Home AffairsLetter from Rt Hon Theresa May MP, Home Secretary, to the Chair of the Committee, 4 June 2013

Follow up to 18 April 2013 Home Affairs Select Committee Evidence Session on “The Work of the Home Office”

Thank you for your letter of 15 May on Abu Qatada costs, e-Borders programme timetable and EAW Soca figures.

1. Total cost of the Abu Qatada case, broken down by department or public body: legal aid, Government’s legal costs, security costs, costs of detention, etc

Since I wrote to you on 6 May, my officials have been working closely with other departments to determine the costs of the Abu Qatada case that can be quantified and released. The total figure below covers the additional legal costs falling to HM Government as a result of pursuing the case through the courts since 2005. There are a number of other costs relating to Abu Qatada’s case, which fall across a number of Government departments and agencies. However, since many of these either represent opportunity costs (ie relating to the way existing staff resources are deployed) or are held in a way that means they cannot be apportioned to Abu Qatada’s specific case, it is either not possible or sensible to try to put a figure on them. I should also make you aware that the legal aid cost set out below is a net figure, which takes into account the £217,286.57 that the Legal Aid Agency has secured as a contribution to Abu Qatada’s legal aid from his frozen assets.

Cost Category	Department I agency bearing costs	Costs borne to date since 2005 (£)
Legal Aid	Legal Aid Agency	647,658
HMG legal: domestic proceedings	Home Office	938,630
HMG legal: Strasbourg	Home Office	130,018
Total		1,716,306

2. Timetable for completion of the e-Borders programme

E-Borders activity has now been absorbed within the wider and more comprehensive Border Systems Programme. The element of the programme that was e-Borders is part of a procurement proposal which will be put forward to the Group Investment Board within the Home Office for departmental approval in July 2013. Thereafter, Cabinet Office and HM Treasury agreement will be sought. This would initiate a process to contract new suppliers to maintain, converge and rationalise existing systems and to deliver functionality into a better integrated border technology platform.

The procurement process is likely to last 12–14 months and, subject to approvals and supplier proposals, contracts with new suppliers should be in place by late 2014. Thereafter, the service will move across to the newly contracted suppliers, over a 6–9 month period.

Our current expectation, therefore, is that this process will be complete by late 2015.

3. The updated European Arrest Warrant figures since 2009

With regards to the figures relating to the EAW, I know these are of a great deal of interest to you and the Committee and I will, of course, make these available to you as soon as they are available. We currently only have figures relating to outgoing requests, but will have the figures for incoming requests shortly. As I think it best to publish a consolidated set of figures, I shall send these to you at the same time.

Rt Hon Theresa May MP
Home Secretary

4 June 2013