To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills how many adults completed (a) part-time and (b) full-time level 3 courses in each year since 2001. (195310)

The following table shows the number of full level 3 achievements by adults in Further Education, Work-based Learning and Train to Gain for each year since 2002/03, the earliest year for which information is available. Breakdowns by full- and part-time are not readily available.

To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what discussions he has held with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office on the changes in funding for the Chevening and Commonwealth scholarship programmes. (196622)

I have had no discussions with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office on this issue. The FCO will be managing a consultation process with other Government Departments and business to inform the implementation of these changes and DIUS officials will participate in that exercise.

To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what visits he made to (a) Harrogate International Centre, (b) International Conference Centre, Birmingham, (c) Manchester Central, (d) Scottish Exhibitional and Conference Centre, Glasgow, (e) Edinburgh International Conference Centre, (f) Bournemouth International Conference Centre, (g) the Brighton Centre, Brighton, (h) the Riviera Centre, Torquay, (i) Queen Elizabeth Centre, London, (j) Excel Conference Centre, Docklands, London, and (k) Business Design Centre, Islington, London, in the period 1 January 2005 to 31 December 2007; and what events he attended at each. (197151)

I have visited the following venues:

To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills how many (a) men and (b) women of each Civil Service grade are employed by his Department. (172728)

The Department employs 784 staff in a wide variety of roles. It was formed as part of the 28 June 2007 machinery of government changes, taking in staff from the former Department for Education and Skills and Department of Trade and Industry. The following table sets out the numbers and proportions of men and women now employed in each of the general salary bands (percentages are rounded to the nearest whole number):

To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills how many and what proportion of the hours of education provided in prisons in 2005-06 were in a structured classroom setting. (196636)

The information requested in not collected centrally. Proposals for developing offender learning delivery arrangements were published in September 2007 in “Developing the Offenders’ Learning and Skills Service: The Prospectus”. The Prospectus described an intention to expand the provision of learning in prison settings outside a traditional classroom environment. In particular, the Prospectus outlined an intention to deliver more learning in production workshops, prison industries and other regime activities such as catering and horticulture where, although learning is not the primary purpose of the activity, it is possible to acquire and put into practise new skills.

To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what proportion of courses for qualifications in English for speakers of other languages were taught in further education colleges in the last 12 months. (195658)

The information is not readily available and can be provided only at disproportionate cost.

To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what his policy is on the provision of recreational courses for older people in colleges of further education; what funds have been made available (a) nationally and (b) in Gloucestershire, for providing recreational courses for older people at colleges of further education in each of the last five years for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement. (196162)

[holding answer 25 March 2008]: We recognise the many wider benefits of participation in learning and its vital contribution to personal health and wellbeing, community involvement and quality of life as people age. Learning helps older people to fulfil themselves as active citizens and as members of their families and communities. People who keep mentally and physically active not only live longer but live happier and more fulfilled lives and pursuing informal adult learning can play a real part in this. We remain fully committed to ensuring that older learners in every area can benefit from a wide range of informal adult learning opportunities, including learning for its own sake, for personal fulfilment and to sustain an active role in the community, through further education colleges and other learning providers, including the Third Sector. We have also safeguarded funding for learning for personal and community development at £210 million through to 2010/11.

In Gloucestershire, Informal Audit Learning programmes for older people are managed by Gloucestershire county council using funding provided by the Learning and Skills Council (LSC). These programmes are funded from the safeguarded Personal and Community Development Learning (PCDL) budget. It is up to local LSCs and their partners to determine the most appropriate balance and mix of provision for their communities, including opportunities for older learners, in the light of local needs and circumstances and national priorities.

Gloucestershire county council contracts with a range of providers, including FE colleges, private providers and voluntary and community groups, to ensure that county-wide provision across the county meets the needs of older learners in a large rural county. The following table shows total funding and participation figures across all providers for learners aged 51 and over engaged in informal adult learning programmes in Gloucestershire for the three years 2004/05 to 2006/07 for which information is readily available, together with the respective national budgets.

Overall Government investment in the further education sector has increased by 52 per cent. in real terms between 1997 and 2007. Participate funding for adults will increase to around £3.6 billion in 2010-11, an increase of over 17 per cent. compared with 2007-08. We have continued to realign funding towards basic literacy and numeracy, full level 2 and full level 3 qualifications providing skills for employment and further progression in learning away from, for example, very short or low quality courses. This has enabled us to support significant increases in participation for young people and adults in these key programmes, providing them with the education and skills they need to fully participate in an economically successful and socially cohesive society.

