Written Answers to Questions
Wednesday 30 June 2010
Energy and Climate Change
Energy and Green Economy Bill
John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many of his Department's officials are working on preparations for the Energy and Green Economy Bill. [5025]
Gregory Barker: The core Bill team currently comprises three officials, with two more recruited and due to join in the summer. In addition there are numerous officials throughout policy and legal directorates contributing to the development of possible content.
Home Department
Dungavel House Immigration Removal Centre
Mr Bain: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many (a) adults and (b) children have been transferred from Dungavel detention centre to Yarl's Wood since the ending of child detention at Dungavel was announced; [4179]
(2) how many (a) adults and (b) children have been held at Dungavel detention centre since it was announced that child detention at Dungavel would cease; and what the average length of stay for each has been. [4180]
Damian Green: This Government are committed to ending the detention of children for immigration purposes while ensuring those who do not have a right to remain in the UK, continue to leave. As part of that commitment, I announced on 19 May 2010 that all families with children would no longer be held overnight at Dungavel Immigration Removal Centre in Scotland. I am also leading a review to find alternatives to detention for families with children which I expect to be completed within weeks.
On 19 May a mother and child were transferred to Yarl's Wood from Dungavel House. No families with children have been detained at Dungavel from that time to the present.
Eight single adults have transferred to Yarl's Wood from Dungavel between 19 and 31 May, the latest date for which data are available.
Dungavel Immigration Removal Centre provides accommodation for 211 single adults. At 31 May, there were 208 adults detained at the centre. The length of immigration detention is as follows:
| Number of detainees | Length of detention |
These data are taken from local management information. They are provisional, subject to change and have not been subject to the detailed checks that apply for National Statistics publications.
Entry Clearances: Overseas Students
Mr Lammy: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many applications for student visas were refused in the academic year (a) 2009-10, (b) 2008-09 and (c) 2007-08. [4594]
Damian Green: The number of applications for student visas that were refused in the financial years 2009-10, 2008-09 and 2007-08 are given in the following table. I have given data for the financial years as most student visa applicants apply in the summer months, before the start of the academic year.
| Student visa applications( 1) | |
| Financial year | Refused |
| (1) Excludes dependents and student visitors. Note: The data in this table are based on management information and as such have not been quality assured. They are provisional and subject to change. | |
Identity Cards
Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department for what purposes the £450,000 revenue raised by the identity card scheme has been allocated to date. [4672]
Damian Green: The Identity and Passport Service received total income of £196,000 from the issue of identity cards in the financial year 2009-10. All identity card fee income has been allocated against the cost of producing the cards.
The publication of the coalition agreement on 20 May 2010 and subsequent announcement from the Home Secretary on 27 May 2010, has resulted in a decision to scrap identity cards.
Immigrants: English Language
Mr Bain: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department who will be responsible for the administration of the proposed English language tests for new migrants. [4181]
Damian Green: On 9 June, my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary announced a new language requirement for those seeking entry to the UK as the spouse or civil partner, fiance or proposed civil partner, unmarried partner or same sex partner of a British citizen or someone who is present and settled in the UK.
From autumn 2010, applicants will need to provide evidence that they have passed an acceptable English test at level A1 of the Common European Framework of Reference with one of the UK Border Agency's approved test providers. The UK Border Agency will publish details of acceptable tests and approved test providers at the earliest opportunity.
Marriage: Homosexuality
Chris Bryant: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 22 June 2010 , Official Report, columns 148-9W, on marriage: homosexuality, whether civil wedding and partnership ceremonies conducted on (a) religious and (b) civil premises are now able to include religious readings, music and symbols. [4829]
Lynne Featherstone: The answer given on 22 June 2010, Official Report, columns 148-9W, explained that civil partnership and civil marriage registrations are entirely secular in nature and prohibited from taking place on religious premises or containing any religious language.
An amendment made in the House of Lords to the Equality Act 2010 removed the express prohibition on civil partnership registrations taking place on religious premises. In response to this amendment, the Government committed to talking to those with a key interest in the issue of civil partnerships on what the next stage should be for civil partnerships. This will include consideration of whether civil partnerships should be allowed to include religious readings, music and symbols. This commitment was made through the document, Working for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Equality, published on 16 June 2010. There are currently no plans to allow religious readings, music and symbols during the registration of civil marriages.
Passports: Application
Peter Bottomley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department for what reason the passport with serial number 704503426 was purported to have been impounded; for what reason it was clipped; from whom her Department received the report that it had been lost or stolen; what checks her Department has made with the New Zealand authorities on the matter; whether that passport is issuable; and when a decision on passport application 2148107176 will be made. [4780]
Damian Green:
Passport No 704503426 was impounded because it was recorded as lost on the Identity and Passport Service's lost and stolen passport database. Passports that have been recorded as lost or stolen that are subsequently recovered by the Identity and Passport Service (IPS) are normally destroyed, not clipped. The
loss of a passport was reported by an individual with exactly the same name and date of birth as the holder of passport No 704503426. Therefore, the passport was recorded as lost in error. IPS has had no contact with the New Zealand authorities on this matter and has no information about the passport application referred to.
Passports: Biometrics
Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) whether all UK passports are to contain biometric facial recognition scanned from applicants' photographs; [4525]
(2) if she will make provision for individuals with national identity cards to have their biometric data transferred to their passport before the National Identity Register is erased. [4526]
Damian Green: Since 2006 the Identity and Passport Service has issued all passports in the form of an e-passport with a secure chip containing the information shown on the passport data page and a biometric facial image based on the photograph submitted with the application.
Once legislation is in place, all the information provided for the issue of identity cards and held on the National Identity Register will be destroyed and no information will be transferred to the passport database. Passport applicants will therefore need to continue to submit a recent photograph with the passport application.
Culture, Media and Sport
Departmental NDPBs
Mr Bradshaw: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport which of his Department's non-departmental public bodies will reduce their budgets by 3%; by how much the funding allocated to each such organisation is to be reduced in 2010-11; how much funding each such body received in the last three financial years; and how much funding each such organisation will receive in 2010-11. [3559]
Mr Jeremy Hunt: The majority of the Department's NDPBs will cut their budgets by 3%-the following table provides details of all these reductions. The table also shows the revised budgets for 2010-11. These are the budgets for net expenditure related to the financial year 2010-11, including depreciation charges, but excluding expenditure financed by in-year income other than grant in aid. Grant in aid outturn is shown for 2007-08, 2008-09 and provisional outturn for 2009-10. Due to changes made as part of the Alignment Project, figures for 2010-11 are prepared on a different basis and are therefore not directly comparable with previous years.
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