Written Answers to Questions
The following answers were received between Monday 4 September and Friday 8 September 2006
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
Chevening Scholarships
The number of Chevening scholarships awarded in each of the last 10 years, broken down by country, is provided in the following table:
Country 1995-96 1996-97 1997-98 1998-99 1999-2000 Afghanistan — — — — — Albania 3 5 4 3 14 Algeria 10 17 12 8 13 Andorra — — — — — Angola 2 2 3 1 3 Anguilla — — — 1 — Antigua and Barbuda 1 1 1 — 1 Argentina 34 29 23 25 24 Armenia 2 3 4 4 10 Australia 16 14 21 22 26 Austria 1 1 2 1 1 Azerbaijan 4 4 5 4 9 Bahamas 3 4 5 3 3 Bahrain 11 11 11 13 12 Bangladesh 9 5 6 5 10 Barbados 3 4 6 3 3 Belarus 6 3 5 7 16 Belgium 7 6 8 7 6 Belize 4 3 3 5 5 Bhutan — — — — — Bolivia 7 6 3 4 6 Bosnia-Herzegovina 2 4 7 7 6 Botswana 3 — 2 4 2 Brazil 75 71 65 84 56 British Virgin Islands — — — — 1 Brunei — — — 1 3 Bulgaria 9 9 9 4 19 Burma 7 4 3 2 — Cambodia 3 1 2 4 3 Cameroon 2 3 3 3 3 Canada 13 12 10 12 11 Cayman Islands 2 3 2 2 11 Chile 7 11 9 10 11 China (including Hong Kong) 79 116 131 138 186 Colombia 21 11 14 15 17 Congo — — — — 1 Costa Rica 6 8 8 5 3 Croatia 5 6 6 6 11 Cuba 5 4 4 6 5 Cyprus 14 32 21 12 25 Czech Republic 9 8 9 11 18 Denmark 16 16 12 12 14 Dominica — — — — 1 Dominican Republic 10 6 5 8 8 East Timor — — — — — Ecuador 4 4 4 3 3 Egypt 59 53 58 58 41 El Salvador 2 2 3 — 3 Eritrea — — — — — Estonia 5 7 6 4 10 Ethiopia 8 5 7 7 8 Fiji 3 5 5 3 3 Finland 7 6 4 5 6 France 35 20 20 14 12 Gambia 1 — 1 1 1 Georgia 3 4 6 3 9 Germany 24 27 14 18 14 Ghana 9 8 10 10 8 Greece 6 4 6 7 5 Grenada — 1 — — — Guatemala — — 3 2 — Guyana 2 4 4 4 5 Honduras — — 1 — — Hungary 12 17 14 9 23 Iceland 9 12 9 11 6 India 60 85 122 93 125 Indonesia 72 63 64 58 69 Iran — — — — 4 Iraq — — — — — Irish Republic 17 16 11 14 10 Israel 31 37 32 29 24 Italy 19 13 14 10 10 Ivory Coast 2 3 3 3 4 Jamaica 7 3 4 7 4 Japan 7 6 6 7 6 Jordan 36 32 28 25 18 Kazakhstan 12 8 8 6 15 Kenya 10 10 11 11 12 Kiribati — — — — — Korea (South) 67 79 66 55 58 Kosovo — — — — — Kuwait 12 8 5 4 4 Kyrgyzstan — — — — 3 Latvia 7 4 6 4 10 Lebanon 5 7 3 8 6 Lesotho 4 3 4 3 3 Libya — — — — — Lithuania 5 5 8 4 17 Luxembourg 5 9 10 7 5 Madagascar 1 1 3 3 3 Malawi 4 5 7 5 10 Malaysia 73 72 82 45 40 Mali — — — — — Maldives — 1 1 2 1 Malta 12 14 9 9 10 Marshall Islands — — — — — Mauritania 1 — 1 — — Mauritius 3 3 4 2 3 Mexico 109 83 79 68 62 Micronesia — — — — — Moldova — — — 1 3 Mongolia 5 4 5 6 8 Montserrat — — — 1 1 Morocco 7 6 10 8 6 Mozambique 6 5 4 5 5 Namibia 7 4 1 2 2 Nepal 5 7 5 5 5 Netherlands 10 14 13 9 11 New Zealand 7 11 7 10 7 Nicaragua 2 1 1 2 1 Nigeria 61 36 42 55 42 Norway — 13 13 11 6 Oman 5 7 7 9 9 Pakistan 69 73 60 55 50 Palau — — — — — Panama — — — — — Papua New Guinea 6 7 4 4 3 Paraguay 3 2 2 3 1 Peru 13 8 11 8 7 Philippines 12 11 18 13 9 Poland 14 13 13 15 34 Portugal 16 19 12 13 14 Qatar — — — — 2 Romania 13 12 12 10 33 Russia 25 19 23 20 29 Rwanda — — 1 — 4 Saudi Arabia 7 11 14 10 6 Senegal 4 5 5 5 3 Serbia and Montenegro — — — — — Seychelles 4 3 3 3 — Sierra Leone 1 2 2 — — Singapore 14 8 10 7 10 Slovakia 15 17 15 12 11 Slovenia — — — — 9 Solomon Islands — — 1 3 — Somalia — — — — — South Africa 24 36 24 24 18 South Pacific — — — — 2 Spain 1 — — — — Sri Lanka 4 3 3 2 2 St. Helena — — — — — St. Kitts and Nevis 1 1 — — 1 St. Lucia 2 — — 1 2 St. Vincent 1 1 2 1 2 Sudan 5 8 15 14 12 Swaziland 1 2 1 2 1 Sweden 9 8 7 5 4 Switzerland 5 6 7 4 7 Syria 15 8 16 34 15 Taiwan 11 15 17 19 16 Tajikistan — — — — 1 Tanzania 5 6 7 7 6 Thailand 41 30 29 34 27 The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia 1 4 7 6 8 Tonga 1 2 2 2 1 Trinidad and Tobago 6 4 3 4 5 Tunisia 6 9 6 8 8 Turkey 100 129 118 185 124 Turkmenistan — — — 2 3 Turks and Caicos — — 1 1 — Tuvalu — 2 1 — — Uganda 6 6 6 7 10 Ukraine 14 10 15 12 32 United Arab Emirates 5 5 2 2 2 United States — — — — — Uruguay 8 7 4 4 4 Uzbekistan 6 8 10 7 11 Vanuatu 1 1 — 1 3 Venezuela 34 25 18 18 14 Vietnam 10 12 15 13 23 West Bank (including East Jerusalem) and Gaza Strip 21 19 22 18 11 Yemen 5 8 12 24 8 Yugoslavia 6 8 6 7 10 Zaire — — — 1 2 Zambia 6 8 6 7 9 Zimbabwe 14 9 14 10 12 Undefined 4 — — — 5 Total 1,891 1,910 1,920 1,894 2,022
Country 2000-01 2001-02 2002-03 2003-04 2004-05 Afghanistan — — 34 20 13 Albania 10 16 11 13 13 Algeria 8 3 5 — 1 Andorra — — 1 — — Angola 2 4 1 3 3 Anguilla — — — — — Antigua and Barbuda 2 — 1 — 2 Argentina 31 28 25 23 17 Armenia 8 6 17 6 8 Australia 22 33 25 31 24 Austria 1 3 1 — — Azerbaijan 5 6 8 9 7 Bahamas 5 4 3 3 2 Bahrain 14 15 25 21 16 Bangladesh 6 9 15 15 10 Barbados 2 5 5 3 3 Belarus 12 12 10 11 11 Belgium 3 3 3 — — Belize 4 6 5 3 3 Bhutan — — — 1 1 Bolivia 4 5 5 6 7 Bosnia-Herzegovina 5 12 11 13 12 Botswana 4 6 8 7 5 Brazil 84 87 65 72 63 British Virgin Islands 1 2 3 1 1 Brunei 3 4 2 6 2 Bulgaria 28 24 30 25 20 Burma 7 4 1 16 2 Cambodia 4 4 3 3 3 Cameroon 3 7 5 10 9 Canada 18 17 14 27 26 Cayman Islands 2 1 1 3 1 Chile 13 18 16 13 13 China (including Hong Kong) 224 211 290 311 277 Colombia 20 17 13 20 18 Congo — — — — — Costa Rica 3 3 3 4 2 Croatia 10 20 24 31 32 Cuba 5 4 4 3 4 Cyprus 11 20 21 15 17 Czech Republic 23 19 12 14 18 Denmark 15 9 8 — — Dominica 1 1 2 1 1 Dominican Republic 8 8 7 8 5 East Timor 6 4 3 2 3 Ecuador 5 4 5 2 2 Egypt 52 40 43 40 36 El Salvador 2 2 2 — 1 Eritrea 3 3 — 1 — Estonia 14 14 14 9 7 Ethiopia 7 10 8 12 8 Fiji 4 6 7 6 4 Finland 6 6 4 — — France 8 7 6 — — Gambia 2 1 2 3 3 Georgia 8 11 12 10 13 Germany 11 8 1 — — Ghana 12 13 '21 16 19 Greece 6 5 3 — — Grenada 2 2 2 1 — Guatemala 4 2 3 3 5 Guyana 6 4 7 6 10 Honduras — 1 1 1 — Hungary 25 25 20 35 15 Iceland 9 9^ 8 7 8 India 135 130 133 121 130 Indonesia 77 80 72 74 59 Iran 7 11 40 14 10 Iraq — — — 8 48 Irish Republic 12 10 4 — — Israel 17 12 14 15 12 Italy 6 4 — — — Ivory Coast 4 4 5 3 2 Jamaica 7 10 7 8 9 Japan 16 16 19 14 5 Jordan 16 16 15 27 19 Kazakhstan 13 11 9 16 14 Kenya 15 13 14 20 16 Kiribati 1 — 1 1 — Korea (South) 66 82 75 71 67 Kosovo — — 10 13 14 Kuwait 4 3 4 1 2 Kyrgyzstan 3 2 5 5 6 Latvia 13 11 11 11 10 Lebanon 5 6 9 9 9 Lesotho 2 6 4 5 4 Libya 5 8 8 5 5 Lithuania 13 14 13 9 7 Luxembourg 8 8 7 10 5 Madagascar 3 3 2 4 4 Malawi 7 8 10 13 12 Malaysia 54 48 57 56 36 Mali — — — 1 — Maldives 1 1 2 1 — Malta 10 11 12 10 17 Marshall Islands — 1 — — — Mauritania — — — — — Mauritius 6 5 7 5 6 Mexico 81 77 67 68 56 Micronesia 1 — — — — Moldova 1 4 8 6 7 Mongolia 15 7 12 7 6 Montserrat 4 2 2 2 2 Morocco 9 9 8 6 5 Mozambique 6 6 4 5 6 Namibia 4 6 6 3 4 Nepal 10 8 6 10 3 Netherlands 7 6 5 — — New Zealand 12 12 10 12 8 Nicaragua 3 2 2 2 2 Nigeria 45 37 46 39 35 Norway 5 7 5 5 — Oman 10 12 16 11 14 Pakistan 51 51 57 62 52 Palau 2 — — — — Panama 2 1 2 1 1 Papua New Guinea 5 3 6 3 6 Paraguay 3 2 3 4 2 Peru 9 8 9 7 6 Philippines 13 15 15 13 13 Poland 36 46 37 29 23 Portugal 11 14 5 — — Qatar 2 2 3 3 — Romania 32 25 22 29 26 Russia 70 83 66 80 53 Rwanda 6 4 3 4 3 Saudi Arabia 10 6 14 13 16 Senegal 5 8 6 4 5 Serbia and Montenegro 16 26 18 21 15 Seychelles — — 2 6 2 Sierra Leone 2 3 4 4 1 Singapore 18 