We want to develop a new vision for informal adult learning for the 21st century. In January, my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills, launched a wide ranging consultation, “Informal Adult Learning: Shaping the Way Ahead”, which re-affirms our commitment to this kind of learning and its importance in meeting the basic human need for creativity and stimulation—as well as improving health and well-being in our communities. We want to look at the many different ways in which Government and other organisations support adult learners and to understand what learners from all parts of society actually want. We have been greatly encouraged by the tremendous response of our partners, stakeholders and learners in taking this important consultation forward. I would strongly encourage individuals and organisations, both in Gloucestershire and across the country, to take this opportunity to contribute their views and ideas.

To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills how many university students (a) in England and (b) at each university in the North East region were (i) mature students, (ii) part-time students and (iii) part-time students aged over (A) 21 years and (B) 40 years in each academic year from 2001-02 to 2007-08. (191604)

[holding answer 6 March 2008]: The latest available information is given in the following table. Figures for the 2007/08 academic year will be available in January 2009.

To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills how many people went into higher education from (a) Enfield and (b) Enfield North in each of the last 10 years. (190259)

The latest information is shown in the table. Comparable figures for the 2007/08 academic year will be available in January 2009.

Overall, for all students from England, the UCAS figures show that, compared to 2006, applicants who have been accepted for entry in 2007, rose by 6.1 per cent. to 307,000, the highest ever. Latest figures for students applying for entry in 2008, show that applicants from England are up by 7.1 per cent. compared to 2007.

To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what assessment he has made of the contribution to the UK economy made by students from overseas at educational institutions in the last five years. (195101)

[holding answer 18 March, 2008]: The Department has made no specific assessment of the contribution to the UK economy made by students from overseas at educational institutions. However, global value surveys commissioned by the British Council estimate the total value of international students to the UK economy as nearly £8.5 billion in 2003-04, compared with £7.5 billion in 2002-03 and £6.2 billion in 2001-02. Information on later years is not available.

To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what assessment he has made of the effects on university physics departments and the physics community of withdrawal from the International Linear Collider. (193278)

I am informed that the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) expects that it will continue to provide support for generic accelerator R and D at a reduced level. The precise level will be determined once it has completed its current review of its programme priorities.

To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills how many prisoners gained an (a) academic and (b) vocational qualification in each year since 1992. (191211)

Data on qualifications are set out in the following annexes. Data are labelled as academic and vocational, but some data are a mix of the two.

The Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills and its predecessors has been responsible for policy on offender learning and skills since 2001, with responsibility prior to then resting with the Home Office. Since the creation of the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills and the Department for Children, Schools and Families in 2007, responsibility has been split, with this Department taking the lead on offenders aged 18 and over.

In England the Learning and Skills Council has been responsible for planning and funding offender learning through the Offender Learning and Skills Service since August 2005. This was introduced through a phased transition starting in three regions. As the period covered by the question includes the transition to these new arrangements, data collection has been from a variety of sources and therefore taken some time. Further information about the changes to the delivery arrangements is set out in the Annex D.

Annex A

LSC OLASS data

Adult Skills for Life qualifications for the period August 2005 to July 2006: (Offender Learning and Skills Service Development Regions only: south-west, north-west and north-east):

Adult achievements in ‘All Remaining Provision’ for the period August 2005 to July 2006: (development regions only):

Adult Skills for Life qualifications for the period August 2006 to July 2007:

Adult achievements in ‘All Remaining Provision’ for the period August 2006 to July 2007:

Through OLASS, (GCSEs are now reported separately and the following have been recorded from 1 April 2007 to 30 September 2007:

Annex B

Data from Her Majesty's Prison Service

The Prison Service data on GCSEs and AS/A level achievements by offenders in custody since 1 April 2007 to 30 September 2007 reflects only the GCSEs delivered by the establishments and not those examinations taken by young people in custody, on transfer from schools. In this case the school which has registered the young person will record the qualification.

The Prison Service estate reported 118 GCSEs and one AS/A level achievements by offenders in custody since 1 April 2007 to 30 September 2007.

Prior to OLASS, Her Majesty's Prison Service annual reports and the Prison Service Information for Managers Online (PSIMOn) data collection system recorded the following number of achievements:

Contracted Prisons

Annex C

Data from the Open University

Open University (OU) courses open to prisoners are agreed by the Offenders Learning and Skills Unit (OLSU) working in collaboration with the OU and the Prison Service. Where a prisoner does not have sufficient funds to meet their own learning costs, the OLSU will fund an openings course and/or a first course for a prisoner accepted onto a programme of study leading to an undergraduate qualification. OLSU delivers this funding though an administrative arrangement operated on its behalf by the Prisoners Education Trust. The OLSU also meets the additional tutorial costs the OU incurs in delivering local support to prisoners. This latter support, unlike course fee support, can continue into second and subsequent courses leading to a qualification at undergraduate level.

