| Home Page |
Column 221
Written Answers to Questions
Wednesday 4 November 1992
HOME DEPARTMENT
Asylum
Mr. Allen : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what statistics he keeps on the reasons for refusal of asylum cases ; and if he will publish these, including the number of refusals on the ground of multiple applications.
Mr. Charles Wardle : The main statistics available are of refusals after determination of the claim to refugee status, those on safe third country grounds and those under paragraph 101 of the immigration rules. For these statistics I refer the hon. Member to the reply that I gave him on 20 October 1992, Official Report, columns 261-62. Figures for refusals of multiple applications are not identifiable separately.
Immigration
Mr. Allen : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what discussions he has had with EC counterparts to harmonise the primary purpose rule with practices in other EC countries.
Mr. Charles Wardle : Discussions have been held at official level in the ad hoc group on immigration with a view to agreeing a set of principles and a resolution on the harmonisation of family reunification policies in the member states. The existence in the United Kingdom of the primary purpose rule has been taken into account in those discussions.
Mr. Allen : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps he has taken since June to reduce levels of secrecy in the work of the ad hoc group on immigration.
Mr. Charles Wardle : A public statement on the decisions and conclusions adopted will be made in the normal way following the meeting of EC Ministers concerned with immigration on 30 November.
Mr. Allen : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate he has made of how many individuals are in the United Kingdom (a) illegally, (b) in breach of their entry conditions and (c) otherwise in the United Kingdom unofficially.
Mr. Charles Wardle : Comprehensive information on the number of immigration offenders resident in the United Kingdom is not available, and it is not possible to make a reliable estimate. In many cases it is not possible to determine whether a person is an immigration offender until he/she has been traced and interviewed. In the 12 months up to the end of June 1992, some 8,800 immigration offenders were detected and served with illegal entry notices or with notices of intention to deport for being in breach of their conditions to enter or remain.
Column 222
Mr. Allen : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the topics and proposals on immigration, asylum and other matters that Her Majesty's Government are putting before the Edinburgh summit.
Mr. Charles Wardle : Immigration and asylum matters will be discussed by immigration Ministers of EC member states on 30 November. It is too early to say whether any of these matters will need to be referred to the Edinburgh European Council.
Mr. Fraser : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement about the meeting of the ad hoc European group on immigration held on 10 and 11 September giving details of its conclusions, of how Parliament will be kept informed about the group's proceedings, of what matters are currently under consideration by the group, when the group will meet again, what sub-groups have been formed and for which subjects.
Mr. Charles Wardle : I refer the hon. Member to the answers that I gave on 19 October 1992, Official Report, cols 50-52, to his previous questions on this matter.
Mr. Llwyd : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make it his policy to establish a system to compensate individuals who have suffered damage, loss, inconvenience or general disadvantages as a result of poor quality of service from the immigration and nationality department.
Mr. Charles Wardle : There are arrangements in place for making ex gratia compensation payments in certain circumstances where a person has suffered financial loss as a direct result of negligence, error or delay by an officer of the Home Office.
Mr. Allen : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) in each year since 1988 that evidence from DNA testing has been available to immigration appeals against refusing entry to children, what percentage of original refusals by entry clearance officers were (a) correct and (b) incorrect ;
(2) how many individuals initially refused entry because of not being related as claimed and subsequently accepted as related after DNA testing have (a) subsequently reapplied for entry and (b) been refused, giving as a percentage the grounds of the refusal in each category.
Mr. Charles Wardle : Information is not available in the form requested. I will write to the hon. Member setting out such figures on cases involving DNA evidence as can be obtained at reasonable cost.
Mr. Allen : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department for the latest year for which figures are available, of those persons refused entry under the primary purpose rule how many were married to (a) British citizens, (b) citizens of another nation, but settled in the United Kingdom and (c) other categories as totals and as a percentage of the whole.
Mr. Charles Wardle : The information requested is not available.
Mr. Allen : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the subjective and the objective criteria used in each of the EC countries which are
Column 223
comparable to the primary purpose rule in the United Kingdom in respect of applications from a spouse to join his or her partner.Mr. Charles Wardle : The information requested is not available. It is a matter for each member state to decide, in accordance with its national immigration legislation, what criteria to apply in relation to the admission of spouses.
