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Lord West of Spithead: In total, 3,829 persons were refused entry at the UK border on grounds relating to the public good. This figure cannot be broken down into a) national security and b) threat to public harmony, as specific reasons on refusals relating to the public good are only recorded under the categories “Exclusion
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| Year | Number of refusals |
Immigration: France
Question
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many immigrants have illegally entered the United Kingdom through the Channel Tunnel since the closure of the French Red Cross centre at Sangatte. [HL2326]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Home Office (Lord West of Spithead): By its very nature it is impossible to quantify accurately the number of illegal immigrants.
Internet: Social Networking Sites
Question
Asked by Baroness Neville-Jones
To ask Her Majesty's Government what monitoring of social networking sites is undertaken by government departments, agencies or bodies. [HL2683]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Home Office (Lord West of Spithead): The Government do not monitor social networking sites.
Iran
Question
Asked by Lord Maginnis of Drumglass
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they have taken to ensure that Camp Ashraf residents who are members of the People's Mujaheddin Organisation of Iran are not expelled to Iran by the Iraqi authorities; and what alternatives to that they have proposed through the United Nations. [HL2252]
The Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Lord Malloch-Brown): Responsibility for the security and administration of Camp Ashraf was transferred on 1 January 2009 from the US to the Iraqi authorities. Prior to this handover the US received assurances from the Iraqi authorities towards their clear commitment to the humane treatment and continued well-being of the camp residents. The US retains a presence at the camp in an advisory/monitoring capacity.
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The Iraqi Ministry of Human Rights visits the camp and has delivered assurances to a representative body of the residents. The International Committee of the Red Cross follows developments at the camp closely and continues to visit. It also discusses on a confidential basis all of the issues surrounding the camp with the People's Mujahedin of Iran (MEK) and the Iraqi and US authorities.
The UN High Commission for Refugees has previously determined that Camp Ashraf residents do not qualify as refugees. While there is no evidence to suggest that the Government of Iraq intend forcibly to relocate the residents, our embassy in Baghdad has requested a call on the Ministry of Human Rights to make known the level of interest in this issue in the UK and to remind the Iraqi Government of their earlier assurances. Our embassy in Baghdad is also pursuing the possibility of a visit to the camp by a consular official.
Israel
Question
To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the appropriate body to decide whether Israel is imposing illegal collective punishments on the Palestinian population by (a) its partial blockade of Gaza, during the current ceasefire and the previous one in 2008, and (b) imposing checkpoints within the occupied West Bank; and whether they will consider initiating legal action to decide those issues. [HL2307]
The Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Lord Malloch-Brown): We have made very clear our concerns about Israeli restrictions on Gaza, both last year and now; and about restrictions on movement and access in the West Bank.
We judge that the way to resolve these issues is through political engagement, such as that led by the quartet envoy the right honourable Tony Blair, and through real progress towards a negotiated solution.
We also support the International Committee of the Red Cross in its international mandate to promote respect for international humanitarian law by states. It monitors the situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territories and where necessary takes up concerns confidentially with Israel in order to seek improvements.
Knighthoods
Question
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many knighthoods have been conferred on non-United Kingdom citizens in each of the past 10 years. [HL2395]
The Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Lord Malloch-Brown): Knighthoods conferred by the UK honours system on non-UK citizens who are citizens of HM The Queen's Realms are published in the London Gazette which is available online at: www.gazettes-online.co.uk
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Honorary knighthoods conferred by the UK honours system on other non-UK citizens are not published in the London Gazette, but have been published on the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) website since 2007 which is available online at: www.fco.gov.uk/en/about-the-fco/what-we-do/honours
The total number of honorary knighthoods awarded in the Order of the Bath, Order of St Michael and St George, and Order of the British Empire in each of the past 10 years is as follows:
Honorary knighthoods in the Royal Victorian Order have not been included as they are the personal gift of HM The Queen, and are not administered by the FCO.