Latest data available from the Open University show the following awards to offenders in custody, in England only:

Annex D

It may be helpful to provide some additional background to contextualise the information presented in annexes A to C.

Transfer of responsibility for planning and funding offender learning provision to the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) from HM Prison Service was carried out in two stages. The LSC took responsibility for delivery in three development regions from July 2005, with HM Prison Service retaining responsibility in the remaining regions. Having trialled the new delivery arrangement in those three regions, the new service was implemented across England as a whole on 31 July 2006.

The following illustrates the changes and their timing:

To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what the variable threshold bands are for EU graduates who move abroad and who owe money to the Student Loans Company. (191164)

We have put in place variable threshold bands to provide a fair system to enable graduates who move abroad to contribute to the costs of their education. The bands are dependent on where the borrower lives and take account of differences in living costs.

The following table shows what the thresholds are for 2008-09 in other European countries as well as some other common destinations after graduation. The thresholds are updated each year to take account of price changes. This table is reproduced in the annual ‘Student Loans: A Guide to Terms and Conditions’ booklet and full details can be found at:

http://www.slc.co.uk/thresholds/index.html

To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills (1) whether Scottish-domiciled higher education students will have to be in possession of an identity card in order to access student loans or other state or Institution-determined support related to their studies at English higher education institutions in 2009-10 or in any subsequent years; (195301)

There are no plans to require students to have an ID card to apply for a student loan or any other form of student support.

To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what notification is required to be given to recipients of student loans on changes in the interest rates charged on such loans. (190343)

In accordance with the requirements of the Consumer Credit Act 1974 the Student Loans Company (SLC) publishes details of the forthcoming change in the interest rate payable for Mortgage Style (MS) Student Loans before the new rate takes effect on 1 September each year. There is no similar requirement for advance notification for Income Contingent Repayment (ICR) Student Loans which have exemption from arrangements governing consumer credit agreements.

However, the SLC publishes notices of the change of interest rates affecting all student loan borrowers in national newspapers before 1 September each year. The change is also published on the SLC's and Government websites.

Borrowers with MS loans are individually informed of the change by the SLC and private sector debt owners before 1 September. This is important as a change in interest rate for these borrowers changes the payments they are required to make. Borrowers with ICR loans receive notification of the change with their annual statements. For the majority these are issued between September and December.

While any change in the interest rate applied adds to the overall balance of the outstanding loan it does not alter the income-related repayments of these borrowers.

To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills if he will make an estimate of the cost to the public purse of introducing thresholds and rates of student loan repayments of (a) 0 per cent. on incomes below £20,000, (b) 5 per cent. on incomes of £20,000 to £29,999, (c) 7.5 per cent. on incomes of £30,000 to £41,225 and (d) 12 per cent. on incomes over £41,225; and if he will make a statement. (196030)

[holding answer 20 March 2008]: Introducing repayment thresholds of £20,000, £30,000 and £41,225 with corresponding repayment rates of 5 per cent. 7.5 per cent. and 12 per cent. would have an estimated one-off resource cost of £2 billion (for existing loans) and on ongoing resource cost of £700 million per year (for new loans).

The income threshold is one of the main features of the income contingent loan scheme. This protects borrowers when they need it as they only pay their loan back once they earn over the threshold. Borrowers currently repay nothing until they earn over £15,000. This strikes the right balance, making payments affordable to the individual and student loans affordable to the public purse. We are committed to maintaining the repayment threshold at £15,000 until 2010 when we will review it.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many injuries caused by firearms in each of the last five years were caused by airguns or airsoft guns. (193955)

Available information relates to offences in which Air weapons and BB guns/Soft air weapons caused injury by being fired or used as a blunt instrument in crimes recorded in England and Wales.

Air weapon injuries from 2002-03 up to and including 2006-07 are given in the following table. Separate BB guns/Soft air weapons data are not available centrally for 2002-03 and 2003-04. Data for these weapons are only given from 2004-05 to 2006-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether guidance has been issued to safer neighbourhood police panels on the role of councillors on such panels. (192319)

The Metropolitan Police Service has issued a guidance document titled ‘Guidance on Setting Up and Maintaining Neighbourhood Panels’ which also contains advice on the role of councillors on such panels.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much has been spent on the voluntary assisted return and reintegration programme. (195546)

The Voluntary Assisted Return and Reintegration Programme (VARRP) commenced in 2002 as a development from the Voluntary Assisted Return Programme (VARP). The total cost of VARRP to 31 July 2007 is £37,803,669.80.

