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7 Jan 2010 : Column 515W—continued
Departmental Official Hospitality
Mr. Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much (a) his Department and (b) its agencies spent on (i) alcohol and (ii) entertainment in the last 12 months. [305536]
Mr. Woolas: The Home Office systems do not separately identify the cost of alcohol from overall entertainment costs, and this could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
However, we do retain records for hospitality provided by both civil servants and Ministers. The spend for 2008-09, the last 12 month period for which there are audited figures, was £50,371.
Home Office expenditure on official hospitality and entertainment conforms to departmental guidance on financial procedures and propriety, which complies with the principles of Managing Public Money and the Treasury handbook on Regularity and Propriety. Hospitality is defined as the provision of food, drink and entertainment of non-civil servants at modest cost where it is beneficial to the interests of the Department.
For the Department's agencies, the Criminal Records Bureau and the Identity and Passport Service's spend could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Departmental Pay
Mr. Scott: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much has been paid in bonuses to civil servants in his Department in each year since 2006. [306436]
Mr. Woolas: Non-consolidated performance payments are an integral element of the staff reward package in the Home Office. They encourage and reward high performance. As non-consolidated payments, they have to be re-earned each year and do not add to future pay bill costs, for example pensions costs.
The Home Office (including the UK Border Agency), as part of its annual pay arrangements, pays non-consolidated performance related payments to up to 35 per cent. of its staff. There are separate arrangements for the Department's senior staff, which are set by the Prime Minister for the whole senior civil service, following independent advice from the Senior Salaries Review Body.
In the financial years for which data are available the total salary bill for staff in the Home Office and UKB and the proportion of which was paid in non-consolidated performance payments was:
| £ million | ||
| Total salary bill | Non-consolidated payments | |
It is also possible to give one-off non-consolidated special payments to members of staff in-year to reward exceptional achievements on a project or programme. The total cost of such payments in 2008-09 was £1.16 million the figure for 2007-08 was £2.56 million.
Departmental Publications
Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he expects his Department's White Paper on policing to be published. [303710]
Alan Johnson: I refer the hon. Gentleman to my written ministerial statement of 2 December 2009, Official Report, column 127WS. The White Paper "Protecting the Public: Supporting the Police to Succeed" was published on 2 December 2009 at:
http://police.homeoffice.gov.uk/publications/police-reform/protecting-the-public2835.pdf?view=Binary
Departmental Training
Mr. Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many overseas training courses were attended by his Department's civil servants in the latest period for which figures are available; how many civil servants attended each course; and what the total cost to the public purse was of each course. [305905]
Mr. Woolas: Data are not collected centrally on the number and cost of Home Office staff who have attended overseas training courses, and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Deportation: Expenditure
Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much his Department spent on the removals process between 1 January and 1 December 2009. [309168]
Mr. Woolas: It is not possible to provide this information in the format requested.
There are a range of costs, such as ticketing, escorting and detention costs that might be involved in removal and there are many staff involved in the removal process across the UK Border Agency, including seconded police officers. To disaggregate the funding and other resources in place to support the removals process from the overall budget and resources would incur disproportionate cost.
Entry Clearances: Overseas Students
Mr. Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 25 November 2009, Official Report, column 215W, on the sponsor register, how many institutions (a) have had an application to join the sponsor register refused and (b) have been removed from the register of licensed sponsors under Tier Four of the new immigration rules since 31 March 2009. [308320]
Mr. Woolas [holding answer 6 January 2010]: There have been 228 institutions that have had an application to join the sponsor register refused between 31 March 2009 and 21 December 2009 under Tier 4.
49 Tier 4 sponsors have been removed from the sponsor register between 31 March 2009 and 21 December 2009.
The figures quoted are not provided under National Statistics protocols and have been derived from local management information and are therefore provisional and subject to change.
Extradition: USA
Andrew Mackinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether his duty to assess the appropriateness of extraditing persons to the US in relation to health grounds applies (a) at the time of the receipt of the US application, (b) at the time of proceedings in the UK and (c) at the time immediately before the extradition takes place; and if he will make a statement. [308319]
Meg Hillier [holding answer 6 January 2010]: In the scheme of the Extradition Act 2003, it falls to the courts to determine whether health factors raise a barrier to a person's extradition. However, the Home Secretary has an implied power to withdraw an extradition order where, exceptionally, a new matter arises subsequent to the completion of all proceedings under the Act but before extradition takes place. The basis for this implied power is section 6 of the Human Rights Act 1998, which renders it unlawful for the Home Secretary, as a public authority, to act in a way which is incompatible with a convention right.
Firearms
Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people in (a) England, (b) Sussex and (c) Lewes constituency were (i) killed and (ii) wounded by a firearm in each year since 1997. [308563]
Mr. Alan Campbell [holding answer 6 January 2010]: Available information relates to crimes recorded by the police in which firearms (excluding air weapons) were reported to have been fired or used as a blunt instrument resulting in fatal and other injury. Data for England and the Sussex police force area, from 1997-98 up to and including 2007-08, are given in the following table. Constituency level data are not collected centrally.
Firearm offence statistics for 2008-09 will be published on 21 January2010.
Gangmasters Licensing Authority: Public Relations
Mr. Hurd: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what payments the Gangmasters Licensing Authority has made to Cavendish Communications in the last 12 months; for what purpose; and if he will place in the Library a copy of the contract under which such payments have been made. [305152]
Jim Fitzpatrick: I have been asked to reply.
The Gangmasters Licensing Authority has not made any payments to Cavendish Communications in the last 12 months.
Hotels
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many hotel room nights were booked by officials in (a) his Department and (b) its agencies in each year since 2007; and how much (i) his Department and (ii) its agencies spent on fees of third party agents in relation to booking hotel accommodation in each such year. [309318]
Mr. Woolas: The current contract for booking hotel rooms for the Home Office Headquarters, Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) and UKBA commenced in December 2008. Available information from this contract and since 2007 from the contract with the Identity and Passport Service on the number of nights booked by officials is as follows:
| Hotel room nights | ||
| January 2007 to November 2008 | December 2008 to November 2009 | |
| (1)Information unavailable. | ||
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