To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Perth and North Perthshire of 29 June 2009, Official Report, column 71W, on immigration controls, how many UK Border Agency call centres are in operation in each location. (290904)

[holding answer 9 September 2009]: UKBA operates 41 call centres, located in 39 countries. Some call centres service more than one country. Countries which are not covered by these call centres but which have a visa application centre based at the embassy or high commission operate an “in-house” telephone service.

With the exception of the UK (which has call centres in Liverpool, Sheffield and Croydon), the operation of all other call centres is outsourced as follows:

CSC Worldbridge operates three call centres, located in Brazil (servicing the Americas), Algeria (servicing North Africa and the Middle East) and Hungary (servicing Europe).

VFS Global operates 34 call centres in the following countries:

Bahrain

Oman

Bangladesh

Pakistan

China

Philippines

Ethiopia

Qatar

Ghana

Russia

India

Saudi Arabia

Indonesia

Singapore

Japan

South Africa

Kazakhstan

South Korea

Kenya

Sri Lanka

Kuwait

Syria

Malawi

Taiwan

Malaysia

Thailand

Mozambique

UAE

Namibia

Uganda

Nepal

Ukraine

Nigeria

Zimbabwe

Call Centre Services Pty Ltd operates one call centre in Australia for callers from Australia / New Zealand.