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Written Answers
Tuesday, 2nd July 2002.
Victims of Torture
Lord Orme asked Her Majesty's Government:
- What action is being taken to address the United Nations International Day for Victims of Torture.[HL4955]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Baroness Amos): On 26 June, UN International Day in support of Victims of Torture, the FCO launched phase 3 of the UK Anti-Torture Initiative.
During the first two phases of the UK Anti-Torture Initiative, launched in October 1998 and December 2000 by my right honourable friend the Member for Livingston, the UK combined a global lobbying campaign for universal ratification of the UN Convention against Torture (at the time ratified by just over 50 per cent of UN member states) with a number of practical measures, including the publication and distribution of 20,000 copies in seven languages of a handbook giving guidance on reporting instances of torture, financial support for the UN's work with torture victims and the secondment of a senior UK police officer to the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture.
Phase 3 will combine continued global lobbying with new practical steps. Since December 1998, 13 more countries have ratified the UN CAT. Our target is to secure another five ratifications by the end of 2003, bringing the total to 134 or 70 per cent. We will also be lobbying with EU partners for the adoption of the draft optional protocol to the CAT. The protocol is intended to help prevent torture by allowing both UN and independent national teams the right to inspect places of detention in signatory countries.
New practical measures for phase 3 will include:
- a new publication on judicial safeguards to provide judiciary and law makers worldwide with examples of best practice regarding judicial control of torture;
- support for the African Commission on Human Rights Special Rapporteur on Prisons in particular her monitoring role of prison conditions with regard to the prevention of torture;
- establishment of a visiting programme to UK for senior clinicians who work in countries where the practice of torture is widespread for work placements with leading NGOs involved in torture rehabilitation; and the FCO will also continue to provide financial support of £175,000 per year to the UN Voluntary Fund for the Victims of Torture which provides urgent medical and legal support worldwide.
Chagossian Visit
Baroness McIntosh of Hudnall asked Her Majesty's Government:
- What plans have been made for the Chagossians to visit the Chagos Islands.[HL4956]
Baroness Amos: The Government of the British Indian Ocean Territory are organising and paying for the charter of a ship to take about 100 Chagossians to the outer islands of the Chagos archipelago to visit ancestral graves. Subject to agreement with the representatives of those concerned, the ship, the M/S "Mauritius Trochetia," will depart from Port Louis on 5 October and will visit the islands of Peros Banhos and Salomon. It is expected to return on 17 October. The British High Commission in Mauritius and Seychelles are in contact with the leaders of the various Chagossian groups and are inviting them to draw up a jointly agreed list of passengers.
Visa Fees
Baroness Wilkins asked Her Majesty's Government:
- Whether there have been any recent changes in United Kingdom visa fees:[HL4977]
Baroness Amos: On 26 June, the Privy Council made the Consular Fees Order 2002, which sets out the new fees for UK visas with effect from 1 July.
On 17 June Members in the other place approved the draft Section 102 order, made under the Finance (No 2) Act 1987, following a debate in the Standing Committee on Delegated Legislation on 11 June. The Section 102 order provides the legal authority for the visa fee increase by allowing past deficits incurred in the costs of running the entry clearance operation to be taken into account when setting visa fees and for the cross-subsidisation of the costs of different entry clearance services.
Most visa fees will go up by between 8 per cent and 10 per cent. The main increases are:
- Standard visit visa: up 9 per cent from £33 to £36.
- The single entry visa has ceased to exist since the introduction in October 2000 of visas of leave to enter. The new standard visa for multiple entries valid for six months at £36 is cheaper than the old six-month multiple-entry visa, which provided the same level of service at a cost of £45.
- Five-year multiple-entry visa: up 10 per cent from £80 to £88.
- Settlement visa: up 8 per cent from £240 to £260.
- In addition, the long-term non-settlement visa fee will increase by 50 per cent from £50 to £75.
The Consular Fees Order setting new visa fees is being made not only to cover current costs but also to recover past deficits of visa fees (from April 2000), caused by the increased cost of the entry clearance operation world-wide. It is intended that these increases will return the entry clearance operation to a self-financing basis by 2003–04.
We recognise that these fee increases will be unwelcome. However, we must make sure that the full cost of providing a visa service is covered by visa fees.
To put these increases into context:
- These would be the first fee increase for visitor's visas since 1995.
- The proposed increases still keep UK visas within their service delivery agreement commitment not to increase visa fees in real terms.
- The standard visit visa at £36 is still cheaper than the old six-month multiple entry visa which provided the same level of service at a cost of £45.
- Applicants now get more for their money. Since October 2000, the standard visit visa has not only allowed people to visit the UK on multiple occasions during the validity of their leave to enter; they also benefit from an enhanced and speedier immigration process on arrival.
Police Forces: Airwave
Lord Marlesford asked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they will name those police forces which are now equipped with Airwave, the new secure encrypted digital radio system, indicating in respect of each force the date on which the equipment was in service; and whether the system is proving satisfactory in operational conditions.[HL4818]
The Minister of State, Home Office (Lord Falconer of Thoroton): The Airwave service is being provided under contract by mmO2 Limited, which has to date provided the infrastructure needed to deliver the service to six forces in England and Wales. These forces are, with their migration status shown in brackets: Lancashire (complete), Greater Manchester (restarting in July 2002), North Yorkshire (complete), West Mercia (started 12 March 2002), Suffolk (started
13 May 2002) and Leicestershire (due to start Summer 2002).Forces migrate to the Airwave service from their existing systems on a staged basis once the infrastructure, purchasing of terminals and officer training have all been completed. The Airwave contract defines this starting point as being the ready for service (RFS) date.
Once a force has passed its RFS date, migration usually takes place on a division-by-division basis and can last several months.
In view of the demanding requirements and the state-of-the-art technology being used, it has generally taken longer to install and integrate the Airwave infrastructure and equipment than was originally hoped. However, once the system has been optimised, it has been found to meet operational requirements.
Airwave provides substantial benefits compared to the existing analogue systems, including improved officer safety through an emergency button, secure encryption of all voice and data traffic, improved coverage, good quality clear speech, reduced interference and access to a comprehensive range of data services.
Gwent Constabulary: Firearms Certificates
Lord Corbett of Castle Vale asked Her Majesty's Government:
- Whether they will call for a report from Gwent Constabulary on the reasons for delays in its administration of applications for shotgun and firearms certificates and renewals and variations of them.[HL4834]
Lord Falconer of Thoroton: Gwent Police shares the concerns of others regarding the delays currently being experienced by certificate holders and new applicants in the administration of their various firearms applications. I understand that additional resources and new procedures have been introduced to enable staff to deal with applications more effectively and efficiently and that the force expects the current backlog of work to be cleared and the department brought up to date by the end of September 2002.
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