Phil Woolas: holding answer 22 March 2010 We ceased to operate a "pre-sift" procedure at our Visa Sections overseas by 2001-02. Hitherto, an entry clearance officer would carry out an initial assessment of a visa application before it was formally lodged and advise the applicant if it was unlikely to be successful. The applicant would then decide whether or not to proceed.
Phil Woolas: A total of 126 notices of liability for a civil penalty were issued by the UK Border Agency to hand car wash operators for employing illegal workers during the period from 1 January 2009 to 31 December 2009. These data are derived from local management information and are not quality assured under National Statistics protocols. They should therefore be treated as provisional and subject to...
Phil Woolas: holding answer 18 March 2010 There has been one occasion when a child was held separately from its parent for more than 12 hours. This was when a single parent needed to attend hospital for treatment. During this time, the child was looked after by social services professionals. There have been no occasions when a child was held separately from its parent for more than 24 hours. These data...
Phil Woolas: holding answer 18 March 2010 The UK Border Agency takes the health and emotional wellbeing of those in its care very seriously. This is particularly true of children who are regrettably detained-with their parents-pending their removal after they refuse to leave the UK voluntarily. We introduced a new duty in November 2009 contained in the Borders, Citizenship and Immigration Act 2009,...
Phil Woolas: holding answer 18 March 2010 A comprehensive self-harm reduction strategy is in place at Immigration Removal Centres to support detainees who are deemed to be at risk of suicide or self-harm. Our procedures, called Assessment Care in Detention and Teamwork (ACDT), provide an holistic approach to suicide and self harm prevention within the broader context of decency, safety, and the concept...
Phil Woolas: holding answer 18 March 2010 All immigration removal centres offer welfare services which are delivered by a mixture of dedicated teams and individual members of staff. Staff help detainees to make preparations for their departure from the United Kingdom, including providing advice about how to tie up their affairs before their departure. They cannot, however, make such arrangements such as...
Phil Woolas: The Home Office (excluding its agencies) has had no contact with the National Bullying Helpline; and has not made any payments (a) the National Bullying Helpline and (b) HR and Diversity Management Ltd. since 2004.
Phil Woolas: The following table provides data, taken from HM Revenue and Customs central records, relating to birds seized during financial years 2005-06, 2006-07, 2007-08 and 2008-09. Birds Number seized Number of seizures 2005-06 310 6 2006-07 3 3 2007-08 0 0 2008-09 9 2 These seizures were made using customs enforcement powers, in relation to live animals listed as...
Phil Woolas: The United Kingdom Border Agency and its predecessor bodies received the following sums in fees for applications in each of the last five fiscal years: £000 2004-05 2005-06 2006-07 2007-08 2008-09 Immigration group in-country application income 115,310 204,875 212,781 299,738 320,953 International group out-country visa application income(1) 130,648 167,362...
Phil Woolas: holding answer 22 March 2010 The United Kingdom Border Agency responded to the hon. Member for Aylesbury on 18 March 2010.
Phil Woolas: holding answer 15 March 2010 8.8 per cent. of days lost to sickness absence were due to stress-related conditions for the period 1 March 2009 to 28 February 2010.
Phil Woolas: Because the UK Border Agency's work is national and international in scope, it is necessary in some cases for staff to travel in order to facilitate that work. This is only undertaken when other forms of business interaction such as video or voice conferencing have been considered first. All travel is undertaken in accordance with the civil service management and ministerial codes and is...
Phil Woolas: According to internal management information the UKBA War Crimes Unit has referred 51 cases to the Metropolitan police since 2005. The breakdown is as follows: Number 2005 3 2006 11 2007 5 2008 6 2009 18 2010 (to end of February) 8 This figure is based on local management information and is not provided under National Statistics protocols.
Phil Woolas: According to internal management information, as of February 2010, the UKBA War Crimes Unit has recommended refusal/exclusion in 513 cases. This could be in relation to refusal of citizenship, of leave to enter/remain, or exclusion from the Refugee Convention. The breakdown is as follows: Number 2004 and 2005 47 2006 54 2007 105 2008 144 2009 143 2010 (as of...
Phil Woolas: As of February 2010 the UKBA War Crimes Unit has completed 3,490 case files. The total breaks down as follows: Number 2004 and 2005 448 2006 326 2007 600 2008 797 2009 1,152 2010 (to end of February) 167 The total will include some cases that have been referred more than once. This figure is based on local management information and is not provided under...
Phil Woolas: The work permit arrangements closed for new applications on 26 November 2008 and were replaced by the points based system. The number of work permits approved for countries in Africa between 1 January 2000 to 31 December 2009 are shown in the table. We do not hold accurate information on any work permit applications made prior to the year 2000. Nationality 2000 2001 2002 2003 ...
Phil Woolas: As at 31 December 2009, 2,595 people were held in UK Border Agency immigration detention, none of whom were children. Published national statistics on the number of people detained solely under Immigration Act powers are published quarterly and are available from the Library of the House and from the Home Office website.
Phil Woolas: The public service agreement (PSA) delivery agreement 3, indicator 2 refers to the reduction in the time to conclusion of asylum application. The measure is to ensure a target percentage of cases should be resolved within six months. The method of reporting against the target is based on the performance of the specific monthly cohort of cases reaching six months. Hence all reporting is done...
Phil Woolas: The information requested is not recorded centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Phil Woolas: Information on the Home Department's, including the Criminal Records Bureau, United Kingdom Border Agency and Identity and Passport Service agencies, total consultancy expenditure from 2005-06 is as follows: Table 1: Total consultancy expenditure: Home Office Headquarters, UKBA, CRB and IPS Financial year Expenditure on consultancy services (£ million) 2005-06 139 2006-07...