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14 Dec 2009 : Column 718W—continued
Detention Centres: Children
Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether Ministers in his Department have signed authorisations for the continued detention of children at immigration removal centres beyond 28 days which provide for the detention of children during Christmas 2009. [304866]
Mr. Woolas [holding answer 10 December 2009]: No authorisations have been signed which allow for the continued detention of children beyond 28 days which provided for the detention of children during Christmas 2009.
Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether the UK Border Agency has made any arrangements in respect of children detained at immigration removal centres during Christmas 2009. [304867]
Mr. Woolas [holding answer 10 December 2009]: We would prefer not to detain families with children and would rather that they left the UK voluntarily where the Courts have upheld a decision of the UK Border Agency that they must leave the country. However, where they fail to leave after having been given every opportunity and incentive to do so, the Agency has no other option but to detain them to enforce their departure. We believe that it is in the children's best interests to remain with their parents and they are therefore detained as a family group just a few days before their flight. However, detention is sometimes prolonged because of last minute applications to the Court as an attempt to frustrate their removal.
Detention Centres: Families
Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many families he expects to be detained at immigration removal centres during Christmas 2009. [304868]
Mr. Woolas [holding answer 10 December 2009]: We do not have an estimate of the number of families expected to be detained in immigration removal centres during Christmas 2009.
Detention Centres: Manpower
Paul Holmes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) male and (b) female staff are employed at each immigration removal centre. [304441]
Mr. Woolas [holding answer 7 December 2009]: There are 10 immigration removal centres in England and one centre, Dungavel House, in Scotland. Eight of the centres are operated under contracts with the private sector. Three centres, Dover, Haslar and Lindholme, are operated under agreements with the National Offender Management Service.
The number of male and female staff employed at each centre is detailed in the following table. The numbers refer to those staff directly employed by the centre operator. The data are normally used for management information only and are not subject to the detailed checks that apply for National Statistics publications. The information is provisional and subject to change.
| Immigration Removal Centre | Male employees | Female employees |
Entry Clearances
Mr. Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 3 December 2009, Official Report, columns 888-9W, on entry clearances, whether the net value of revenue accrued in respect of applications is retained by the UK Border Agency. [306370]
Mr. Woolas: All income from entry clearance is retained by the UK Border Agency. The income received does not cover the full cost of processing this type of application and therefore no net revenue accrues to the Agency.
Entry Clearances: Overseas Students
Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people were granted student visas in the last (a) 12 months and (b) five years. [301423]
Mr. Woolas: In the 12-month period October 2008 to September 2009, a total of 269,900 visas were issued in the student category.
In the five years from October 2004 to September 2009, a total of 1,184,946 visas were issued in the student category, including 104,596 visas issued to dependents.
Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many student visas were granted to people from each non-EU country in the last five years. [301424]
Mr. Woolas: The information requested has been placed in the House Library. The enclosed table shows the number of student visas and student dependent visas issued to each non-EU nationality in the five year period from October 2004 to September 2009.
Entry Clearances: Pakistan
Mr. Brady: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many appeals there were against the refusal of an application for a visit visa from a Pakistani national in each year between 2004 and 2008; what the cost to the public purse was of such appeals; and how many such appeals resulted in an application being granted. [304762]
Mr. Woolas [holding answer 7 December 2009]: Only family visits carry full rights of appeal. The information requested is in the following table:
| Family visit visa refusals | Appeals | Allowed appeals | |
| Notes: 1. These data are unpublished and should be treated as provisional. 2. There is only a full right of appeal against the refusal of family visit visas. | |||
Heads of Government
Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate he has made of the number of former foreign Heads of Government who are resident in the UK; and whether any cost arising from their residence is borne by the public purse. [303937]
Mr. Woolas: No information is held on former foreign Heads of Government who may be resident in the UK.
Identity and Passport Service: Public Relations
Mr. Hurd: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether the Identity and Passport Service has made any payments to (a) political consultancies, (b) external public relations firms and (c) public affairs firms since its establishment. [305108]
Meg Hillier: Since its establishment, the Identity and Passport Service has made payments to one public relations company who were engaged to work on passport campaigns. This contract expired in 2008 and has not been renewed. IPS has not made any payments to political consultancies or public affairs companies.
Immigrants: Detainees
Paul Holmes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) male and (b) female detainees are held at each immigration removal centre. [304440]
Mr. Woolas [holding answer 7 December 2009]: The following table is consistent with the latest published statistics on the number of persons detained in immigration removal centres in the United Kingdom solely under Immigration Act powers, by place of detention and sex as at 30 September 2009.
Published statistics on immigration and asylum are available from the Library of the House and from the Home Office Research, Development and Statistics Directorate website at:
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