16 13 14 11 Slovakia 18 13 11 12 9 Slovenia 11 9 11 7 14 Solomon Islands 3 2 2 2 1 Somalia — — 1 — — South Africa 31 26 33 34 32 South Pacific — — — — — Spain — — 1 — — Sri Lanka 4 3 6 8 4 St. Helena 1 1 1 1 — St. Kitts and Nevis 2 — 1 — — St. Lucia 3 2 1 2 — St. Vincent 3 3 1 — 1 Sudan 12 18 15 13 5 Swaziland 3 6 4 7 4 Sweden 2 2 2 — — Switzerland 6 5 4 5 — Syria 20 15 20 24 25 Taiwan 24 30 30 19 12 Tajikistan 1 2 3 7 6 Tanzania 8 14 7 9 6 Thailand 29 34 25 25 20 The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia 12 16 11 14 12 Tonga 2 1 1 2 2 Trinidad and Tobago 5 6 5 10 6 Tunisia 5 9 8 10 6 Turkey 76 45 49 49 51 Turkmenistan 4 7 6 6 6 Turks and Caicos — — — — — Tuvalu — — — — — Uganda 10 12 15 22 15 Ukraine 25 30 27 38 27 United Arab Emirates 2 2 4 2 2 United States 1 — — 2 1 Uruguay 7 8 7 5 5 Uzbekistan 11 10 16 12 16 Vanuatu 3 2 3 2 1 Venezuela 22 18 16 21 12 Vietnam 19 15 24 20 22 West Bank (including East Jerusalem) and Gaza Strip 16 9 10 10 15 Yemen 4 7 5 6 7 Yugoslavia — — — — — Zaire — — — — — Zambia 11 11 12 12 13 Zimbabwe 14 16 23 35 49 Undefined — — — — — Total 2,285 2,284 2,387 2,401 2,124
IT Contracts
The main suppliers, categories and values of Information Communication Technology (ICT) contracts over £1 million are illustrated as follows:
Category Title of contract Supplier Period of contract Total value of contract when let (£) Hardware, software and external support services Compass WorldReach (Canada) June 2001 to June 2006 1,500,000 Hardware, software and external support services GenIE/GenIE Worldwide 3M/AIT April 1999 to March 2009 (Replaced by Biometrics contract—see below) 3,000,000 Hardware, software and external support services Biometric Passports 3M UK plc April 2005 to April 2009 6,500,000 Hardware, software and external support services Focus Fujitsu Consulting January 2002 to March 2003 10,500,000 Hardware, software and external support services Focus (Knowledge Management) Fujitsu Consulting March 2003 to December 2005 1,087,000 Hardware, software and external support services FCONet2 (FCO's Intranet) Fujitsu Services November 2004 to October 2005 2,077,000 Hardware, software and external support services WIOL Project Management Fujitsu April 2003 to February 2005 1,090,000 Hardware, software and external support services WIOL/WIPA Technical refresh. Work performed by Fujitsu Services to migrate the WI from Windows NT to Windows XP. Fujitsu March 2006 to March 2007 1,773,262 Hardware, software and external support services Cash Registers (world-wide maintenance and support) Wincor Nixdorf Ltd September 2003 to September 2008 1,500,000 External support services Consultancy Services AKC June 2003 to May 2005 5,000,000 Hardware, software and external support services Firecrest Global Support Hewlett Packard May 2001 to April 2005 5,000,000 Hardware, software and external support services Future Firecrest Hewlett Packard February 2005 to February 20l2 189,500,000 Hardware, software and external support services ICT - provision of technical installers for overseas installations Serco Defence January 2003 to December 2005 1,238,000 Telecommunications FCO global telecommunications network (PFI) Global Crossing May 2000 to April 2010 180,000,000 External support services Implementation of ICT Strategy and Pre-procurement of Future Firecrest (Stage 2c & 3) KPMG from May 2002 3,329,000 External support services Implementation of ICT Strategy and Pre-procurement FF (Stage 3) AKC from August 2004 1,700,000 Electronic Archive E-Archive services (Minerva) British Telecom November 1996 to March 2007 1,500,000 Hardware, software and external support services Internet Project LogicaCMG from March 2002 6,500,000 Hardware, software and external support services FCO Website -support and maintenance LogicaCMG March 2005 to March 2008 1,401,000 Hardware, software and external support services Prism integrated accounting, HP and procurement system CGEY January 2002 to January 2010 53,800,000
Private Office Costs
I apologise for the delay in replying.
As far as our systems will allow us to identify, "running costs" relating to my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary's Private Office, for Financial Year 2005-06, total approximately £725,000.
This is made up of charges for staff salaries, stationery, books, publications and newspapers, office machinery (including photocopiers, fax machines and their maintenance charges), refreshments, and telephone equipment and calls (including desk phones, mobiles, blackberries, broadband connection and actual call costs).
Running costs for corporate overheads such as heating and lighting are calculated across the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and it is therefore not possible to identify which charges relate specifically to my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary's Private Office.
Shebaa Farms
Prime Minister Siniora of Lebanon raised the Shebaa farms with my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister when they met in London on 9 May 2006.
The UK has not made formal representations to the Government of Israel in the last 12 months regarding the Shebaa farms, although we have discussed the issue in the course of bilateral talks. The UK believes the issue of the Shebaa farms is a bilateral issue for the Governments of Lebanon and Syria which should be resolved through a delineation of their common border as called for in United Nations Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1680. As set out in UNSCR 1701, the United Nations Secretary-General is requested to draw up proposals for implementation of the relevant provisions of the Taif Accords and UNSCRs 1559 and 1680, including on the disputed Shebaa farms area.
The UK believes the issue of the Shebaa farms is a bilateral issue for the Governments of Lebanon and Syria which should be resolved through a delineation of their common border as called for in United Nations Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1680. As set out in UNSCR 1701, the United Nations Secretary-General is requested to draw up proposals for implementation of the relevant provisions of the Taif Accords and UNSCRs 1559 and 1680, including on the disputed Shebaa farms area.
Transport
Cycling Accidents
[pursuant to the reply, 24 July 2006, Official Report, c. 738W]: the information requested is given in the table. The figures relate to casualties in personal injury road accidents reported to the police.
Accidents involving: 2003 2004 2005 Motor vehicle2 Urban Fatal 58 67 65 Serious 1,644 1,537 1,628 Slight 12,041 11,877 11,787 Rural Fatal 46 52 65 Serious 479 477 432 Slight 2,170 2,063 2,083 No motor vehicle Urban Fatal 2 6 8 Serious 95 98 100 Slight 311 309 236 Rural Fatal 8 9 10 Serious 73 61 52 Slight 88 75 90 Two-wheeled motor vehicle Urban Fatal 2 2 2 Serious 37 41 30 Slight 234 225 217 Rural Fatal 0 0 3 Serious 8 14 13 Slight 56 38 47 1 Excludes accidents which do not have an urban/rural marker. 2 Includes accidents which involve a two-wheeled motor vehicle.
