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5 Feb 2010 : Column 574W—continued
Mr. Woolas: An automated authority to carry (ATC) capability is not included in the e-Borders contract. UK Border Agency (UKBA) has the option to include this capability at a later stage, but this will need to be funded separately.
As part of the wider rollout of e-Borders in 2011, a capability to support a manual ATC process will be delivered.
Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent assessment he has made of progress in the manual trial period for authority to carry capabilities as part of the e-borders programme. [313295]
Mr. Woolas: The UK Border Agency has completed a proof of concept trial of a manual authority to carry scheme. We are currently evaluating these data in the context of the Prime Minister's recent statement on security and border protection, to examine the broader options for preventing people from travelling to the United Kingdom.
Case Resolution Directorate
Jim Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many cases were resolved by the Case Resolution Directorate in the most recent period for which figures are available. [313895]
Mr. Woolas: The UK Border Agency has made good progress in concluding the estimated 400,000 to 450,000 electronic and paper records in the asylum backlog and remains on track to conclude these cases by summer 2011. The total conclusions now stand at over 220,000 cases concluded to end of September 2009. Lin Homer will update the Home Affairs Select Committee on performance up to December 2009 next month.
Crime
Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 25 January 2010, Official Report, column 637W, on crime, which universities received such expenditure; and what crime awareness campaigns were undertaken in each case. [315001]
Alan Johnson: In 2005-06 the Home Office ran a marketing campaign called 'Let's Keep Crime Down'. An element of this campaign targeted students. Digital advertising space was purchased to targeted student bars and libraries. Advertising was centred on Leeds, London, Manchester, Liverpool, Birmingham, Nottingham, Bristol, Bolton and Newcastle.
In 2009-10 Home Office gave a grant to the National Union of Students (NUS) as part of the Securing Homes: Action Against Burglary programme. £78,905.50 has been allocated for NUS to deliver communications activity. The communications work is varied and does not come under a single branded campaign. NUS has distributed a Home Office leaflet called 'The Student Survival Guide' that provides crime reduction and personal safety information and a 'Let' Keep Crime Down' branded 'doorhanger' to 119 students unions across England and Wales and has launched a crime reduction website:
In both 2005-06 and 2009-10, Home Office has not given individual universities money to deliver crime awareness campaigns.
Departmental Font Licensing
Mr. Hurd: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much his Department and its agencies have spent on font licensing in the last three years. [314752]
Mr. Woolas: From the best available information the Home Department inclusive of its agencies have not incurred any costs on font licensing in the last three years.
Departmental Housing
Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent estimate he has made of the (a) potential annual rental and (b) total book value of the residential property owned by his Department. [313741]
Mr. Woolas: My Department currently owns one residential property which is in the process of being sold. Accordingly no estimates have been made of potential rental amounts and the property has an indicated guide sale price of £4 million.
Departmental Pay
Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much funding his Department has allocated for (a) year-end and (b) in-year bonuses for its staff in 2009-10. [307031]
Mr. Woolas: An element of the overall pay award for the Home Office is allocated to non-consolidated variable pay related to performance. These payments are used to drive high performance and form part of the pay award for members of staff who demonstrate exceptional performance, for example by exceeding targets set of meeting challenging objectives.
Non-consolidated variable pay awards are funded from within existing pay bill controls and have to be re-earned each year against pre-determined targets and, as such, do not add to future pay bill and pension costs. The percentage of the pay bill set aside for performance-related awards for the Senior Civil Service is based on the recommendations of the independent Senior Salaries Review Body.
Non-consolidated end-of-year performance payments made in the 2009-10 financial year (in relation to the 2008-09 performance year) amounted to £5.69 million, (0.69 per cent. of the estimated total salary provision for the 2009-10 year). Up to 0.3 per cent. of the pay bill for the current year is allocated for the purpose of non-consolidated special payments to reward exceptional in-year performance.
Departmental Public Consultation
Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 19 January 2010, Official Report, column 261W, on departmental public consultation, how much was spent by his Department under each budgetary headline on the burglary summit on 4 February 2009. [314026]
Mr. Woolas: The Home Office burglary summit was held on 4 February 2009 at the Home Office headquarters in 2 Marsham Street London. The summit was attended by 40 voluntary, private and public sector representatives. The only costs incurred were for hospitality (refreshments). The total amount spent on hospitality was £203.60
The summit resulted in the launch of the Securing Homes programme two months later under which the Government have invested £20 million in further preventing and tackling burglary.
Departmental Public Expenditure
David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much his Department spent on (a) new furnishings, (b) works of art and (c) new vehicles in each of the last three years. [312512]
Mr. Woolas: The information requested is as follows:
(a) Figures for the purchase of furniture and fittings are 2006-07 (£4.358 million), 2007-2008 (£2.267 million) and 2008-09 (£5.956 million).
(b) There has been no expenditure on works of art installed by the department at its HQ at 2 Marsham Street over the last three years, other than the cost of maintaining Public Art at 2 Marsham Street which is met by the PFI supplier. Information on any possible expenditure on art elsewhere is not held centrally.
(c) The Department including UK Border Agency spent the following on the purchase of new vehicles in the last three years: 2006-07 £771,660, 2007-08 £785,207 and 2008-09, £230,893 exclusive of post purchase operational equipment provided in the vehicles.
Deportation: Offenders
Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people serving prison sentences in England are liable for deportation on their release; and if he will make a statement. [315009]
Mr. Woolas: As at 18 December 2009, Her Majesty's Prison Service published the foreign national prison population as 11,546. This includes those on remand, those serving a custodial sentence (time serving) and those time-served held under the Immigration Act 1971, including those in the immigration removal centres Dover, Haslar and Lindholme, who we are seeking to deport.