Licensing Act
Question
To ask Her Majesty's Government further to the Written Answer by Lord Davies of Oldham on 24 March (WA 122), whether the Written Answer by Lord Davies of Oldham on 13 October 2008 saying “We hope to publish a consultation document in the autumn, and subject to the outcome, to have the exemptions in place by spring 2009” still applies, except as to timing; and, if so, what are the reasons for delay. [HL2658]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Communications, Technology and Broadcasting (Lord Carter of Barnes): The Department for Culture, Media and Sport continues to consider how best to encourage live music, including the possibility of workable exemptions from the Licensing Act 2003. This is a difficult issue to resolve as any exemption would need to maintain necessary public protections in accordance with the licensing objectives. We will consult on any proposed exemption before implementation.
Ministry of Justice: IT Contracts
Question
To ask Her Majesty's Government which information technology contracts with a value of £50 million or over have been entered into by the Ministry of Justice and its predecessors since 1997; and which of those have been completed to budget, to time and to specification. [HL2800]
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The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Ministry of Justice (Lord Bach): The Ministry of Justice was established in May 2007 and has not entered into any information and communication technology (ICT) contracts over a value of £50 million. Before May 2007, the ICT responsibilities of the future Ministry of Justice were spread among the former Department for Constitutional Affairs, parts of the Home Office and the Office for Criminal Justice Reform. The following contracts, with values greater than £50 million, were entered into by those predecessor departments and are still extant:
DISC with suppliers Logica Ltd and ATOS Origin Ltd.ARAMIS with Liberata Ltd.Quantum with Electronic Data Systems UK.LIBRA with Fujitsu and Accenture UK Ltd.OMNI with Steria Ltd.CJS Exchange with IBM and Steria Ltd.These are current, expandable development contracts whose value is dependent on use. Budgets and timescales are negotiated for each project as they are contracted, and managed to completion.
The information required to provide an answer on contracts which are no longer running in the Ministry of Justice's predecessor departments is not held centrally.
Money: Northern Bank Notes
Question
To ask Her Majesty's Government what value of Northern Bank notes, other than the amount stolen in the December 2004 robbery, was HM Treasury notified was not returned in the Northern Bank's recall of notes. [HL2812]
The Financial Services Secretary to the Treasury (Lord Myners): The existing regulatory regime for Northern Ireland banknotes requires note issuing banks to inform HM Revenue and Customs of the level of backing assets being held to reflect the level of notes in circulation. They are not required to provide a specific breakdown of notes that have been recalled.
National DNA Database
Questions
Asked by Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer
To ask Her Majesty's Government how they are responding to the finding of the European Court of Human Rights in December 2008 that keeping the DNA of innocent people on the national DNA database contravenes the European Convention on Human Rights. [HL2685]
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will remove the profiles of 500,000 innocent people from the national DNA database; and whether they will review the procedure for applying for a profile to be removed. [HL2686]
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The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Home Office (Lord West of Spithead): The Government introduced an amendment at Commons Committee stage to the Policing and Crime Bill to provide for regulations on the retention, use and governance of DNA to be laid before Parliament shortly. The content of the regulations will be informed by a public consultation exercise before the summer on proposals to implement the judgment.
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many people are on the national DNA database in the east of England; and how that compares to the other English regions. [HL2776]
Lord West of Spithead: The table shows the number of subject profiles held on the national DNA database (NDNAD) by forces in England and Wales as at 31 March 2009. The forces have been grouped by Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) region and a total figure has been given for each region.
Information on the NDNAD is recorded and held on the basis of the police force which took the DNA sample. As address details are not recorded on the NDNAD, it is not possible to say how many people resident in any one area have profiles on the NDNAD. Profiles held by any one police force will include people who have been sampled by that force but are not resident within the force area, and will exclude people who are resident in that force area but have had their sample taken by another force.
The number of subject profiles held on the NDNAD is not the same as the number of individuals with a profile on the database. As it is possible for a profile to be loaded onto the NDNAD on more than one occasion, some profiles held on the NDNAD are a replicata. This can occur, for example, if the person provided different names, or different versions of their name, on separate arrests, or because profiles are upgraded. The replication rate for the NDNAD as a whole is currently estimated at 13.5 per cent although the rate may vary between police forces.
| ACPO Region | Force | Number of subject profiles held |
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