Mr. Allen : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what information he has as to the current situation of the Zairean national who was returned to Zaire in May 1991 whose case subsequently gave rise to contempt of court proceedings involving the Minister's predecessor.
Mr. Charles Wardle : The Treasury Solicitor was informed on 18 July 1991 that the person concerned had contacted his legal
representatives from Nigeria. We have heard nothing more as to his whereabouts since then.
Mr. Llwyd : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many members of staff have been employed by the immigration and nationality department to deal specifically with applications for asylum in each of the past five years ; and if he will make it his policy to ensure a regular review of staffing levels in the department.
Mr. Charles Wardle : The number of staff employed in the asylum division to deal specifically with applications for asylum on 1 October in each of the last five years was as follows :
Year |Number --------------------- 1988 |52 1989 |62 1990 |86 1991 |200 1992 |435
Staffing levels are kept under constant review.
Mr. Allen : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many additional individuals have joined their spouse in the United Kingdom as a result of the change in guidance in June to no longer use primary purpose as a reason to refuse in cases where a marriage has existed for five years or where there is a child of the marriage with the right of abode in the United Kingdom ; and if he will make a statement on the trends emerging from this change.
Mr. Charles Wardle : It is not possible to make an estimate of the effect of this change. The available information on decisions on entry clearance applications in respect of spouses relates only to those made in the Indian sub-continent ; the latest statistics for which are published in tables 8 and 9 of the Home Office Statistical Bulletin "Control of Immigration : Statistics--First and Second Quarters of 1992". A copy of this bulletin is in the Library.
Mr. Llwyd : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will issue guidelines setting out the type of questions to be asked at entry clearance interviews of non-EC nationals at United Kingdom ports.
Mr. Charles Wardle : Existing instructions to immigration officers are to the effect that questioning should be
Column 224
confined to what is relevant to the decisions the officer will have to make. Cases vary greatly, and I see no need for more detailed guidelines.Procedures at entry clearance interviews overseas are a matter for my right hon. Friend the Foreign and Commonwealth Secretary, but similar principles are followed.
Refugees
Mr. Allen : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proposals he has for burden sharing with other EC countries in respect of refugees from non-EC countries ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Charles Wardle : Member states of the European Community provide assistance in different ways in response to refugee problems, but no plans are under consideration for burden-sharing in the sense of distributing refugees or asylum seekers within the territory of the Community in accordance with quotas for each member state.
Primates (Experiments)
Mr. Llwyd : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many primates were used for research and testing in the United Kingdom in 1991.
Mr. Charles Wardle : Information on the number of procedures on primates started in 1991 and the number of primates used during 1991 is contained in table 2a and 2b respectively of the Command Paper "Statistics of Scientific Procedures on Living Animals, Great Britain, 1991", a copy of which is in the Library.
Safer Cities
Ms. Walley : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will set out the timetable and procedure relating to the submissions for additional safer cities status.
Mr. Jack : The safer cities programme was originally intended to create 20 local projects, all of which have now been established. We remain committed to doubling the number of safer cities projects to 40, when circumstances and resources enable us to do so. At that time I will advise the hon. Member of the timetable and procedures which will be followed.