VARRP is co-funded with the European Refugee Fund. These figures include both Home Office and ERF funding.

As the VARRP 2007 is currently ongoing, the overall cost of this programme is not yet available.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether there are plans to transfer responsibility for the British Crime Survey to the Office for National Statistics, as recommended by the Statistics Commission. (193578)

There are currently no plans to transfer responsibility for the British Crime Survey to the Office for National Statistics.

The Statistics Commission recommendation was part of a package of proposals to increase public trust in Home Office crime statistics and address any perception that there was a lack of independence in their production. The same issues were considered by the independent Smith review which included cross-party nominees. The Smith review concluded the Home Office should retain responsibility for the survey but recommended some changes to the governance of crime statistics.

Since the recommendation by the Statistics Commission was made, more fundamental changes to the governance of official statistics are taking place. The Statistics and Registration Service Act 2007, which comes into effect on 1 April 2008, provides a new statutory framework to ensure the independence of National Statistics of which the British Crime Survey is a part.

To further strengthen these arrangements, on the same date within the Home Office, responsibility for the production of statistics from the British Crime Survey and other statistics will transfer to the Chief Statistician who has direct professional accountability to the National Statistician for the political independence of such statistics.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department who the winners of the Reducing Bureaucracy Awards Scheme were in each month since its inception. (176056)

The Reducing Bureaucracy Awards Scheme was launched in 2003. The awards were held annually and were presented at the Police Federation annual conference. The winners and runners-up for each year are listed as follows:

2004

1st—Inspector John Clucas, Lancashire Constabulary

2nd—DC Andrew Tomlinson, Metropolitan Police Service, and Sgt Ian Robertson, Metropolitan Police Service, (joint 2nd prize)

3rd—DS John McKee, Thames Valley Police.

2005

1st—Chief Inspector Steve Radcliffe, Gloucestershire Constabulary

2nd—Inspector John Clucas, Lancashire Constabulary

3rd—David Kerr, Greater Manchester Police.

2006

1st—Michael Lombardelli, Metropolitan Police Service

2nd—Inspector John Clucas, Lancashire Constabulary

3rd—Mark Crampton, Hertfordshire Constabulary

Special Award: Dorset Police.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to her answer of 18 March 2008, Official Report, column 930W, on accountancy, how many distinct budget lines relating to her Department’s expenditure and forecasts were reported to the Treasury in each month of 2007-08. (196890)

[holding answer 26 March 2008]: The following table provides the number of data lines the Home Office uploaded on to HM Treasury’s Combined On-line Information System (COINS), per month, for financial year 2007-08.

The change in the number of data lines from June to July is a result of a machinery of government change, the transfer of the National Offender Management Service and the Office of Criminal Justice Reform from the Home Office to the Ministry of Justice.

The data on COINS is the source of the numbers found in the tables that are published in both the departmental report and the supply estimates.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which of her Department's initiatives have been advertised to the public in each of the last 10 years; and what the cost of each such campaign was. (192231)

The following table outlines Home Office advertising spend over the last five years, broken down by year and by policy area.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) consultants and (b) agency staff were employed by her Department at the end of (i) 2004-05, (ii) 2005-06 and (iii) 2006-07 financial year. (192504)

The Department does not hold a central record of the number of (a) consultants and (b) agency staff deployed, and to assemble the requested details from individual contract records would incur disproportionate cost.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much her Department spent on (a) consultants and (b) agency staff in the financial years (i) 2004-05, (ii) 2005-06 and (iii) 2006-07. (192620)

The Home Department engages consultancy firms to support and augment civil servants in the delivery of a specific range of work, including large IT development programmes and, where more cost effective, longer term service delivery programmes.

The Department’s expenditure on these services is allocated across a wide range of firms, from small, specialist companies with niche expertise and few employees, to global multinational organizations offering a broad spectrum and substantial depth of consultancy expertise.

The Department awards contracts in competition according to the EU Procurement Directives based on value for money. The Department uses OGC framework agreements where appropriate. The use of external consultants provides the Department with specialist knowledge, skill, capacity and technical expertise that would not otherwise be available. Some expenditure is on consultants to whom we have outsourced services, such as IT.

Expenditure on (a) consultants in the financial years (i) 2004-05, (ii) 2005-06 and (iii) 2006-07 is as follows:

The Home Department uses a variety of externally resourced staff to fill roles in the Department that cannot readily be filled by permanent staff. The figures given are drawn from our financial reporting systems and represent various categories of agency and other externally resourced staff, but exclude consultancy services.