Defence
Armoured Vehicles
The Future Rapid Effect System (FRES) and the PANTHER Command Liaison Vehicle will replace the FV430, CVR(T) and Saxon families of vehicles.
The PANTHER, now in the demonstration and manufacture phase, has a detailed fielding plan. Under the Sustained Armoured Vehicle Capability Pathfinder programme, work is under way to ensure that the withdrawal of FV430, CVR(T) and Saxon is coherently aligned with the introduction of FRES and that there is continuity of the required capability.
Defence Attachés
The overall cost to the Ministry of Defence of Defence Attachés in each financial year is as follows:
Financial year Costs identified (£ million) 2004-05 37.2 2005-06 38.7
Under the terms of the MOD/FCO service level agreement, costs are shared with the FCO, which pays 30 per cent. of the total in respect of accommodation, fixed communications, security and some other support costs. The figures quoted in the table represent the balance (70 per cent.) attributable to the Defence Budget.
Full costs of Defence Attaché posts are not held centrally and their calculation would involve disproportionate cost.
Iran
[holding answer 3 July 2006]: No. British Armed Forces personnel are not operating in Iran. It is long standing Government policy not to comment on special forces.
Nuclear Deterrent
[holding answer 2 February 2006]: As was made clear in the December 2003 Defence White Paper (Paragraph 3.11), we have continued to take steps to keep options open on the possible replacement of Trident. As the then Defence Secretary indicated previously on 30 June 2004, Official Report, column 358W, this included concept studies on options for platforms to carry the Trident missile in the longer term, which began in May 2002.
Ministers have been briefed by officials on some of the relevant issues and have requested that further work be undertaken. As the Prime Minister said on 28 June 2006, Official Report, column 254, during Prime Minister’s Questions, decisions on this issue will be taken later this year.
Trade and Industry
Radioactive Material
I have been asked to reply.
The Department for Transport does not hold this information. The transport of radioactive material by rail is a highly regulated activity that is carried out in accordance with stringent national and international regulations. The intention of the regulatory system is to ensure that these shipments are safe irrespective of the route chosen.
Communities and Local Government
Environmental Health Notices
I have been asked to reply.
I am advised by the Food Standards Agency (FSA) that the information requested is not available centrally in the form requested.
Local authorities (LAs) are required to report to the Food Standards Agency the number of food premises subject to formal enforcement action, including those to which written warnings, improvement notices, prohibition orders and emergency prohibition orders were issued. But the monitoring data returns from London boroughs cover the enforcement of both food hygiene and food standards, and the total enforcement action data cannot be divided between the two.
Information on general food law enforcement action by LAs in 2004-05 was set out in the paper presented to the Food Standards Agency Board in February 2006, paper FSA 06/02/04. I have arranged for a copy of the paper to be placed in the Library.
Social Care Funding
In announcing the provisional 2006-07 Local Government Finance Settlement on 5 December 2005, Official Report, column 627, I explained to the House that we were abolishing Formula Spending Shares. These notional spending figures were misunderstood and misused for a variety of purposes for which they were neither intended nor suitable.
Formula grant, which comprises Revenue Support Grant, redistributed business rates and principal formula Police Grant, is an unhypothecated block grant—i.e. councils are free to spend it on any service. Because of this, and because of the calculation of formula grant, in particular floor damping, it is not therefore possible to say how much grant an authority received for a particular purpose. I would therefore refer the hon. Member to the table showing formula grant per head placed in the Libraries of the House in response to a question from the hon. Member for Lewes (Norman Baker) on 14 July 2006, Official Report, column 2103W.
Home Department
Abdoulie Njie
[holding answer 3 July 2006]: It is not our policy to comment on individual cases to Members who do not hold a constituency responsibility for the named individual.
Adelphi System
The total expenditure on the Adelphi programme, relating to HR, finance and procurement, from January 2003 to June 2006, is £51,907,961.
Advertising Campaigns
The advertising campaigns the Home Office has run since 2004-05 are listed in the table. Due to the way media are invoiced and as our campaigns are long term and not month specific, we cannot break down costs by month.
The breakdown by each financial year, however, is as follows:
£ 2004-05 Frank Drugs Campaign 1,135,091 Gun Crime 200,000 Antisocial Behaviour 600,006 Acquisitive Crime Reduction 7,578,732 Police Recruitment—Special Constables 1,968,171 Domestic Violence 450,635 Child Safety on the Internet 299,094 Clean Up Week—Community Sentences 33,295 2005-06 Frank Drugs Campaign 1,588,007 Antisocial Behaviour 638,313 Acquisitive Crime Reduction 3,967,890 Single Non Emergency Number 151,781 Alcohol Misuse 93,865 Police Recruitment—Special Constables 1,427,014 Police Recruitment—High Potential Scheme 226,865 Domestic Violence 542,456 Child Safety on the Internet 879,002 Safer Car Parks—Park Mark Scheme 95,656 Crime Stoppers 84,039 Clean Up Week—Community Sentences 49,278 Rape 67,108 2006-07—invoiced to date Frank Drugs Campaign 190,456 Knife Amnesty 138,622 Acquisitive Crime Reduction 158,650 Single Non Emergency Number 56,280 Alcohol Misuse 233,832 Domestic Violence 314,694 Rape 287,664
The advertising campaigns the Home Office ran between 2000-01 and 2004-05 are listed as follows. Due to the way media are invoiced and as our campaigns are long term and not month specific, we cannot break down costs by month.
The breakdown by each financial year, however, is as follows:
£ 2000-01 Vehicle Crime Reduction 8,377,736 Police Recruitment 7,580,663 Police Recruitment—Fast Track 137,371 Human Rights 765,956 Rolling Registration 3,236,126 UK Immigration Service 7,783 Postal Voting 1,322,750 Fire Safety 2,005,093 2001-02 Vehicle Crime Reduction 5,847,867 Police Recruitment 6,473,845 Police Recruitment—Special Constables 499,938 Police Recruitment—Fast Track 126,310 Police Reform 45,000 UK Immigration Service 8,568 Postal Voting 864,093 Fire Safety 1,698,875 Drugs Campaign 1,404,398 Child Protection on the Internet 1,281,529 2002-03 Vehicle Crime Reduction 4,911,621 Police Recruitment 4,736,223 Drugs Campaign 669,185 Child Protection on the Internet 763,290 Firearms Amnesty 600,000 2003-04 Vehicle Crime Reduction 4,617,658 Police Recruitment 4,987,946 Drugs Campaign 2,348,500 Child Protection on the Internet 825,557 Domestic Violence 936,587 Youth Offenders 39,214 2004-05 Frank Drugs Campaign 1,135,091 Gun Crime 200,000 Anti Social Behaviour 600,006 Acquisitive Crime Reduction 7,578,732 Police Recruitment—Special Constables 1,968,171 Domestic Violence 450,635 Child Protection on the Internet 299,094 Clean Up Week—Community Sentences 33,295
Airport Security
I have been asked to reply.
The Department for Transport is responsible for regulating and monitoring aviation security in the UK under the provisions of the Aviation Security Act 1982, as amended by the Aviation and Maritime Security Act 1990.
It would be inappropriate to comment on the specific security arrangements which have been put in place at UK airports.
Alan Kittle
[holding answer 8 May 2006]: Issues of performance or conduct of individual members of staff are a matter for the permanent secretary and are addressed in accordance with the Department’s internal procedures.
Antisocial Behaviour
The Home Secretary regularly undertakes visits in respect of his departmental responsibilities. However, due to existing diary commitments, he has no plans to visit Castle Point in the immediate future.
Asylum/Immigration
The Home Secretary has regular discussions with the Scottish First Minister about immigration and other issues.
Asylum applications are decided on an individual case by case basis. Information on any cases falling into the category mentioned in this question is not available and could be available only by examination of individual case records.
[holding answer 24 July 2006]: The language list is no longer in operation, although language remains a factor in placing asylum seekers. It is just one of the criteria considered by relevant stakeholders when considering dispersal issues.
[holding answer 14 July 2006]: Information on asylum applications is published in quarterly web pages and in the annual statistical bulletin Asylum Statistics United Kingdom. Copies of these publications and others relating to general immigration to the UK are available from the Library of the House and from the Home Office Research Development and Statistics Directorate website at http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/immigration1.html
For potential employees of the immigration and nationality directorate (IND), competency in the English language may be assessed through formal academic qualifications and/or through ability testing including verbal reasoning. Potential employees must meet a minimum standard of competence to be offered a post. Progression to higher grades involves competency based assessment including psychometric testing and other exercises.
The information requested is not currently collected centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
The information requested is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
The information requested on the immigration status of prisoners is not currently available and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. In my Written Ministerial Statement of 19 July 2006, Official Report, column 29WS, I set out the progress the Department is making to address the fact that there is no unique identifier to link individuals who come in contact with the asylum and immigration and criminal justice systems. We have commenced development of a comprehensive approach to identity management across all Home Office areas and will finalise a strategic action plan in this area by the end of September 2006.
