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8 Feb 2010 : Column 746W—continued
Asylum
Chris Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many unsuccessful asylum seekers have given birth in the UK while awaiting immigration determination in each of the last five years; and of these how many have (a) applied for section 4 hard case support and (b) applied for section 4 support after the deadline of six weeks after birth and were subsequently refused payment. [313537]
Alan Johnson: The requested information on the number of applications for section 4 hard case support from unsuccessful asylum seekers who have given birth in the UK is not collated and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost through examination of individual case records.
Asylum: Offenders
Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many asylum seekers from each country of origin whose application for asylum in the UK had failed have been convicted of each category of a criminal offence in each year since 1998. [314816]
Alan Johnson: Identifying the number of failed asylum seekers who have been convicted of a criminal offence since 1998 would necessitate reviewing the individual case files of all failed asylum seekers. Not all offences would meet the deportation criteria and would thus not always be recorded in an easily retrievable format. Obtaining such data could be achieved only at a disproportionate cost.
The UK Border Agency removed or deported 3,890 foreign national offenders in the first-three quarters of 2009. Of those removed or deported, approximately one-third had, at some stage prior to their removal, submitted a claim for asylum.
Crimes of Violence
Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what use his Department makes of health service data in estimating trends in the level of crime involving injury. [315512]
Alan Johnson [holding answer 4 February 2010]: Hospital admissions data for assault are published on a regular basis.
A key objective of Phase II of the Tackling Knives and Serious Youth Violence Action Programme (TKAP) is to ensure that key hospitals are sharing data on injuries resulting from serious violence with local Police and Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnerships. The Department of Health's £200,000 'Innovation Fund' is supporting the development of new and existing A&E data sharing in 13 NHS Trusts across England and we have set a target of 100 hospitals sharing data across England and Wales by March 2010.
In addition to the work of TKAP, the Home Office Alcohol Strategy Unit (ASU) also utilises hospital admissions data in assessing levels of violence related to the Night Time Economy and in defining priority areas for profiling and support. It is also involved in the data sharing programme with A&E and is currently preparing a national training programme for CDRP analysts on obtaining and fully utilising A&E data which will contribute to the above work.
Cybercrime
Mr. Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what his most recent assessment is of the level of threat to cyber security in the UK. [310443]
Mr. Hanson: The first annual update of the UK's National Security Strategy 'Security for the Next Generation', published in June 2009, provides a general assessment of the full range of threats to national security that the UK faces including those relating to cyber security. The UK's first Cyber Security Strategy, published at the same time, gives further outline of evolving threats and sets out a framework for addressing the challenges of cyber security.
Threat assessments are regularly carried out in response to the range of threat actors but details of these are not disclosed into the public domain.
Cybercrime: Financial Services
Jim Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many reports of cyber attacks or misuse of the data and information systems of UK-based banks and financial services companies there were in each year since 1997. [314008]
Mr. Hanson: Any organisation or individual that believes that they have been the subject of such attacks or interference on their computer should report the matter to the police, who can then investigate the complaint.
Cyber attacks, misuse of data and information systems are general terms. Specific offences, as defined in law, would be classified under the appropriate section of Computer Misuse Act 1990 dependent upon the circumstances of the individual offences. Such offences would then be recorded under Home Office classification 53B 'Preserved other fraud and repealed fraud offences (Pre Fraud Act 2006)'. Offences recorded under individual sections of the Computer Misuse Act cannot be separately identified from the other offences recorded within this offence classification.
Departmental Consultants
Julia Goldsworthy: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much consultants employed by his Department and its agencies have been paid (a) in total and (b) in reimbursable expenses in each of the last 10 years. [313997]
Mr. Woolas: Information on the Home Department's, including United Kingdom Border Agency and Identity and Passport Service agencies, total consultancy expenditure from 2005-06 and as a percentage of the total Department's spend on goods and services is as follows:
| Table 1 | |||
| Financial year | Expenditure on consultancy services (£ million) | Total expenditure on goods and services (£ million) | Consultancy spend as a percentage of total spend |
| (1) First six months of the financial year: provisional figure. | |||
To provide information on consultancy spend prior to 2005-06 would incur disproportionate cost.
Information on reimbursable expenses paid to consultants in each of the last 10 years could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Deportation
Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 14 January 2010, Official Report, column 1091W, on deportation, how many charter flights removing people with no right to remain there were in 2008-09; and how many people were removed from the UK upon such flights. [312099]
Alan Johnson [holding answer 20 January 2010]: In the financial year April 2008 to April 2009 there were 67 charter flights removing people with no right to remain in the UK, with 1,658 individuals removed.
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.
The Home Office 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 Quarter three 2009 are available from the Library of the House and from the Home Office Research, Development and Statistics Directorate website at:
Deportation: Haiti
Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether any citizens of Haiti in the UK are subject to deportation proceedings. [314776]
Alan Johnson: There are currently no Haitian nationals subject to deportation proceedings in the UK and no planned removals to Haiti. The UK Border Agency continues to keep the situation under close review. Any individual cases that do arise will be dealt with on a case-by-case basis, taking into account any compassionate circumstances.