Expenditure on (b) agency staff in the financial years (i) 2004-05, (ii) 2005-06 and (iii) 2006-07 is as follows:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) press and (b) communications officers her Department employed in each of the last 10 years. (182518)

Press and Communications Officers in the Home Office are employed at the Information and Senior Information Officer grades. The following table provides information on the numbers of staff employed or managed by the Communication Directorate during the past 10 years. Data on staff numbers in earlier years and the rest of the department are not held centrally and could be collected only at disproportionate cost.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what make and model of car (a) she and (b) each Minister in her Department selected as their official ministerial car; and what criteria were applied when making the decision in each case. (192380)

I refer my hon. Friend to the reply my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport my hon. Friend the Member for Poplar and Canning Town (Jim Fitzpatrick) gave to him on 10 March 2008, Official Report, column 8W.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many staff work in her Department’s parliamentary branch; and what proportion of their time is spent on dealing with (a) Parliamentary Questions and (b) correspondence from hon. Members and Peers. (174965)

There are seven staff in the Parliamentary Team, three of whom deal exclusively with parliamentary questions, two other post holders deal with parliamentary questions as part of their duties equating to approximately one post. Staff in the Parliamentary Team do not deal with Members or Peers correspondence.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether it is her Department’s practice to attach to Written Answers hard copies of earlier replies cited in such Answers where these were previously given to hon. Members other than the hon. Member to whom the Answer is addressed. (167791)

[holding answer 26 November 2007]: It is now the practice of the Department to provide hon. Members with hard copies of earlier replies referred to in answers where that reply was sent to another Member.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many Zimbabwean nationals in detention pending deportation were detained because they were found to be working illegally; (196538)

National statistics on persons detained solely under Immigration Act powers as at the last Saturday of each quarter are available from the Library of the House and the Home Office's Research, Development and Statistics website at:

http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/immigration1.html

The decision to detain is made on a case by case basis and may be appropriate in one or more of the follow circumstances: to effect removal; to establish a person's identity and claim; where a person presents a risk of abscond or where the application is capable of being considered quickly.

Information specifically on the number of those who are detained for the purpose of removal from the UK is not centrally collated and could be obtained through examination of individual records only at disproportionate cost.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she expects to be able to deport Zimbabwean nationals in detention centres pending deportation. (196537)

On 29 November 2007 the Asylum and Immigration Tribunal (AIT) promulgated the determination that Zimbabweans who have claimed asylum in the United Kingdom (UK) and who return to Zimbabwe, voluntarily or otherwise, are not at risk of mistreatment just because they have claimed asylum in the UK or otherwise been in the UK for an extended period. The Border and Immigration Agency will continue to defer enforced returns until the application for permission to appeal the AIT's determination is disposed of.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she plans to publish the step-by-step guide for women in black and minority ethnic communities who are victims of domestic violence. (196765)

[holding answer 25 March 2008]: The step-by-step guide for women in black and minority ethnic (BME) communities who are victims of domestic violence, which will provide practical advice on steps which victims can take to protect themselves and their children, will be published in spring this year and made accessible to local agencies and community groups.

We recognise that more work needs to be done, and are currently developing a national BME Working Group of Government, statutory agencies and the third sector which will promote a partnership approach to issues such as domestic and sexual violence, forced marriage, so called ‘honour’ crimes and female genital mutilation. The group will identify and develop actions and practical tools to assist victims and potential victims.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much her Department spent on bottled water in the latest year for which figures are available. (189807)

There are no central records of spend on bottled water held by the Home Department. However our facilities supplier estimates that the cost of bottled water included in official hospitality supplied by them at the Home Office HQ in 2 Marsham Street was £16,125 during 2006-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether people who voluntarily present themselves at police stations routinely have their details added to the national DNA database. (192073)

[holding answer 6 March 2008]: The police may, as part of their investigation of a crime, ask a participant in an intelligence-led screen, a victim, a witness, or some other person who has had legitimate access to a crime scene, to give a DNA sample voluntarily so that their DNA profile can be eliminated from those profiles found at the crime scene. Whether a person presenting themselves voluntarily at a police station is asked for a volunteer DNA sample will depend on the circumstances of the case.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment she has made of the findings of the Crosby Review of identity assurance in respect of the Government’s identity card proposals; and what further consideration she has given to the Government’s policy on identity cards in the light of the Review. (193699)

[holding answer 13 March 2008]: On 6 March I published the National Identity Scheme Delivery Plan 2008. This reflects the priorities I have set out—national security, public protection; convenience for the individual and cost-effectiveness.

In developing this plan the Government have benefited greatly from Sir James Crosby’s review.