Ms Ilyas was notified of a decision on her application on 18 January 2005 when at the same time her documents were returned to her home address.
[holding answer 10 July 2006]: No. It is the general policy of the Immigration and Nationality Directorate not to disclose to a third party personal information about another person, including information concerning their immigration status, as well as personal details.
The Department does not collate information in the format requested and it could be produced only at disproportionate cost.
Information is not readily available and could be obtained only at a disproportionate cost.
Of the 23 individuals who escaped from Yarl’s Wood on the night of 14 February 2002, there is no record of 19 having committed offences prior to being detained. Records indicate three had previous convictions and one other is a possible match.
To our knowledge none of the seven detainees, who escaped from Yarl’s Wood on the night of 14 February 2002 and whose whereabouts are unknown, have committed a crime since their escape in February 2002.
Bird and Bird Solicitors
I am advised that the (a) value and (b) duration of contracts awarded by the Home Department to Bird and Bird Solicitors in each year since 1997 are as follows:
Year awarded Contract and duration Expenditure to date (£) 1997-98 IPS: Provision of legal advice and services to IPS and CRB 1997-2007 805,693 1998-99 Prisons Quantum Project and associated IT projects 1998-2006 1,451,590 2000-01 Managed Payroll Service Contract, August 1,293 2002-03 Managed Payroll Service Contract 9,955 2005-06 Prisons: Control accounts, Phoenix Shared Service Centre and Service Management Group 2005 91,000 2005-06 Financial and banking matters 2005 64,449
Bogus Marriages
The figures on the number of spousal visas refused are contained in the following table. Also included is another table showing the number of refusals of extension of leave to remain in the United Kingdom on the basis of marriage.
It is not possible to determine how many were refused on the grounds that the marriage was not considered to be genuine without examination of individual case records at disproportionate costs.
Number of decisions Category All refusals Of which: Spouse (probationary period applications)4 20015 15,485 1,850 20025 18,575 735 20035 33,175 2,445 20042 24,730 1,895 20053 27,175 1,265 1 Excludes dependants of principal applicants, asylum related decisions and withdrawn applications. 2 Includes nationals of the Czech Republic, Cyprus, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia before 1 May 2004, but excludes them from this date. 3 Provisional and subject to change. 4 Data include unmarried partners. 5 Excludes the outcome of appeals. Note: Figures rounded to the nearest 5. Source: Immigration Research and Statistics Service, RDS-IND, Home Office
Endorsement 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 To accompany spouse Applications received 5,011 3,931 3,536 5,032 5,077 Refusal decisions 64 60 63 162 325 Refusal rate (percentage) 1 2 2 3 6 To join spouse Applications received 5,058 3,818 5,442 6,635 6,672 Refusal decisions 182 189 385 854 1,260 Refusal rate (percentage) 4 5 7 13 19 EEA Family Permit: to accompany spouse Applications received — — — 660 12,948 Refusal decisions — — — 4 272 Refusal rate (percentage) — — — 1 2 EEA Family Permit: to join spouse Applications received — — — 150 2,586 Refusal decisions — — — 3 90 Refusal rate (percentage) — — — 2 3 Note: “UKvisas makes every effort to ensure that statistics produced from our ‘Central Reference System’ are accurate. However, the complexity of our global business, including technical failures or occasional inconsistencies in data entry across any of over 150 offices, means we cannot 100% guarantee accuracy. UKvisas continues to work on IT and working practices to improve the quality of the statistics we provide.” Source: UKVisas Central Reference System 24 July 2006
Child Trafficking
The information requested is not centrally recorded and therefore not available, however the Government would not normally consider a person for deportation in his or her own right if he or she is under 16 years of age.
Where a child is thought to have been a victim of trafficking, referrals to the police and local authority children's services are made. In the case of a child who has been trafficked and who is neither a UK nor European Union citizen, the immigration and nationality directorate will determine what action it will take by taking into account what is in the best interests of the child.
Consultants
The definition of consultancy was revised by Office of Government Commerce (OGC) during 2005-06. Consultancy now falls under the wider category of professional services which covers the following areas: general management and business, legal, human resources, IT property and financial. Consultancy services cover one or more of advice, design and development, and implementation where the assignment is time limited or ad hoc, and is in addition to business as usual activity.
We do not currently hold a central record of overall consultancy expenditure; however, the total fees paid in respect of management consultancy in 2005-06 were £19,500,297 in respect of the core Home Office and £8,959,716 for the agencies. To provide details of expenditure against a list of companies and what each of the companies was used to accomplish would incur disproportionate cost.
Correspondence
The immigration and nationality directorate wrote to my right hon. Friend the Member for Birmingham, Ladywood on 6 April 2005.
(2) when he expects to reply to the letter to him dated 8 May from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Mrs. S. Khan.
I wrote to my right hon. Friend on 27 July 2006.
Officials advise me that they have been unable to trace the fax sent from the hon. Member for Edinburgh West's office on 5 May. However, they are in contact with the hon. Member's office to take this matter forward.
The then Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Andy Burnham) wrote separately to my hon. Friend regarding Mr. Joseph Dede Omanga on 27 April 2006. It is expected that a substantive response to these representations will be provided by the Immigration and Nationality Directorate within the next few weeks.
The Immigration and Nationality Directorate wrote to the hon. Member for Ladywood on 6 July 2006.
[holding answer 14 July 2006]: I wrote to the hon. Member on 14 July.
My right hon. Friend the Home Secretary wrote to the hon. Member on 2 August 2006.
[holding answer 24 July 2006]: The IND replied to the hon. Member for Cheltenham on 29 August 2006.
Crime (Non-UK Citizens)
The information requested is not collected centrally.
Crime & Disorder Reduction Partnerships
I understand that the Denbighshire Partnership has helped to achieve notable reductions in crime but some further reductions are required if they are to achieve the current levels of performance being achieved by partnerships with similar challenges elsewhere in England and Wales.
Data Protection Act
The Home Office does not, and is not required to keep central statistics on the number of Data Protection Act Section 10 Notices received. The receipt of such a notice is a very infrequent occurrence. The department is aware of having received two such notices since 1998. One was received in 2002 and one other last year.
Section 10 of the Data Protection Act gives data subjects the right to prevent the processing of personal data which are causing, or are likely to cause, substantial damage or distress to them or another person where that processing is or would be unwarranted. Section 14 of the Data Protection Act provides data subjects with rights in relation to the correction of inaccurate personal data. The Home Office does not currently have, and is not required to have, a formal written protocol for either circumstance. The Home Office is committed to meeting its legal obligations in relation to both, however. With regards to the correction of inaccurate personal data, when an error is highlighted all necessary steps are taken to correct that error and, where necessary, remedy any underlying faults that caused the mistake.
Departmental Data
In addition to sharing data within the constituent parts of the Department, the Home Office shares information, in accordance with relevant legislative provisions, with the following Government Departments and public sector organisations:
Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs
NI Director of Public Prosecutions
Magistrates Courts in England and Wales
Scottish Executive
Department of Trade and Industry
Crown Prosecution Service
Department of Work and Pensions
Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority
The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Northern Ireland
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
UK Visas
National Health Service
Department for Education and Skills
The Royal Navy Regulating Branch
All UK Police forces
The Royal Marines Police
The Royal Military Police
The Royal Air Force Police
The Ministry of Defence Police
The British Transport Police
The Civil Nuclear Constabulary
The States of Jersey Police Force
The Salaried Police Force of the Island of Guernsey
The Isle of Man Constabulary
Departmental Expenditure
The information held by the Home Office on its spend on consultants is given in the following table:
Spend on consultants(£) 1997-98 7,627,016 1998-99 4,588,445 1999-2000 10,302,672 2000-01 27,877,286 2001-02 21,147,058 2002-03 Not held 2003-04 106,800,000 2004-05 46,900,000
We do not hold information on the Department's total expenditure on consultants for 2002-03 and to obtain this information would incur disproportionate cost.
Total expenditure figures on consultants by non-departmental public bodies (NDPBs), executive agencies, independent statutory body organisations and bodies financially sponsored by the Department for the period in question is not held centrally. To obtain this information would incur disproportionate cost.
The definition of consultancy covers investigating problems, providing analysis or advice, or assisting with the development of new systems, new structures or new capabilities within the organisation.
Departmental Publications
The Home Secretary and his Ministerial team hold a wide range of meetings involving an extensive number of organisations and individuals throughout the year. These meetings allow them to consider various perspectives and the differing interests of stakeholders when formulating Home Office Policy and where necessary, the legislation needed to implement it.
The Home Office more widely, when developing policy or drawing up legislation, regularly undertakes informal consultation with those directly affected or involved. We routinely undertake formal written public consultations which are listed on our website and reported in our annual report. In conducting such consultations, the Home Office follows the guidance laid down in the Code of Practice on Consultation issued by Cabinet Office. The published results of the consultation include a summary of the responses both from individuals and from representative organisations. Wherever possible, the summary will also include the next steps in policy development and reasons for any decisions taken.
The information requested is not held in one central unit and therefore it is impossible to collate without incurring disproportionate costs.
Departmental Staff
The following table shows the last available figures for the Access to Work Scheme.
Consideration is being given to how reasonable adjustments should be funded once the Access to Work funding is withdrawn for central Government Departments.
