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14 Jan 2010 : Column 1090W—continued
Departmental Research
Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much his Department spent on unpublished research in (a) 2009 and (b) each of the last four years. [301306]
Mr. Woolas: Most Home Office research reports are published except where the Home Office Chief Scientific Advisor decides not to publish in a Home Office series on the grounds of inadequate scientific quality following independent and external peer review, or if the results are badly out of date, or on national security or public interest grounds, or for operational reasons.
The available information for the period 2005-06 to 2009-10 is shown in the following table. It includes the programme costs of the external research projects where a decision has been taken not to publish the research as a Home Office report or where the research has had a limited distribution. We have not included research which is ongoing and where no decision has yet been
taken on publication. For 2009-10 around half of the cost is attributed to a project not published on national security grounds.
| Costs of external research where a decision has been taken not to publish the research. | |
| Estimated external programme costs (£ excluding VAT) | |
Departmental Travel
Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department on what date he last travelled by (a) bus and (b) taxi in the course of his official duties. [302730]
Mr. Woolas: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State regularly uses public transport and walks to local engagements.
Deportation
Clare Short: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many charter flights removing persons with no right to stay in the UK there have been in 2009; what the destination was of each such flight; how many individuals were removed on such flights; and what the cost to the public purse of such flights was. [307036]
Mr. Woolas: The following figures show the total number of charter flights conducted by the UK Border Agency for the purpose of removing those with no right to remain in the United Kingdom, and the total number of individuals removed on those flights, from l January to 8December 2009.
Number of flights-64
Number of persons removed-1,973
These figures 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.
In 2009 (to 8 December), charter flights were conducted to the following destination countries:
Afghanistan
Albania
Democratic Republic of Congo
Iraq
Jamaica
Kosovo
Nigeria
However, the UK Border Agency is unable to disclose the number of flights to each destination country, as this information is confidential for operational reasons.
The UK Border Agency keeps records of the overall annual costs of charter flights by financial year. Figures for the financial year 2009-10 are not yet available, as they are subject to audit and may therefore change; however, for the financial year 2008-09, the cost of charter flights was £8,227,553.38.
The Home Office also publishes statistics on the number of persons who were removed or departed voluntarily from the UK on a quarterly and annual basis. Annual statistics for 2008 and the latest statistics for Q3 2009 are available from the Library of the House and from the Home Office Research, Development and Statistics Directorate website at:
EC Immigration
Mr. Heathcoat-Amory: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 2 December 2009, Official Report, columns 734-5W, on EU law, to which (a) 43 EU measures on asylum and migration and (b) 15 measures on civil law the UK has opted in. [305151]
Mr. Woolas: A list of measures the UK has decided to participate in through the opt-in arrangements under title IV of the treaty establishing the European Communities is shown at annex A placed in the House Library.
Entry Clearances
Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what remedies his Department provides for those wishing to contest the decision to place them on the list of individuals excluded from the UK; what steps he takes to monitor the effectiveness of such decisions; and whether those placed on the list are informed of their inclusion. [300385]
Mr. Woolas: An individual may contest a decision to place them on the list of those individuals excluded from the UK by seeking a judicial review of the exclusion decision. Where an immigration decision is taken to refuse or cancel leave, on the basis of the Home Secretary's decision to exclude, this refusal decision may provide a right of appeal. If evidence can be provided that an individual has recanted their extremist statements in a genuine, credible and public manner, their exclusion may be reconsidered by the Home Secretary.
Decisions to exclude are normally reviewed every three years but otherwise remain in place unless the Home Secretary decides to lift the exclusion. An individual who has been excluded for engaging in unacceptable behaviour is notified of their exclusion where it is possible to do so.
Mr. Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the average time taken to process an application was for a (a) Tier 1 (investor), (b) Tier 1 (entrepreneur) and (c) EU Association Agreement business visa for a foreign national whose application to visit the UK on commercial matters was granted in each month of the last three years. [304817]
Mr. Woolas: The following table illustrates by month the average time taken to process requested categories of visa applications over the last three years. Tier 1 of the points based system was introduced on 1 July 2008.
| Average days to resolve applications | |||
| Endorsement | |||
| Issued month | Business-EC associate | Tier 1 (investor) migrant | Tier 1 (entrepreneur) migrant |
| Note: Tier 1 introduced 1 July 2008. | |||
Quarterly information about the performance and processing times of each of our visa sections, against our target agreed customers service standards, is published on the following website:
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