Prisons Inspectorate
Mr. Michael : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what are the dates on which he received the last 25 reports of inspections by Her Majesty's chief inspector of prisons ; and on what dates the reports were published by his Department.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : The dates on which the 25 most recent inspection reports by Her Majesty's chief inspector of prisons were submitted to me and on which they were published by the Inspectorate are as follows :
Inspection |Submission-1992 |Publication-1992 -------------------------------------------------------------------------- HMP Styal |26 February |16 July HMP Birmingham | 5 March |23 July HMP Leicester |12 March |21 October HMP Latchmere House |24 March |23 July HMP Sudbury |31 March |being printed HMP Stafford |15 April |21 October HMP Manchester |15 April |13 August HMP Wymott |30 April |being printed HMP Lewes |30 April |being printed HMP Long Lartin |29 May |being printed HMP The Mount |10 June |being printed HMP Wellingborough |11 June |being printed HMP Bullwood Hall |15 June |being printed HMP Morton Hall |18 June |Not yet published HMP Acklington |30 June |Not yet published HMP Spring Hill |22 July |Not yet published HMP Ashwell | 6 August |Not yet published HMP Bristol |30 September |Not yet published HMP Haslar |30 September |Not yet published HMP Hindley |30 September |Not yet published HMP Maidstone |30 September |Not yet published HMP Whatton |30 September |Not yet published HMP Swansea |22 October |Not yet published HMP Portland |26 October |Not yet published HMP Blantyre House |26 October |Not yet published
Electoral Registers
Mr. Denham : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the total number of adults in the city of Southampton on the electoral register in use at the time of the general election on 9 April.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : There were 146,499 parliamentary electors registered in the constituencies of Southampton, Itchen and Southampton, Test at the time of the general election on 9 April ; 1, 634 of these were young people (attainers) reaching 18 years of age during the currency of the 1992-93 register. Information about the number of young attainers who had reached voting age by 9 April is not held centrally.
Suicide
Mr. Alex Carlile : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many suicides by teenagers were attempted either while held in custody or in prison in Wales in the years 1981 to 1990 ; how many occurred in 1991 ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : The number of acts of deliberate self-harm by teenagers in prison service establishments in Wales was 21 in 1990 and 24 in 1991. No distinction is made between attempted suicides and other acts of deliberate self-harm. Information for earlier years is not available. No deaths occurred as a result of acts of deliberate self-harm by teenagers in Welsh prisons in 1991.
Information about attempted suicides in police custody is not recorded centrally by the Home Office or by police forces in Wales. Questions relating to local authority secure accommodation in Wales are a matter for my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Wales.
Wolds Remand Centre
Mr. Michael : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what are the numbers and grades of staff employed at the Wolds remand centre.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : There are 196 people working at Wolds prison. They include prisoner custody officers and
Column 226
supervisors ; management, administrative and maintenance staff ; full and part-time chaplains ; subcontracted catering, medical and education staff and seconded probation officers.Probation Service
Mr. Michael : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he intends to market test all or any of the work of the probation service in England and Wales.
Mr. Jack [holding answer 28 October 1992] : The Government's intention to apply market testing principles to aspects of the work undertaken by the probation service was set out in the "Competing for Quality" White Paper, including the encouragement of competition within both the public and independent sectors in the development and management of hostels.
Passports
Ms. Jowell : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many passports are lost each year when submitted for revision of name or other details to the Passport Agency.
Mr. Kenneth Clarke : Responsibility for this matter has been delegated to the chief executive of the United Kingdom Passport Agency. I have asked him to arrange for a reply to be given. Letter from J. Hayzelden to Ms. Tessa Jowell, dated 30 October 1992 :
Passports--
The Home Secretary has asked me to write to you in response to your Parliamentary Question about passports submitted to the Passport Agency for revision of name or other details.
The UK Passport Agency issues over 3 million new or replacement passports each year. In addition, over 250,000 passports are submitted for a change of name or the addition of children's names. Most of these new, replacement or amended passports are sent out by post, although there is a facility for customers to collect their completed passports in person if this is more convenient. It is very rare for a passport that has been submitted for a name change to be lost in the Passport Office, though some do go astray in the post. For that reason, we do not keep separate statistics. I am aware of a particular problem that arose in relation to one of your constituents on which you are in correspondence with the London Passport Office. We are naturally keen to ensure that such problems do not arise in future. We have impressed on all staff the importance of document security, both from the point of view of customer service and the prevention of passport fraud.
FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS
Turks and Caicos Islands
Mr. Soley : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what proposals he has to give greater autonomy to the Turks and Caicos islands.
Mr. Lennox-Boyd : A constitutional commissioner visited the Turks and Caicos Islands in February 1992 and his report was placed in the libraries of the House of Commons and House of Lords on 27 July. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs will decide what action to take about the commissioner's recommendations once consultation with the Turks and Caicos Islands is complete.
Column 227
European Community Law
Mr. Austin Mitchell : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for Stafford (Mr. Cash) of 2 July, Official Report, column 696, if he will make a statement on the principal duties of citizens which flow from the direct effect of EC law.