2005-06 2004-05 Core Home Office 1903.35 — Immigration and Nationality Directorate (IND)1 n/a 42,437.18 HM Prison Service2 n/a n/a n/a = Not available. 1 Figures are no longer available for IND as the purchase of such equipment has been devolved to individual units and no central record is kept. 2 Purchase of equipment was devolved to individual prison establishments five years ago; therefore no central record is kept.
(2) how many staff members in his Department have been (a) prosecuted and (b) convicted following fraud charges since 1997.
The information requested is not centrally held and could be obtained only at a disproportionate cost.
Domestic Violence
The CPS does not hold a historical record of domestic violence data for each London borough. During the year April 2005 to March 2006, there was a total of 4,841 prosecutions for domestic violence in the jurisdiction of the London courts. Of these, 2,503 (51.7 per cent.) were convicted, 1,882 (38.9 per cent.) were not proceeded with and 456 (9.4 per cent.) were acquitted.
Nationally, during the year April 2005 to March 2006, there was a total of 49,782 prosecutions for domestic violence. Of these, 29,719 (59.7 per cent.) were convicted, 17,311 (34.8 per cent.) were not proceeded with and 2,752 (5.5 per cent.) were acquitted.
During the year April 2004 to March 2005, there was a total of 2,807 prosecutions for domestic violence in the jurisdiction of the London courts. Of these, 1,365 (48.6 per cent.) were convicted, 1,187 (42.3 per cent.) were not proceeded with, and 255 (9.1 per cent.) were acquitted.
Nationally, during the year April 2004 to March 2005, there was a total of 34,839 prosecutions for domestic violence. Of these, 19,156 (55 per cent.) were convicted, 13,599 (39 per cent.) were not proceeded with and 2,084 (6 per cent.) were acquitted.
Comparable figures are not held for years prior to 2004-05.
Extradition
Details are given in the following tables, which has been updated to 24 August 2006 in order to reflect developments since the original answer. It should be noted that:
(a) an extradition request is not included in this table unless the individual has been arrested for extradition and is in custody, or on bail, or has been surrendered
(b) an individual may be arrested in a different year from that in which the request is made;
(c) the offences quoted are brief descriptions and not detailed charges e.g. "fraud" also covers "conspiracy to defraud";
(d) an individual may be wanted for more than one crime—the principal offences only are shown in the table; and
(e) more than one request may have been received for an individual, so that a surrender may be pursuant to more than one request.
2001 Number Surrenders Child abduction 2 Child enticement 1 Drugs 3 Fraud 1 Money laundering 1 Murder 2 Theft 1 Wire fraud 1 Closed without surrender False statements to Government agency 1 Fraud 1 Murder 1 Terrorist-related 1 Outstanding from the year —
Number Surrenders Bank robbery 1 Fraud 1 Sex assault on children 1 Closed without surrender Drugs 1 Terrorist-related 1 Fraud 1 Theft 2 Outstanding from the year Drugs 1
Number Surrenders Child abduction 1 Drugs 2 Theft/bribery 1 Fraud 2 Closed without surrender Fraud 2 GBH 1 Rape 1 Outstanding from the year Murder 2 Rape 1 Theft 1 1 One figure for 2003 has been moved from the "Closed without surrender" column to the "Surrender" column because the individual was the subject of requests in both 2003 and 2004, and it has been confirmed that he was extradited pursuant to both of them.
Number Surrenders Child pornography 1 Drugs 6 Fraud 5 Forgery 1 GBH on minor with intent 1 Indecent assault 1 Mail fraud 1 Rape 1 Sex assault on minor 1 Wire Fraud 2 Closed without surrender Drugs 1 Fraud 1 Outstanding from the year Computer fraud 1 Drugs 1 Fraud 3 Robbery 2 Satellite signal theft 3 Terrorist-related 2
Number Surrenders Child pornography 1 Theft 1 Closed without surrender Fraud 1 Sex offences 1 Outstanding from the year Drugs 2 Fraud 1 Terrorist-related 1
False Accusations
The Criminal Cases Review Commission has received Grant in Aid from the Home Office from its inception in 1996 to date, as shown in the following table. The Commission's role is to review and investigate possible miscarriages of justice and to refer cases to an appropriate appeal court where there is a real possibility that the conviction, finding, verdict or sentence will not be upheld.
The Citizens Advice Bureau at the Royal Courts of Justice provides free, confidential and independent advice to members of the public who have cases in the Court of Appeal. It has received funding from 2004-05 as follows:
2004-05: £97,000 grant for a pilot scheme
2005-06: grant of £108,445
2006-07: grant of £119,400.
Amount (£) 1997-98 14,303,977 1998-99 4,517,134 1999-2000 5,530,000 2000-01 5,415,000 2001-02 6,525,000 2002-03 7,000,000 2003-04 7,800,000 2004-05 25,750,000 2005-06 6,834,628 1 This figure includes the last three months of 1996. 2 The 2004-05 figure was reduced in comparison with the previous years because the CCRC had to use their cash reserves as required by the Treasury under the rules of Government Accounting.
Foreign Criminals
This information is not readily available and could be obtained only at a disproportionate cost.
The immigration and nationality directorate are working with all other relevant agencies to conclude all cases where foreign national prisoners were released without due consideration. The information as requested is not currently available in the format requested and can be provided only at disproportionate cost.
This information is not held centrally. During the induction process for new prisoners, it is a requirement that all foreign national prisoners are offered the opportunity to contact their embassy or high commission.
[holding answer 12 May 2006]: My right hon. Friend the Home Secretary already explained during his appearance before the Home Affairs Committee on 23 May 2006 that this is an operational matter for the police. Discussions have taken place between officials from the Immigration and Nationality Directorate (IND) and the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) on whether making public details of ex-offenders would assist in locating them. It is the considered view of ACPO that a decision should only be taken on a case by case basis as to whether to publicise the details of those individuals who are the subject of ongoing deportation action and still need to be located.
The information requested is not available.
[holding answer 4 July 2006]: The rules applying to applications for leave to remain in the UK by foreign nationals discharged from the British Army are set out in paragraphs 276L to 276Q of the Immigration Rules. I would refer the hon. Gentleman to the information contained on the IND website at: http://www.ind.homeoffice.gov.uk/lawandpolicy/immigrationrules/part7.
Foreign nationals who have served in HM Forces and who wish to apply for British citizenship must make a successful application for naturalisation under sections 6(1) or 6(2) of the British Nationality Act 1981. Policy requirements and procedures for handling applications are available for viewing on the IND website at: http://www.ind.homeoffice.gov.uk/britishnationality.
It is not the general policy of the Department to disclose specific details into the public domain which may identify individuals included among the 1,013 foreign national prisoners who were released without deportation consideration.
Comprehensive statistical information on discharges is not centrally available, and providing information based on manually stored records could be achieved only at disproportionate cost.
The Department does not hold information on how many foreign nationals released from HMP Wellingborough in (a) March, (b) April and (c) May were considered for deportation and could provide this information only at disproportionate cost.
The information requested for the period concerned is not collected centrally and only available at disproportionate cost. In a written ministerial statement of 19 July 2006, Official Report, column 28WS, I provided an update to the House on the progress the Department is making to ensure that foreign national prisoners face deportation as early as possible within their sentences.
Hadi Nozadi
[holding answer 22 June 2006]: The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, my hon. Friend the Member for Enfield, North (Joan Ryan), wrote separately to the hon. Member regarding Hadi Nozadi on 26 June 2006.
Immigration and Nationality Directorate
The immigration and nationality directorate does not hold this information in the format requested, which could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Officials at a variety of levels in the Immigration and Nationality Directorate have been in regular contact with their counterparts in Jobcentre Plus about the procedures for allocating national insurance numbers. No central record is kept of the detail of these discussions. However, they have covered a wide variety of legislative, policy and procedural matters relating to the recently announced changes to these procedures. These changes introduced from July 2006 a “right to work” condition for employment related applications for national insurance numbers.
The Department takes all allegations of misconduct very seriously. Any such allegation will be thoroughly investigated and any necessary action taken in accordance with departmental procedures.
To provide details about the investigations that are under way at the moment would risk compromising their successful outcome.
The only information on passports relates to applications made under managed migration routes for variation of leave, work permits and citizenship. Management information for all of these work streams is only available for the last three years. This indicates that the number lost in 2003-04 was 588, in 2004-05 was 452 and in 2005-06 was 288.
Information Technology
The following tables outline those details that are centrally held in relation to major IT projects with a value over £10 million. The Home Office runs a number of smaller IT projects but details of these are not held centrally.
Business IT Unit Supplier/contract Value (£ million) Year IND HOITSS Atos Origin/TBC 200 2004 NOMS (Probation Service) NOMS Steria/OMNI 250 2006
Business Programme Supplier/contract Value (£ million) Year IND Project Semaphore (part of e-Borders) IBM 31.9 From 2004 to date Project IRIS (part of e-Borders) Sagem 2.8 2004 Mycroft SERCO/Mycroft 42 From 2004 over five years Points Based System Atos Origin Sirius FCO Services <4 Still in definition stage and has therefore contracted less than £4 million to date Warnings Index Fujitsu—WI and WW Tech Refresh 14 May 2005 Warnings Index Fujitsu—WI Support Procurement 14.5 May 2006 NOMS NOMIS EDS/Steria 190 2005 CS EDRM CapGemini/Sirius 16.8 2005-06
Information on the number of projects is not held centrally and is therefore not available. To provide a complete answer in the time available would therefore incur disproportionate costs.