Sir James Crosby strongly supports a universal identity scheme, including a role for identity cards, and makes a strong case for speedy and consumer-led introduction. He also argues that wherever possible the Government should use the market to deliver aspects of the scheme and this is reflected in our delivery plan.

Government will need to retain control of the overall quality and security of the scheme, as well as the ultimate decision on whether or not to issue an official identity document to any given individual.

But the private sector will be better placed to provide services relating to enrolment, such as fingerprint biometrics and digitized photographs, and the distribution of completed identity documents.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department with reference to Table 4 in the Identity Cards Scheme Cost report published in November 2007, (1) if she will provide a break down, by main budget heading of the costs which make up the £2,964 million in spending common to passports and ID cards; (182358)

Providing a further breakdown of common, passport specific and identity card specific cost estimates set out in the Cost Report is commercially sensitive information.

The Identity and Passport Service is currently engaging in discussions with suppliers for the procurement of services required to operate the National Identity Scheme. Many of these services are aligned to the same level of cost information that would need to be provided to answer these questions.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many claims for compensation were made by illegal immigrants held in immigration removal centres in England and Wales in each year between 2000 and 2007; and how much compensation was paid. (195545)

The information requested is not collected centrally and could be obtained through examination of individual records only at disproportionate cost.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many asylum seekers were recorded as having made a claim for asylum to a police constable in each of the last five years, broken down by police area. (196675)

The information requested is not collated centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what her latest estimate is of the number of failed asylum seekers who are resident in the UK. (196698)

No Government have ever been able to produce an accurate figure for the number of people who are in the country illegally and this includes failed asylum seekers. By its very nature it is impossible to quantify accurately and that remains the case.

Exit controls were phased out from 1994. As part of the Government’s 10-point plan for delivery, by Christmas 2008 the majority of foreign nationals will be counted in and out of the country. This will build on the successes of our early testing of the e-Borders programme (Project Semaphore) which already covers over 30 million passenger movements and has led to 18,000 alerts and more than 1,500 arrests.

This is part of a sweeping programme of border protection which also includes the global roll-out of fingerprint visas, compulsory watch-list checks for all travellers from high-risk countries before they land in Britain and ID cards for foreign nationals.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate she has made of the number of people holding working holiday visas who wish to continue their current employment under the proposed points-based system. (196676)

Details on the number of working holiday makers granted leave to enter the UK are published annually within the Control of Immigration statistics. No record is kept of the employment of WHM during their stay nor their future employment intentions. Copies of the Immigration statistics are in the Library of both houses and can also be found at:

www.official-documents.gov.uk/document/cm71/7197/7197.pdf

Any person wishing to transfer from the Working Holiday Scheme into the Points Based System will be expected to return home to make their application.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) when foreign nationals issued with biometric immigration documents will have their details entered on to the National Identity Register; (182354)

The Border and Immigration Agency will begin issuing identity cards in the form of biometric immigration documents to foreign nationals subject to immigration control later this year and this could include foreign nationals who already have had fingerprints recorded for the issue of a visa.

Foreign nationals details will not be recorded on the National Identity Register until biometric immigration documents are designated under the ID Cards Act 2006. This will take place when the National Identity Register is established.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate she has made of the number of children under 16 years of age who have been brought to the UK by parents on a visitor’s visa from (a) Pakistan and (b) elsewhere and left with relatives settled in the UK while the parents returned home since 1978; and if she will make a statement. (196225)

This information is not available.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether Ministers in her Department have had meetings with (a) Gurkha and (b) other ex-servicemen’s organisations on the immigration status of Gurkhas and their right to apply for British citizenship. (197020)

There have been no recent meetings between Home Office Ministers and Gurkha and other ex-servicemen’s organisations on the immigration status of Gurkhas and their right to apply for British citizenship.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many Gurkhas who served in the Brigade of Gurkhas before 1997 have been granted UK (a) residency and (b) citizenship; (197021)

I refer the hon. Member to my right hon. Friend’s reply of 18 March 2008, Official Report, columns 935-36W.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 17 March 2008, Official Report, column 806W, on immigration: housing, how many individual agreements have been reached with local authorities; what the cost of such agreements has been; how many schemes to prevent homelessness have been included in the reimbursement package; what the cost of such schemes has been; how many units of social housing have been occupied by households moving from asylum support as a result of the legacy exercise, broken down by housing sector; and what estimate she has made of the cost to the public purse of the measures outlined in the answer. (196267)

[holding answer 25 March 2008]: In recent months the Border and Immigration Agency has worked with the Local Government Association, Council of Scottish Local Authorities and Welsh Local Government Association, as well as individually with relevant local authorities to agree an approach to the family cases we have recently prioritised who have been allowed to remain in the UK.

