Campbell: There are no plans to collect new data on the cost of crime to small businesses annually. However, the National Retail Crime Steering Group Action Plan published on the Home Office website outlines steps we are taking with retail partners and the police to improve the collation and sharing of data on business crime.
Crime: Milton Keynes
Mr. Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many recorded crimes involving knives there were in the Milton Keynes area in each of the last five years. [300719]
Mr. Alan Campbell: The Home Office collects knife/sharp instrument offences data at force level only, so data are not available for Milton Keynes.
Additionally, data have only been collated since 2007, so data are only available for the last two years, not the requested five year period.
Departmental Cost Effectiveness
Dr. Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what efficiency savings projects (a) his Department and (b) its agencies put in place under the Operational Efficiency Programme; on what date each such project was initiated; how much each such project was expected to contribute to departmental savings; how much had been saved through each such project on the latest date for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement. [300933]
Mr. Woolas: The Home Office is participating in the Operational Efficiency Programme (OEP) as part of the Department's mainstream Value for Money Programme. The Department has a strong record of delivery against Value for Money targets demonstrating its sustained, long-term commitment to this work.
In the 2009 annual departmental report the Home Office reported gains worth £544 million. Of this £85 million was delivered through better procurement services including collaborative contracts, consolidated IT and rationalisation of the estate, forming part of the Department's contribution to the Government's £35 billion target for the current spending review period.
Building upon this work, we will use the Operational Efficiency Programme to bring extra focus to achieving greater efficiency in a number of cross-cutting areas. This will include taking additional steps to drive improvements in our back office, collaborative procurement, property and IT. The details of these savings will next be published in the 2010 autumn performance report.
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