A Gateway review is conducted on a confidential basis for the Senior Responsible Officer. Under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 each request for the release of information contained in a Gateway Review is considered on a case-by-case basis.
Life in the UK Test
Information on the number of individuals who have taken the Life in the UK Test is not currently available, as some applicants will have taken the test more than once before passing it. Between the introduction of the Life in the UK Test in November 2005 and 22 July 2006, 82,375 tests were taken. Of these, 56,615 were passed and 25,760 failed, giving an overall pass rate of 68.7 per cent.
No. The Life in the UK test is a multiple choice test comprising 24 questions, selected from a bank of around 200 questions, which were carefully scrutinised by the Advisory Board on Naturalisation and Integration. All of the answers to the test questions can be found through study of the handbook “Life in the United Kingdom: A Journey to Citizenship”. It would not be appropriate to publish the test questions, as this would enable people to learn them by rote and thus defeat the object of the test.
Ministerial Visits
This information can be provided only at disproportionate cost. However, all ministerial visits are conducted in accordance with the Ministerial Code and Travel by Ministers. The Government publishes on an annual basis lists of overseas travel by Cabinet Ministers costing over £500 which will include visits to the European Union. Lists covering 1997 to 2005 are available in the Libraries of the House. Information for 2005-06 is currently being compiled and will be published when it is available.
This answer can be provided only at disproportionate cost.
The current Home Secretary and his immediate predecessor visited the Government regions of the South West, the South East, the West Midlands, the North East and London over the last 12 months.
National Asylum Support Service
[holding answer 11 July 2006]: The stakeholder briefing pack for the target contracts—transition phase has not been removed from the Department’s website. However the website link to this briefing pack has recently changed. The new link is: http://www.ind.homeoffice.gov.uk/applying/nass/news andinfo/projects/nassaccommodationproject/stake holderengagement
Offender Managers
Proposals on Going Straight contracts will be developed by the National Offender Management Service, alongside the implementation and delivery of Offender Management. Decisions on their possible content and implementation have yet to be made.
Olympics
The Director of Specialist Crime is responsible for Olympic-related activity within the Home Office and is a member of the Inter-Departmental Steering Group.
Opinion Polling
The Home Office undertakes a wide range of research activities that support the development of information-led policy, including surveys of public opinion that consider Home Office issues and its related areas of responsibility.
The Department commissions such work only when it is justified by the specific needs of a particular policy or programme and when this is the most economic, efficient and effective way to achieve the purpose. Consulting and involving the public helps inform both policy formulation and delivery of better quality public services.
Opinion polls have been conducted in the last 12 months on the following issues:
Identity Cards
Late night businesses’ attitudes to alcohol related crime and disorder
Offending behaviour programmes delivered to offenders serving community sentences
Public concern about organised crime
Prison Service Staff Issues
Measuring the Quality of Prison Life
Evaluation of Intensive Supervision and Monitoring schemes for persistent offenders
Cognitive Skills Booster Evaluation
Juvenile cohort feasibility
Single intervention Randomised Control Trial feasibility
Satellite tracking
National Evaluation of Community Safety Officers
Perceptions of border control among the travelling public
Northwest Offender Management Pathfinder
Employment Pathfinder
Investigating the Targeting, Tailoring and Sequencing of Interventions feasibility study
Evaluation of neighbourhood policing
Crime Patterns.
Parliamentary Questions
I replied to the hon. Member on 13 July 2006, Official Report, column 2020W.
[holding answer 22 June 2006]: In respect of questions 68920 and 68922 I replied to the hon. Member on 29 June 2006, Official Report, column 634W.
With regard to questions 68918, 68919, 68921, 68923 and 68924 my hon. Friend the Member for Bradford, South (Mr. Sutcliffe) replied on 13 July 2006, Official Report, column 2031W.
[holding answer 3 July 2006]: I refer the right hon. Member to my reply of 29 June 2006, Official Report, column 646W.
Passports
The current process for checking passport applications has two main stages: an initial check that the application has been fully completed and all necessary documents have been provided, followed by examination to establish the identity and nationality of the applicant. If a deficiency is found at the first stage, an explanation is given of what is needed to correct the problem. If the application has been made in person at either a post office, any accredited travel agent or a regional passport office, the incomplete or incorrect application is handed back with the explanation and the passport fee is not taken. If the application has been made by post, the form and fee are retained and a letter is sent either asking for missing documents or a fresh application form, depending on the problem.
The action taken to resolve problems encountered during the examination stage varies. The Identity and Passport Service will not issue a passport until the applicant's identity and nationality have been established.
Police
The Home Secretary and his Ministerial team have had and will continue to have various meetings and conversations with officials and interested parties to discuss general policing matters and police reform. It is not possible to quantify the amount of time each has spent or will spend discussing the specific issue of police restructuring.
The level of detail requested is not required under the Annual Data Return that must be submitted to the Department by police forces in England and Wales. We would not wish to impose additional burdens on police forces by asking them to carry out such ad hoc surveys. The police continue to play a key role in working with all other relevant agencies to pursue those cases where foreign national prisoners were released without due consideration.
[holding answer 30 January 2006]: The current and previous Home Secretary have received numerous representations regarding police forces in England and Wales. In addition, there have been formal reports published relating to the performance of the police service and of Essex police force specifically. These can be found on the websites for Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC) at http://inspectorates.homeoffice.gov.uk/hmic/ and the Home Office at http://police.homeoffice.gov.uk/performance-and-measurement/performance-assessment/assessments-2004-2005/
The next police performance assessments will be published in October.
The latest HMIC publication regarding Southend was the BCU inspection report (September 2003) and the report of the follow-up visit (December 2004).
Port Security
Small ports such as Swansea are staffed in a targeted way based on risk and supported by reliable intelligence. It is believed to be the most effective method of countering the overall threat, and the best use of the finite staff resources.
This information cannot be disclosed as this would provide information of value to those seeking to circumvent HM Revenue & Customs' controls, thereby prejudicing the prevention and detection of crime.
Prisoners
I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for South West Devon (Mr. Streeter) on 19 June 2006, Official Report, column 1670W.
The figures in respect of prisoners released on parole licence were the figures for the whole year as reported by the Parole Board in its annual report 2004-05. The Parole Board has confirmed that it has not been notified of any further charges since the answer was laid.
The figures in respect of prisoners released on to the home detention curfew scheme were the figures for the year as a whole as notified to the Home Office at the point the question was laid. Data in respect of re-offending on the home detention curfew scheme are changing constantly as new information is received. This is because notifications of further offences, either by the police or other criminal justice agencies, is supplemented by a quarterly interrogation of the police national computer or through notification of acquittals or withdrawal of charges.
The total number of charges as currently notified to the Home Office in respect of prisoners on the home detention curfew scheme for the whole of the year 2004-05 is 1,313. This figure is likely to be further amended as new information is received.
The information is not held centrally and can be provided only at disproportionate costs.
Prisons
The relative efficiency of public sector and private sector delivery of penal services has been assessed through market testing. Each of the four prisons which had been managed by the private sector after opening in the early 1990s was market tested before the expiry of their contracts. In the case of two, Blakenhurst and Buckley Hall, the management was won by the Prison Service. The private sector retained the management of the other two, Doncaster and Wolds. In addition the Prison Service managed Manchester in accordance with a service level agreement (SLA) following a market test after it re-opened in 1994. The management was market tested again, in 2000, and the Prison Service won the competition and was awarded a new SLA.
The individual efficiency of all prisons, including the nine prisons designed, constructed, managed and financed under the private finance initiative, is assessed quarterly through the performance rating system which comprises a raft of performance measures such as cost performance and findings from external inspections.
The National Offender Management Service (NOMS) requires Service Providers to deliver high quality services as specified in the Service Level Agreement (SLA), including high performance against an operational requirements specification. Each SLA contains a Performance Measurement System (PMS) that is designed to measure the Service Providers’ delivery of the operational requirements in key areas over an agreed period.
Compliance with the requirements of the SLA includes achieving all Service Delivery Targets and providing NOMS with quality assurance systems, principally through a comprehensive self-audit programme supplemented with a range of policy documents and procedural guidance to staff, together with a meetings structure that ensures that performance, standards and contractual compliance are achieved.
Private Finance Initiative
I am advised that none of the private finance initiative projects for which the Home Department is responsible went over budget in the last five years.
Public Bodies (Reorganisation)
[holding answer 25 July 2006]: In the Home Office Action Plan, From Improvement to Transformation, we announced an in-depth review of the Home Office's non-departmental public bodies. We have already written to the bodies concerned and we aim to consult as widely as possible when we begin to develop our proposals.
Public Information
Information services are defined as websites and phone lines set up for campaigns. The following table shows expenditure on phone lines established for campaigns.
£ Police recruitment Car security Year of the volunteer 2001-02 241,273 — — 2002-03 258,962 23,095 — 2003-04 348,236 — — 2004-05 179,648 — 12,707 2005-06 92,818 — —
To obtain the information regarding websites would incur disproportionate costs.