DNA: Databases
Kate Hoey: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate he has made of the number of people with records on the National DNA Database entered after a suspected offence for which they were not prosecuted were subsequently convicted of the same offence in the latest period for which figures are available. [315414]
Mr. Alan Campbell: The purpose of the National DNA Database (NDNAD) is to match DNA profiles derived from traces found at crime scenes with profiles taken from known individuals, and to pass reports of matches to the police for further investigation. The NDNAD does not hold information on the development of police investigations, or on whether individuals with profiles on it are or are not convicted. The information requested is therefore not available.
Dogs: Walsall
Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he has received representations on the raid by police on Rosedene Boarding Kennels, Radley Road, Walsall. [315558]
Mr. Hanson: I have received no such representations.
Firearms
Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what his policy is on controlling the sale of (a) firearms and (b) air weapons; and if he will make a statement. [315803]
Mr. Alan Campbell [holding answer 5 February 2010]: Businesses wishing to sell firearms, including air weapons, must register as dealers with the police, who must be satisfied that there will be no risk to public safety. Dealers must keep records of transactions and can only sell to someone permitted to purchase the type of firearm concerned. Prohibited weapons can be sold only with the authority of the Secretary of State.
Forced Marriage
Margaret Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) whether he has plans to increase the level of funding allocated to the Forced Marriage Unit for expenditure on services provided by the third sector; [315084]
(2) by what mechanisms the outcomes achieved by third sector organisations funding by the Forced Marriage Unit are evaluated; [315082]
(3) what the procedure is for (a) bidding for Forced Marriage Unit funding and (b) assessing such bids. [315083]
Mr. Alan Campbell: The joint Foreign and Commonwealth Office and Home Office Forced Marriage Unit (FMU) was set up in 2005 and initially provided ad hoc funding to initiatives run by the third sector. To give this support more structure, the FMU piloted a domestic programme fund of £65,000 in 2008-09. This was aimed specifically at funding third sector projects which help deliver the Unit's published Action Plan. For 2009-10 the initiative was continued and the fund increased to £84,000. Funding allocations for the FMU in 2010-11 have not yet been set. It is important to remember that Government funding for third sector activity to help tackle forced marriage is not only available via the FMU, for example funding can also be sought from Government Offices.
For financial year 2009-10, applications for funding from the FMU Domestic Programme Fund were invited via the FCO website from June 2009. Bids were submitted using a standardised application form which was publicly available. Bids were assessed against a common set of criteria including value for money, likely impact, support to the objectives laid out in the FMU Action Plan, and a clear and measurable reporting process to ensure transparency and accountability. The fund is designed to fund small projects rather than core funding to organisations. Organisations that had previously received funding were only eligible to bid for further funding
where they were up to date on reporting to the FMU. Project implementers were required to be from the voluntary sector. Partnership with local government was strongly encouraged but applications solely from local government organisations were not considered. Applications were then assessed by a panel including FMU staff.
Organisations funded by the FMU are required to submit reports on activities undertaken as well as on monies spent to demonstrate achievements set against the agreed project objectives and value for money. The frequency of reports will depend on the duration of the project. All projects are required to submit final outcome and financial reports upon completion. Reports are evaluated by FMU staff. Where needed, staff will ask for supplementary information. In addition, where reports clearly identify national learning this information is considered and shared with other stakeholders where appropriate.
Human Trafficking
Mr. Steen: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many of the referrals of victims of trafficking to the UK Trafficking Centre made between 1 April and 31 December 2009 were of individuals who entered the UK (a) legally and (b) illegally. [316230]
Mr. Alan Campbell: It is not possible to identify whether someone has entered the UK legally or illegally from the National Referral Mechanism (NRM) statistics.
The NRM identifies victims of serious crime and is not a process for recording immigration status. The mode of entry of a potential victim of trafficking into the UK is one of a number of factors assessed by a Competent Authority but it is not held on a central record for statistical purposes.
Mr. Steen: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) prosecutions and (b) convictions there have been for offences relating to the trafficking of people for the purposes of domestic servitude. [316231]
Mr. Alan Campbell: There have been no prosecutions to date for trafficking for domestic servitude under section 4 of the Asylum and Immigration (Treatment of Claimants etc) Act 2004.
Hunting: Enforcement
Lindsay Roy: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps his Department is taking to ensure compliance with legislation on hunting with hounds. [315339]
Mr. Hanson: The Government are clear that the Hunting Act must be complied with as we cannot pick and choose which laws we obey in a democratic society. Ministers have been in regular contact with the Association of Chief Police Officers who have stated their commitment to enforcing the hunting legislation.
Identity Cards: Greater London
Mr. Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate he has made of the likely level of take-up of national identity cards by people aged 16 to 24 years and resident in London from 8 February 2010. [315027]
Meg Hillier [holding answer 2 February 2010]: We have made no estimates of the likely take up of national identity cards by people aged 16 to 24 years and resident in London.
Members: Correspondence
Sir Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he plans to reply to the letter of 10 December 2009 from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Safina Hussain. [315023]
Alan Johnson: I wrote to my right hon. Friend on 4 February 2010.
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