The agreements themselves do not hold a particular cost. A 'transitional costs fund' has been made available where unavoidable, additional expenses have occurred. Local authorities need to submit claims to this fund. Claims will then be assessed on an individual basis and local authorities will be reimbursed appropriately. As yet, this work is not complete.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what payments (a) her Department and (b) its agencies have made to Ipsos MORI in the last 24 months; and for what purposes. (193962)

Information on the Home Department and its agencies payments to Ipsos Mori in the last 24 months is as follows:

Ipsos MORI has provided a wide variety of services to the Home Department in the last 24 months. They include Quarterly Opinion Polling on Crime and Immigration, Telephone Survey, facilitation of Young Witness Workshop, Local Victim and Witness Satisfaction Survey, Survey with Focus Group on Home Office Priorities, Arrestee Survey Review, EEA Nationals Survey and Multivariate Analysis of British Crime Survey (BCS) dataset.

The Identity and Passport Service (IPS) used Ipsos MORI for the 2006 staff survey and subsequent report.

Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) used Ipsos MORI for both staff surveys and customer surveys.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what funding was allocated to the Last Resort Fund to assist women who have experienced domestic violence in 2007-08; and how much is to be allocated in 2008-09. (196724)

[holding answer 25 March 2008]: As a short-term remedy for victims of domestic violence who have no recourse to public funds, the Government made special provision over 2004-05 and 2005-06, with grants of £145,000 to Women's Aid to bolster their 'Last Resort Fund'.

However, the Government want to see sustainable local solutions for those in need and, in February 2006, circulated a letter to local authorities alerting them to the key issues experienced by these women and how they can be helped.

Soon we will be announcing details of a new scheme where victims of domestic violence who have no recourse to public funds may be able to have their housing and living costs met. This will be linked to indefinite leave to remain criteria.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what the terms of the agreement between Southwest One and Avon and Somerset police are; and if she will make a statement; (194157)

There has been no discussion between my right hon. Friends, the Home Secretary and the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government on the outsourcing of local services in the south west. The terms of any agreement between Avon and Somerset police authority and Southwest One are a matter for the authority.

It is important that police forces and authorities identify and implement ways to increase value for money. To assist them in this, we have recently agreed with the Association of Police Authorities and the Association of Chief Police Officers a new efficiency and productivity strategy for the police service. In pursuit of this strategy it is appropriate for forces and authorities to seek ways to improve the delivery of corporate service functions. This may include implementing internal improvements, exploring outsourcing, or collaborating with other forces and authorities, or with other organisations.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what estimate she has made of the number of self-employed workers from (a) Romania and (b) Bulgaria who arrived in Britain in 2007; (191194)

The Government publish quarterly figures on applications under the Accession (Immigration and Worker Authorisation) Regulations 2006 from Bulgarian and Romanian nationals. The publications provide a breakdown of the various schemes operating under the regulations.

The most recent publications, relating to the last quarter of 2007, were published on 26 February 2008. Each of the quarterly reports from 2007 are available on the Border and Immigration website:

http://www.bia.homeoffice.gov.uk/aboutus/reports/

Copies are available in the House Library.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many litres of bottled water were purchased by her Department in each of the last three years; and if she will make a statement. (191257)

There are no central records of what volumes of bottled water are purchased by the Home Department. However our 2 Marsham Street HQ building purchased 7,500 litres during the 2006-07 financial year.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) warnings, (b) cautions and (c) charges have been brought against persons for possession of knives in each of the last 10 years. (194275)

The number of persons given a final warning, caution, or 'proceeded against' at magistrates courts for offences involving the possession of knives in England and Wales for the years 1997 to 2006 is shown in the following table. Court proceedings data for 2007 will not be available until the autumn of 2008. Charging data is not held centrally, so information on the number of individuals proceeded against has been provided in lieu of charging data.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what definition is used of (a) operational and (b) policy issues in relation to the police service and its accountability to local communities, with reference to Sir Ron Flanagan's review of policing. (174225)

Day to day operational policing issues in forces are the responsibility of each Chief Constable, who is in turn responsible to that force's police authority for their conduct. The Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO), which represents Chief Officers, has defined best practice in areas such as recruitment practices and the conduct of certain kinds of operations. Policy on policing more generally is decided by the tripartite—the Home Secretary, Chief Officers and Police Authorities—in consultation. The final report of Sir Ronnie Flanagan's independent Review of Policing in England and Wales reinforced the importance of this distinction.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proportion of complaints against the police were (a) upheld, (b) dismissed and (c) dropped by the complainant in each year since 1997. (195699)