There was a monthly average in 2009 of 550 time-served foreign national offenders detained in prisons who the UK Border Agency was seeking to deport.
Those serving prison sentences will at some point during their sentence be considered for deportation against the following criteria:
A court recommendation;
For non-European Economic Area nationals-A custodial sentence of 12 months or more either in one sentence, or as an aggregate of two or three sentences over a period of five years or a custodial sentence of any length for a drug offence (an offence other than possession only);
For EEA nationals: a custodial sentence of 12 months or more for an offence involving drugs, violent or sexual crimes or a custodial sentence of 24 months or more for other offences.
Detention Centres: Mobile Telephones
Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) mobile telephones and (b) SIM cards were confiscated from persons held in immigration detention centres in each of the last five years. [313450]
Mr. Woolas: Detainees are permitted to retain their own mobile telephone while in the UK Border Agency's detention estate with the exception of those with a camera, recording facility or provide access to the internet; such phones are placed into the detainee's property store and returned upon discharge.
Mobile phones and SIM cards may be removed from detainees for security reasons if a detainee has been removed from association in accordance with Rule 40 and Rule 42 of the Detention Centre Rules 2001. The phone is returned to the detainee when he or she is returned to the rest of the population.
We do not keep a central record of phones confiscated from detainees.
Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) mobile telephones and (b) SIM cards have been issued to immigration detainees in each of the last five years. [313500]
Mr. Woolas: We do not keep a central record of mobile telephones borrowed or purchased by detainees held in immigration removal centres.
DNA: Databases
Mr. Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which organisation is responsible for the implementation of his Department's DNA isotope testing regime. [312203]
Mr. Woolas: The Forensic Science Service and the university of Reading are carrying out the analysis of the DNA and isotope samples taken by the UK Border Agency.
Entry Clearances
Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many decisions on visa applications made at each British embassy or consulate were overturned by immigration judges in each of the last three years. [312836]
Mr. Woolas: I have placed tables in the Library giving the requested information. Immigration statistics for October-December 2009 will be published on 25 February.
UKBA monitors closely the reasons why appeals were overturned and uses the information to improve decision making quality.
Patrick Hall: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many visas were issued more than six months following a successful appeal against a refusal to issue entry clearance in 2009. [315146]
Mr. Woolas: The information requested is not available and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.
Entry Clearances: Overseas Students
Mr. Galloway: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate he has made of the number of students studying at colleges which have received and subsequently lost accreditation as a bona fide institution offering courses for overseas students. [314606]
Mr. Woolas [holding answer 3 February 2010]: 145 international students were granted entry clearance or given leave to remain in the United Kingdom under tier 4 of the points based system, to study at a private college which has since lost its accreditation.
Mr. Galloway: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what provision his Department makes for students studying at colleges which lose accreditation as a bona fide institution offering courses for overseas students to enable them to continue their studies. [314607]
Mr. Woolas [holding answer 3 February 2010]: Students studying under tier 4 of the points based system are given 60 days in which to find the same or similar course with a different sponsor and make a new application for leave to remain in the United Kingdom to the UK Border Agency.
Human Trafficking
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Totnes of 30 November 2009, Official Report, column 486W, on human trafficking, how many cases the 180 specialists with the UK Border Agency dealt with in the last 12 months; and what average amount of time was spent on each case. [313656]
Mr. Woolas: In the first nine months since a National Referral Mechanism for identifying and protecting trafficking victims was established in April 2009, 405 cases have been referred to specialist decision-makers in UKBA competent authorities, either directly or through the UK Human Trafficking Centre.
Each case is unique and a case owner will devote as much time as is needed to reach an informed decision, including by consulting with other relevant agencies such as the police, children's services and support providers. In some instances, competent authorities may also need to conduct or commission a further interview to gather more evidence. The timing will vary greatly depending on whether the initial 'reasonable grounds' decision is positive, how complex the case is, the ability of the potential victim to provide information and how prompt
other parties are in responding to queries for more information or reports. But it would not be unusual for a competent authority to spend two to four days in total on a given case.
Immigrants: Somalia
Mr. Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many Somali nationals are estimated to be in the UK illegally. [314059]
Mr. Woolas: The information requested is not available. By its very nature, illegal immigration is exceptionally difficult to quantify and no Government have previously been able to produce a definitive figure for the number of people who are in the country illegally, including Somali nationals.
We are continuing to strengthen UK Border Controls. The e-Borders system screens passenger information against watch lists to identify high risk individuals before they travel and will also enable us to count people in and out of the country. The system will screen 95 per cent. of all passenger and crew movements in and out of the UK by December 2010 and 100 per cent. by March 2014.
Local immigration teams are being established to serve every community in the UK. Each team will work closely with police, local authorities and many other local partners to target immigration crime, including working to detect and remove those who are in the UK illegally.
Mr. Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many Somali nationals have arrived in the UK in each year since 1998. [314060]
Mr. Woolas: The latest available statistics relate to the number of Somali nationals given leave to enter the United Kingdom, 1998 to 2008, and are given in the following table. Data for 2009 are scheduled for publication in August 2010.
The statistics are based on landing card information and may include the same individuals more than once if they visited the United Kingdom on multiple occasions in the period.
Statistics on passengers given leave to enter the United Kingdom by country of nationality and purpose of journey are published annually in the series "Control of Immigration: Statistics United Kingdom". These publications are available from the Library of the House and from the Home Office Research, Development and Statistics website at:
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