Mr. Garel-Jones : Mostly EC laws concern Governments, public bodies and companies. However, some do affect individuals directly, especially if they are traders, eg the Directive on Toy Safety. Another example, binding on all, is the duty to inform the authorities of the transfer of a firearm under the Weapons Directive. Nowhere is there any duty of the kind normally regarded as deriving from national citizenship, eg military service.
Albania
Sir Geoffrey Pattie : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the level of consular representation in Albania ; whether he will extend that representation to full embassy status ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Douglas Hogg : There is a British charge d'affaires in Tirana. He undertakes a limited range of consular functions. There are no immediate plans to change this arrangement.
Maastricht Treaty
Mr. Austin Mitchell : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether the Heads of State of Community member states hold any different status under article 8 of the treaty of Rome proposed under the Maastricht treaty from that held by other citizens of the union.
Mr. Garel-Jones : No. Heads of Community member states will be entitled to the same rights as other citizens of the European union.
Baltic States
Mr. Alex Carlile : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations have been made by Her Majesty's Government concerning the decision by the Russian Government to slow, or cease, the withdrawal of troops from the Baltic countries ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Douglas Hogg : We are in frequent contact with the Russian Government about the withdrawal of former Soviet troops from the Baltic states and will, of course, be expressing our concern about the latest developments. We were encouraged by the Russian/Lithuanian agreement of 8 September on the withdrawal of troops by 31 August 1993, and look to Russia to agree to, and implement, similar timetables with Estonia and Latvia, in accordance with the terms of the Helsinki declaration of July 1992.
Council of Ministers
Mrs. Peacock : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will publish a statement of forthcoming business in the European Community's Council of Ministers.
Column 228
Mr. Garel-Jones : The information is as follows :
Council of Ministers business for November 1992
1. The following meetings are planned :
3 November : Consumer Affairs Council
9 November : Foreign Affairs Council
10 November : Internal Market Council
12 November : Culture Council
13 November : Health Council
17 November : Budget Council
18 November : Development Council
19 November : Telecommunications Council
23 November : Economic and Finance Council
23 November : Fisheries Council
24 November : Industrial Affairs Council
27 November : Education Council
30 November : Energy Council
2. The following subjects are likely to be discussed :
(a) Consumer Affairs Council--3 November
--Sixth amendment to cosmetics directive
--Time-share
--Distance selling
--Comparative advertising
--Consumer aspects of Sutherland report on operation of the Internal Market
--Enforcement of consumer protection law
--Rapid information of exchange system on consumer products --European home and leisure accident surveillance system (EHLASS) (b) Foreign Affairs Council--9 November
--Follow up to Birmingham European Council
--Ratification of Maastricht
--Subsidiarity
--Transparency
--Delors II package
--Enlargement--Finland
--33rd meeting of EC/Turkey Association Council
--Ex-Yugoslavia
--Phare programme
(c) Internal Market Council--10 November
--Abolition of frontier controls
--2nd amendment of machinery directive (possible)
--External projections on vehicles of category N (possible) --Regulation of the CE Mark (possible)
--Vehicle noise (possible)
--2/3 wheeled vehicles : braking and power (possible)
--2nd company law directive
--European company statute (6516/91)
--Making the Single Market work post 1992
--Community trademark regulations
--Medicines--agency and future systems (9490/91)
--Rental and lending rights (possible) (6344/92)
--Harmonisation of copyright term
--Amendment to public works directive (possible)
--Food hygiene directive (possible) (4690/92)
--Sweeteners directive (possible) (7762/92)
--Directive and regulation on cultural goods (9962/91)
--Standardisation and intellectual property
(d) Culture Council--12 November
--Cultural priorities
--City of culture
--Books and reading
--Cultural goods (possible)
(e) Health Council--13 November
--Future action in the field of public health (SEC(92)1866) --Communicable diseases
--Health education (6571/92)
--Drugs --2nd drug demand reduction report (7291/92)
--information of the European Drugs Prevention Week
--Tobacco --draft tobacco advertising directive (6294/92)
| Next Section
| Home Page |