Public relations are handled by the Department's press office—costs for the last five years are in the following table.
£Financial yearTotal2000-0112,446,2272001-0222,078,7232002-033,009,4892003-042,959,9662004-052,777,5782005-063,113,249 1 2000-01. Expansion of the Home Office press office followed an external consultant's review of its staffing and operation in 1999 and recommended the creation of the Newsdesk to better meet the demands of the 24-hour media. This improved efficiency from 'losing' in excess of 20 per cent. of the calls pre-expansion, to a positive where from June 2003 to June 2004, 91.8 per cent. of 61,070 calls received by the Newsdesk were answered. 2 2001-02. The Home Office press office and the Prison Service press office merged in May 2001.
Questionnaires
The information requested is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Russian Orchestras
Proposals for recovering, through fees and charges, the costs of the new Points Based System are at an early stage of development. Alongside developing these, we have continued to engage with key stakeholders, including representatives from the Arts and Entertainment sector and are aware of the issues surrounding touring groups such as visiting orchestras. We will be undertaking a public consultation on fees and charges in the autumn.
Science Applications International Corporation
From available records, the total value of contracts entered into by the Home Department with Science Applications International Corporation in each year since 1997 is as follows:
Total value of contracts (£) 1997 500,000 1998 0 1999 0 2000 0 2001 4,000 2002 17,022,000 2003 0 2004 2,350 2005 0 1 Value includes a contract initially entered with another company that was subsequently acquired by SAIC.
Security Industry
Employers have clear legal responsibilities under the Asylum and Immigration Act 1996 which makes it a criminal offence to employ a person who is subject to immigration control unless that person has permission to work in the UK. The possession of a Security Industry Authority licence does not give a person a right to work in the UK, and employers are still expected to assure themselves that their employees have the necessary permission.
Security Service Personnel
The longstanding practice of successive governments is not to comment on the work of the security and intelligence agencies. The agencies operate within the law. Any person may complain to the Independent Investigatory Powers Tribunal if he or she is aggrieved by anything they believe has been done to them or their property by the agencies. The tribunal has full powers to investigate and order such remedial measures as it sees fit.
Select Committee Recommendations
The Home Office regularly reports its progress on accepted recommendations to the Home Affairs Committee.
The latest report, “Memorandum from the Home Office: progress in implementing accepted Committee recommendations 2001-05”, was published by the Home Affairs Committee on 26 May 2006. A copy is available in the House Library and on the Home Affairs website at:
http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200506/cmselect/cmhaff/1007/100702.htm
Somalia
The grants presented in the following table have been provided by the Home Office, through the Immigration and Nationality Directorate or its former Communities Group (now part of the Department for Communities and Local Government) to Somali community organisations over the past five years, or will be provided in 2006-07:
Date Grant 2000-01 A total of £31,826 to two organisations under the European Refugee Fund (ERF) Scheme (the scheme is administered by the Home Office, and funding is provided by the European Commission) 2002 A total of £41,869 to two organisations under the ERF Scheme A total of £22,500 to six Somali groups: grants were paid from the Home Office Refugee Community Development Fund 2003 A total of £35,752 to two Somali organisations: grants were paid from the Home Office Refugee Integration Challenge Fund. A total of £69,164 to 15 Somali groups, from the Refugee Community Development Fund A total of £7,520 to two Somali groups: grants were paid from the Home Office Purposeful Activities for Asylum Seekers Fund (the Fund supports constructive activities by asylum seekers while they await decisions on their asylum applications) 2004 £50,000 to one Somali organisation, from the Refugee Integration Challenge Fund A total of £16,013 to four Somali groups, from the Refugee Community Development Fund 2005-06 £30,150 to one Somali organisation, from the Refugee Integration Challenge Fund A total of £38,416 to eight Somali groups, from the Refugee Community Development Fund £30,000 to one Somali organisation: the grant was paid by the Home Office Communities Group A total of £7,500 to two Somali organisations: the grants were paid from the Faith Communities Capacity Building Fund, a government fund overseen by the Home Office Communities Group 2006-07 A total of £132,074 is to be provided to four Somali organisations from the Refugee Integration Challenge Fund, and a total of £26,000 to two Somali groups from the Purposeful Activities for Asylum Seekers Fund.
Special Advisers
Since 1999 the Government have published, on an annual basis, the total costs of all ministerial overseas travel and a list of all visits by Cabinet Ministers costing in excess of £500. Copies of the lists are available in the Library of the House. Information for the financial year 2004-05 was published on 21 July 2005, Official Report, column 158WS, and for the financial year 2005-06 on 24 July 2006, Official Report, column 86WS. Since 31 March 2004 to 31 January 2006, special advisers accompanied Ministers on the visits that they made to Italy (October 2004), France (November), Germany (June 2005), Switzerland (July), France (September), USA (October), Luxembourg (October), Belgium (November and December), France (December), Austria (January 2006), and Jordan-Egypt-Libya (February). The travel costs of special advisers accompanying Ministers on overseas visits are included in the annual list of overseas travel by Cabinet Ministers. All travel by special advisers is undertaken in accordance with the guidelines set out in the Ministerial Code and the Civil Service Management Code.
Tasker Inquiry
The Tasker Inquiry has not yet been completed. It is expected that a report will be received by the London area manager by the end of September.
Traffic Notices
This information is not held centrally and can be provided only at disproportionate costs.
Unaccompanied Children
[holding answer 5 July 2006]: Information relating to the number of unaccompanied children who have entered the UK and subsequently been returned to their country of origin as a result of a failed asylum claim is unavailable and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.
Information on asylum applications and initial decisions for unaccompanied children is published quarterly and annually. Copies are available from the Library of the House and on the Home Office Research Development and Statistics Directorate website at http://homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/immigration1.html.
US-UK Extradition Treaty
This information can be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Video Conferencing
Details are given in the following table.
It should also be noted that individual business units within Home Office Corporate Services may have purchased video-conferencing facilities out of their own budgets and there is no centrally held record of these.
Business area Number of VC Units Percentage of office coverage Plans to increase Corporate Services 8 25 None IPS 9 100 None CRB 2 50 None IND 28 15 Financial provision and plans for seven additional units during 2006-07 NOMS Prisons 54 39 Consideration is being given to expanding VC capacity across the NOMS estate. There are no firm figures and the final decision will be based on evidence of it offering financial savings and opportunity for improved performance Probation 22 152 1 This percentage relates to coverage of Probation areas, not offices. Each Probation area has many offices.
Visas
The Department takes all allegations of misconduct very seriously. Any such allegation will be thoroughly investigated and any necessary action taken in accordance with departmental procedures.
To provide details about the investigations that are under way at the moment would risk compromising their outcome.
Youth Cluster
[holding answer 24 July 2006]: As far as I am aware, the Home Office has received two applications for funding from Youth Cluster in the last five years.
One application was granted in July 2004 under Positive Futures. One application was not granted under Connecting Communities Plus.
Youth Crime (Peterborough)
The Youth Justice Board awarded a grant of £248,000 to Peterborough Youth Offending Team (YOT) for services to prevent youth crime and anti-social behaviour between 2005 and 2008. The grant is to fund an activity-based Youth Inclusion Programme (YIP) and develop the role of a Youth Offending Service co-ordinator. The YOT is also planning to part-fund a multi agency Youth Inclusion Support Panel (YISP), to provide support for young people at risk, providing it can attract additional partnership funding. The YOT also receives £755,700 per annum to provide a range of services for young offenders during and after their custodial sentence, including the Intensive Supervision and Surveillance Programme (ISSP), and Resettlement and Aftercare Provision (RAP) for young offenders with substance misuse problems. The YOT uses a multi-agency response to increase the resources and expertise available.
Health
General Practitioners
The latest available information up to September 2005 is given in the following table. The data relate to strategic health authority areas in existence prior to 1 July 2006.