The responsibility for the collation and publication of complaints against the police rests with the Independent Police Complaints Commission.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which (a) police forces and (b) other agencies will receive the portable knife arches and search wands referred to in her Department's Action Plan for Tackling Violence 2008-11. (194276)

Search arches and wands are currently being supplied to the police in the Tackling Gangs Action Programme areas (London, Manchester, Birmingham and Liverpool) to supplement existing provision. We have committed to provide further search equipment to police and delivery partners across England and Wales over the next three years and arrangements for this are currently being finalised.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what progress she has made in implementing the Taylor review on police force discipline; and if she will make a statement. (195686)

Much progress has been made and the new arrangements were recently approved by the Police Advisory Board for England and Wales. The new arrangements are designed to modernise the procedures for dealing with issues of misconduct and unsatisfactory performance in a proportionate and timely manner. The procedures are based on the ACAS principles for good employment practice. Provisions to enable the introduction of the new misconduct and unsatisfactory performance arrangements for all police officers in England and Wales are included in the Criminal Justice and Immigration Bill currently before Parliament. Once the Bill receives Royal Assent, the new Police (Conduct) Regulations 2008 and Police (Performance) Regulations 2008 that set out the detailed arrangements will be laid before Parliament to enable implementation of the new arrangements. Work is at an advanced stage with the National Police Improvement Agency to provide training to support the new arrangements.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent discussions she has had on the reform of police pensions; and if she will make a statement. (195688)

Police pensions policy is kept under regular review, and has only recently been subject to major changes. We have introduced the New Police Pension Scheme which applies to new entrants joining on or after 6 April 2006. We have also reformed the way police pensions are financed by introducing on 1 April 2006 a system based on employer contributions which takes away from police authorities the financial burden of meeting the cost of pensions in payment. There have been no specific discussions regarding reform beyond these developments.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police officer vacancies of all ranks there were within (a) the Metropolitan Police Force and (b) other constabularies in each year since 1997. (195618)

This information has not been collected since 1995 following the introduction of the Police and Magistrates Courts Act 1994 which abolished Home Office authorised establishments. It is a matter for the police authority and Chief Officer of Police to determine the number of police officers that each force has.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prosecutions have been brought under section 21 of the Public Order Act 1986 for using the internet to distribute or play threatening, abusive or insulting images for the purposes of inciting racial hatred in each of the last five years. (195544)

The Government take the view that the courts should prosecute the offence, and not the medium through which it is committed. Therefore no separate statistics are kept for offences committed over the internet. Since the Public Order Act 1986 was introduced, there have been a total of 86 prosecutions under the offence of racial hatred, resulting in 60 convictions.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what mechanisms the Rape Performance Group will use to monitor local performance in relation to rape prosecutions. (194278)

The Rape Performance Group uses a range of indicators spanning the criminal justice process. These are:

The rate of recorded rape offences per 1,000 of the population (a low rate of offences per 1,000 in a force may indicate a low level of reporting);

The proportion of offences that are categorised as ‘no crime’;

The proportion of recorded offences that result in a sanction detection;

The proportion of charged cases that are subsequently discontinued by the CPS; and

The proportion of cases going to trial that result in a conviction.

Its focus is on the system as a whole, with an assumption of shared police and CPS responsibility for the delivery of outcomes. Where the data suggests that the performance of a particular area differs significantly from the national and peer-group averages, the Rape Performance Group will raise this with the relevant chief constable and chief Crown prosecutor to seek further information on the approach to the investigation and prosecution of rape in that area and to offer support, where appropriate, in addressing any performance issues. These performance monitoring arrangements are complemented by the support functions of the joint ACPO/Home Office operational support team and CPS Rape Prosecutions Delivery Unit.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she plans to bring serious crime prevention orders into effect. (196839)

The Serious Crime Act 2007 (Commencement No. 2 and Transitional and Transitory Provisions and Savings) Order 2008, which was made on 17 March, will bring the serious crime prevention order provisions of the Act into force on 6 April 2008.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many registered sex offenders there were in each police authority area in each year since 2004; and how many offenders were (a) cautioned and (b) charged for failing to comply with the notification requirements of the Sexual Offenders Act 2003 in that period. (195016)

Table 1 gives the number of registered sex offenders in each police authority area for every year since 2003-04.

The Government do not routinely collect data on the number of sex offenders cautioned for failing to comply with their notification requirements. However, the Government do collect data on the number of sex offenders who were:

charged with a serious further offence;

found in breach of their licence conditions; and

found in breach of a Sexual Offence Prevention Order.

Tables 2 to 4 give these figures (in relation to sexual offenders managed at MAPPA levels 2 and 3) for each of the aforementioned categories, by area, for every year since 2003-04.