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9 Jun 2010 : Column 154W—continued
Departmental Public Expenditure
Mr Iain Wright:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate she has made of the cost to her Department of the (a) implementation of penalty clauses and payments in its contracts and (b) potential legal action arising from the deferral and
cancellation of contracts and projects under her Department's plans to achieve cost savings; and whether those estimates are included in the total cost savings to be achieved by her Department. [565]
Nick Herbert: Work is presently underway in the Home Office to manage the process of any contract re-negotiation with suppliers, due to change in scope, deferral or cancellation of programmes. The actual costs and net savings are therefore subject to commercial negotiation. Eventual final costs and charges will be included in the final net savings and reported accordingly.
Departmental Redundancy Pay
Mr Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what her most recent estimate is of the annual cost to her Department of redundancy payments for (a) front-line and (b) other staff employed by (i) her Department and (ii) its agencies. [639]
Nick Herbert: We do not yet know the full extent of early releases (voluntary or compulsory) that may be required in 2010-11. Furthermore, until we have clarity about the outcome of the legal challenge to the Civil Service Compensation Scheme by the Public and Commercial Services Union, we will not be able to make reliable calculations of any early release costs.
Deportation: Offenders
Andrew Stephenson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many foreign national prisoners were (a) released from prison and (b) removed from the UK in each of the last five years. [1115]
Damian Green: The number of foreign national prisoners who were discharged from prison having completed determinate sentences for each year from 2004 to 2008 is as follows;
| Number | |
These figures have been rounded to the nearest 100. They refer to the number of discharges on completion of sentence for each year, and will include prisoners who have been removed or deported. Data for 2009 are not yet available.
Published figures for the UK Border Agency on the number of foreign national prisoners removed or deported from 2007 to 2009 are;
Management Information prior to 2007 is not available.
Published information from 2008 onwards is available from the Control of Immigration: Quarterly Statistical Summary Statistical bulletins; available in the Library of the House and on the Home Office's Research, Development and Statistics website at:
Detention Centres: Children
Tony Baldry: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many children were detained in immigration removal centres on the latest date for which figures are available. [888]
Damian Green: As at 31 March 2010, there were 30 people detained solely under Immigration Act powers recorded as being less than 18 years of age.
This information is available in tables 3.5 to 3.8 of the Control of Immigration: Quarterly Statistical Summary, United Kingdom, January to March 2010 published on 27 May 2010 available in the Library of the House and the Home Office's Research, Development and Statistics website at:
I recently announced a review into the detention of children for asylum purposes so it can be brought to an end this summer. We have already ended the detention of children at Dungavel.
Entry Clearances: Pakistan
Andrew Stephenson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people resident in Islamabad applied for (a) visitor visas and (b) permanent settlement in each year since 1997. [1120]
Damian Green: The UK Border Agency (UKBA) cannot break down its records of visa applications by city of residence except at disproportionate cost.
Identity Cards
Paul Goggins: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many of her Department's staff who have been employed in administering the identity cards programme she estimates will be (a) redeployed to other work and (b) made redundant; and if she will make a statement. [471]
Damian Green
[holding answer 2 June 2010]: There will be a reduction in staff numbers as a result of the cancellation of identity cards. This is in addition to the other efficiency savings IPS is making to contribute to budget reductions across government. We will begin communicating with staff and union representatives about how this will happen during the coming weeks.
We will also be working very closely with suppliers to manage any impacts on them. Last week we informed 60 temporary staff based in Durham that their contracts will be ended three months early (in June). They have no entitlement to redundancy or redeployment.
Our aim is, as far as possible, to redeploy permanent staff affected and take all action possible to avoid compulsory redundancies.
Mr Blunkett: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what estimate she has made of the cost to the public purse of cancelling contracts with companies undertaking work for her Department on the (a) development of the next generation biometric passport and (b) development and delivery of the identity card system; [747]
(2) what estimate she has been made of the annual (a) saving to the public purse consequent on ending the identity register and (b) cost to the public purse of the cancellation of contracts in respect of the identity register projects including cancellation fees to contractors. [750]
Damian Green: The estimated exchequer savings from cancelling ID cards and the National Identity Register are £86 million and further savings in the region of £134 million will be realised by halting the introduction of fingerprint biometric passports.