numbers (headcount) 2001 2002 of which: of which: GP practices Single handed Percentage single handed GP practices Single handed Percentage single handed England 8,910 2,626 29.5 8,833 2,566 29.1 North East 408 86 21.1 407 83 20.4 Q10 County Durham and Tees Valley 168 35 20.8 169 37 21.9 Q09 Northumberland, Tyne and Wear 240 51 21 3 238 46 19.3 North West 1,398 470 33.6 1,377 460 33.4 Q15 Cheshire and Merseyside 448 134 29.9 445 132 29.7 Q13 Cumbria and Lancashire 378 125 33.1 370 119 32.2 Q14 Greater Manchester 572 211 36.9 562 209 37.2 Yorkshire and the Humber 878 243 27.7 875 243 27.8 Q11 North and East Yorkshire and Northern Lincolnshire 265 70 26.4 266 74 27.8 Q23 South Yorkshire 229 59 25.8 226 62 27.4 Q12 West Yorkshire 384 114 29.7 383 107 27.9 East Midlands 653 145 22.2 648 143 22.1 Q25 Leicestershire, Northamptonshire and Rutland 226 53 23.5 223 48 21.5 Q24 Trent 427 92 21.5 425 95 22.4 West Midlands 1,050 386 36.8 1,036 385 37.2 Q27 Birmingham and the Black Country 536 236 44.0 530 238 44.9 Q26 Shropshire and Staffordshire 272 105 38.6 267 100 37.5 Q28 West Midlands South 242 45 18.6 239 47 19.7 East of England 819 194 23.7 806 182 22.6 Q02 Bedford and Hertfordshire 231 54 23.4 230 52 22.6 Q03 Essex 279 96 34.4 275 93 33.8 Q01 Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire 309 44 142 301 37 123 London 1,713 739 43.1 1,696 722 42.6 Q05 North Central London 309 140 45.3 313 145 46.3 Q06 North East London 384 196 51.0 381 194 50.9 Q04 North West London 463 210 44.5 457 200 43.8 Q07 South East London 307 117 38.1 300 112 37.3 Q08 South West London 244 76 31.1 245 71 29.0 South East 1,224 266 21.7 1,224 256 20.9 Q18 Kent and Medway 308 118 38.3 302 113 37.4 Q19 Surrey and Sussex 380 82 21.6 379 72 19.0 Q16 Thames Valley 297 40 13.5 302 46 15.2 Q17 Hampshire and Isle of Wight 239 26 10.9 241 25 10.4 South West 767 97 12.6 764 92 12.0 Q20 Avon, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire 328 46 14.0 326 41 12.6 Q22 Somerset and Dorset 185 22 11.9 185 22 11.9 Q21 South West Peninsula 254 29 11.4 253 29 11.5
2003 2004 of which: of which: GP practices Single handed Percentage single handed GP practices Single handed Percentage single handed England 8,833 2,578 29.2 8,542 2,285 26.8 North East 409 91 22.2 406 91 22.4 Q10 County Durham and Tees Valley 168 37 22.0 169 35 20.7 Q09 Northumberland, Tyne and Wear 241 54 22.4 237 56 23.6 North West 1,361 442 32.5 1,327 424 32.0 Q15 Cheshire and Merseyside 442 127 28.7 426 115 27.0 Q13 Cumbria and Lancashire 362 116 32.0 356 113 31.7 Q14 Greater Manchester 557 199 35.7 545 196 36.0 Yorkshire and the Humber 865 227 26.2 836 196 23.4 Q11 North and East Yorkshire and Northern Lincolnshire 262 66 25.2 253 56 22.1 Q23 South Yorkshire 222 58 26.1 219 55 25.1 Q12 West Yorkshire 381 103 27.0 364 85 23.4 East Midlands 645 138 21.4 635 124 19.5 Q25 Leicestershire, Northamptonshire and Rutland 226 54 23.9 223 55 24.7 Q24 Trent 419 84 20.0 412 69 16.7 West Midlands 1,028 384 37.4 996 352 35.3 Q27 Birmingham and the Black Country 521 233 44.7 507 225 44.4 Q26 Shropshire and Staffordshire 270 104 38.5 255 84 32.9 Q28 West Midlands South 237 47 19.8 234 43 18.4 East of England 810 194 24.0 804 189 23.5 Q02 Bedford and Hertfordshire 232 54 23.3 231 52 22.5 Q03 Essex 275 102 37.1 273 106 38.8 Q01 Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire 303 38 125 300 31 103 London 1,752 768 43.8 1,607 606 37.7 Q05 North Central London 320 159 49.7 291 127 43.6 Q06 North East London 376 183 48.7 349 149 42.7 Q04 North West London 472 214 45.3 441 179 40.6 Q07 South East London 332 143 43.1 294 100 34.0 Q08 South West London 252 69 27.4 232 51 22.0 South East 1,209 254 21.0 1,180 225 19.1 Q18 Kent and Medway 296 106 35.8 290 107 36.9 Q19 Surrey and Sussex 379 76 20.1 367 64 17.4 Q16 Thames Valley 299 44 14.7 291 33 11.3 Q17 Hampshire and Isle of Wight 235 28 11.9 232 21 9.1 South West 754 80 10.6 751 78 10.4 Q20 Avon, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire 326 36 11.0 323 37 11.5 Q22 Somerset and Dorset 176 15 8.5 176 13 7.4 Q21 South West Peninsula 252 29 11.5 252 28 11.1
2005 of which: GP practices Single Handed Percentage single handed England 8,451 2,176 25.7 North East 404 85 21.0 Q10 County Durham and Tees Valley 170 33 19.4 Q09 Northumberland, Tyne and Wear 234 52 22.2 North West 1,303 410 31.5 Q15 Cheshire and Merseyside 425 115 27.1 Q13 Cumbria and Lancashire 348 113 32.5 Q14 Greater Manchester 530 182 34.3 Yorkshire and the Humber 826 183 22.2 Q11 North and East Yorkshire and Northern Lincolnshire 253 55 21.7 Q23 South Yorkshire 218 54 24.8 Q12 West Yorkshire 355 74 20.8 East Midlands 630 117 18.6 Q25 Leicestershire, Northamptonshire and Rutland 223 53 23.8 Q24 Trent 407 64 15.7 West Midlands 989 347 35.1 Q27 Birmingham and the Black Country 500 219 43.8 Q26 Shropshire and Staffordshire 257 87 33.9 Q28 West Midlands South 232 41 17.7 East of England 802 167 20.8 Q02 Bedford and Hertfordshire 227 48 21.1 Q03 Essex 277 95 34.3 Q01 Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire 298 24 8.1 London 1,591 574 36.1 Q05 North Central London 287 120 41.8 Q06 North East London 345 148 42.9 Q04 North West London 436 175 40.1 Q07 South East London 292 32 28.1 Q08 South West London 231 49 21.2 South East 1,160 220 19.0 Q18 Kent and Medway 286 106 37.1 Q19 Surrey and Sussex 363 61 16.8 Q16 Thames Valley 280 27 9.6 Q17 Hampshire and Isle of Wight 231 26 11.3 South West 746 73 9.8 Q20 Avon, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire 319 32 10.0 Q22 Somerset and Dorset 176 14 8.0 Q21 South West Peninsula 251 27 10.8 1 A single handed contracted and salaried GP is one who has no partners, although they may have a GMS/PMS other, GP registrar or GP retainer. Note: Data are estimated based on 2006 organisational structure. Source: The information centre for health and social care general and personal medical services statistics.
NHS Finance
[pursuant to the reply, 25 July 2006, Official Report, c. 1231-32W]: I regret my previous reply was incorrect. The final total should read (90,331) not (610,539) as given in my answer.
The revised table showing financial position of all NHS organisations in London is as follows. The data given are the break-even cumulative position of NHS trusts.
£000 Barking, Havering and Redbridge Hospitals NHS Trust 20 Barnet and Chase Farm Hospitals NHS Trust (19,564) Barnet, Enfield and Haringey Mental Health NHS Trust (757) Barts and The London NHS Trust (1,054) Bromley Hospitals NHS Trust 28,754 Camden and Islington Mental Health and Social Care Trust 2,447 Central and North West London Mental Health NHS Trust 5,392 Chelsea and Westminster Healthcare NHS Trust (164) Ealing Hospital NHS Trust (375) East London and The City Mental Health NHS Trust 235 Epsom and St. Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust (1,736) Great Ormond Street Hospital NHS Trust 1,771 Hammersmith Hospitals NHS Trust (18,384) King’s College Hospital NHS Trust (3,766) London Ambulance Service NHS Trust 75 Mayday Healthcare NHS Trust (65) Newham University Hospital NHS Trust 282 North East London Mental Health NHS Trust 333 North Middlesex University Hospital NHS Trust (5,360) North West London Hospitals NHS Trust (13,546) Oxleas NHS Trust 1,243 Queen Elizabeth Hospital NHS Trust (8,942) Queen Mary’s Sidcup NHS Trust (6,512) Royal Brompton and Harefield NHS Trust (3,165) Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital NHS Trust (3,769) South London and Maudsley NHS Trust (339) South West London and St. George’s Mental Health NHS Trust 401 St. George’s Healthcare NHS Trust (23,596) St. Mary’s NHS Trust (4,570) Tavistock and Portman NHS Trust 54 The Hillingdon Hospital NHS Trust (1,295) The Lewisham Hospital NHS Trust (6,646) The Whittington Hospital NHS Trust (1,500) West London Mental Health NHS Trust (1,353) West Middlesex University Hospital NHS Trust (4,943) Whipps Cross University Hospital NHS Trust 63 (90,331) Note: 2004-05 data do not include information relating to NHS foundation trusts. Source: Audited NHS Trust summarisation schedules 2004-05.
NICE
[holding answer 24 July 2006]: An analysis has been undertaken of drugs not approved by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE), taking into account appraisals published between 1 January 2000 and 27 July 2006. Of the drugs appraised but not approved by NICE, none fell exactly into the cost quality-adjusted-life-year (QALY) range of between £30,000 and £35,000, although NICE’s appraisal of Anakinra for rheumatoid arthritis (published in November 2003) identified a wide potential cost per QALY range of between £20,000 and £952,000. Further information on this appraisal can be found on NICE’s website at www.nice.org.uk
Small Change Big Difference
The Department has spent under £1,000 on the launch of the initiative. Small Change Big Difference is the working title for our social marketing strategy for England—a key Choosing Health commitment. The Department is currently developing the strategy over the next five years so the entire cost has yet to be determined.