The cost implications of terminating and amending certain National Identity Service contracts are currently a matter of commercial negotiation with suppliers, to protect taxpayers' interests. It is therefore not possible to give the cost of cancelling those contracts at this time.
Mr Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) whether those persons who have received an identity card will be able to continue using it for its stated purposes until its expiry date; and if she will make a statement; [1004]
(2) whether persons who applied voluntarily to receive identity cards are to be reimbursed the application fee. [1005]
Damian Green [holding answer 8 June 2010]: For the time being, identity cards remain valid until the date of expiry on the card. However, the Identity Documents Bill which was laid before Parliament on 26 May 2010 proposes the scrapping of ID Cards and the National Identity Register. Cards would remain valid for one month after Royal Assent. The Identity and Passport Service is writing to each cardholder informing them of progress and contact details for further advice. Card refunds or credit for a future passport application will not be offered.
Passports: Fingerprints
Meg Hillier: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether she plans to include fingerprint information in British passports from 2012; and if she will make a statement. [1242]
Damian Green:
The programme of work in place to deliver fingerprints in passports in 2012 has been halted. This includes the enhancements to the electronic security
of the passport chip required to include finger images and the establishment of a capability to enrol passport applicants' fingerprints.
Police: Finance
Mr Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what representations she has received from (a) the Association of Police Authorities, (b) police authorities and (c) organisations representing the police on the revised police funding settlement announced on 27 May 2010. [1023]
Nick Herbert: No representations have been received to date. However, a consultation period will begin once the Police Grant Report (England and Wales) Amending Report 2010-11 has been laid.
Christopher Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what funding her Department intends to provide to police authorities in respect of the requirement upon them to publish detailed monthly local crime statistics. [1071]
Nick Herbert: Greater transparency across Government is at the heart of our approach to accountability for public services. This is why we will make sure that, from January 2011, crime data are published at a level that allows the public to see what is happening on their streets. We will be working with police forces and authorities to ensure that this is done in a way that offers value for money for Government, the police service and the public.
Seasonal Agricultural Workers' Scheme
John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 2 June 2010, Official Report, column 13W, on work permits, how many work cards (a) have been allocated and (b) are planned to be allocated to each (i) county and (ii) region under the Seasonal Agricultural Workers Scheme in 2010. [1400]
Damian Green: The quota for the Seasonal Agricultural Workers Scheme for 2010 is 21,250. All work cards have been allocated by the United Kingdom Border Agency to the nine contracted Operators, according to their agreed share of the full quota.
Operators are responsible for issuing the cards to workers.
Information on the number of work cards allocated and planned to be allocated by county is not recorded centrally. Information on the number of cards issued by Operators to workers with a specific start date by region is as follows:
| Region | Card issued to workers with start dates 1 January 2010 to 31 May 2010 | Cards issued to workers with start dates 1 June 2010 onwards | Total |
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. Figures are rounded to the nearest five.
The number of work cards allocated may not equate to the number of individuals working in the UK under the Seasonal Agricultural Workers Scheme. Not all cards allocated are used, and some cards are issued as replacements for lost or spoiled cards.
Sexual Offences: Registration
Mr Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if she will consider the merits of broadening the definition of sexual offences in Schedule 3 to the Sexual Offences Act 2003 to include murder where there was clear sexual motive; and if she will make a statement. [1455]
James Brokenshire: It is essential that the police and other agencies effectively manage dangerous offenders including those convicted of sexually motivated murders once released back into the community.
The UK has one of the most robust systems for managing sex offenders in the world. The scope of the legislative framework is regularly kept under review including the need to add new categories of offence and new types of notification requirements.
Those receiving mandatory sentences for murder are subject to licence conditions after release from prison which could include requirements similar to those under the notification regime. In addition persons posing a risk after release can be actively managed by police and other agencies under local multi-agency public protection arrangements (MAPPA).
Where there is evidence that a person convicted of murder poses a risk of serious sexual harm to the public, in addition to the restriction of the life licence, the police can apply for a sexual offences prevention order.
This Government are committed to ensuring that these arrangements are protecting our communities and will work with colleagues across Government to ensure that the most effective policy and legislation are in place.
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