The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Hanson on 2014-06-16.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how much in overtime costs has been spent in HM Passport Office in each month of 2014.
James Brokenshire
Overtime costs in Her Majesty’s Passport Office in each month of 2014 are as follows
January – £199,146
February – £400,812
March – £840,588
April – £793,559
May – £964,742
The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Hanson on 2014-03-27.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many fines levied under the Immigration (Employment of Adults Subject to Immigration Conrol) (Maximum Penalty) Order 2008 of a value of (a) up to £1000, (b) between £1000 and £2000, (c) between £2000 and £5000 and (d) between £5000 and £10000 remained unpaid.
James Brokenshire
Information on how many fines levied under the Immigration (Employment of
Adults Subject to Immigration Control) (Maximum Penalty) Order 2008 of a value
of (a) up to £1000, (b) between £1000 and £2000, (c) between £2000 and £5000
and (d) £5000 and £10000 remained unpaid, is not recorded in a format
compatible with National Statistics protocols. Data constraints on electronic
records mean that the Home Office would have to examine in detail a large
number of individual case files in order to ascertain the information
required. The cost of producing the data linking civil penalties issued to our
accounting system for civil penalties which remain unpaid by value would be at
a disproportionate cost to the Home Office.
However, the Home Office has collected £30.6 million in fines through the life
of the regime and the current total value of outstanding collectable debt is £14.6
million.
The Home Office is using the Immigration Bill to make it easier to enforce
civil penalty debts in the courts and is incorporating debt recovery best
practice from across government departments, with earlier initiation of legal
proceedings for debt recovery if required.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Hanson on 2014-05-07.
To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, when he expects to bring forward legislative proposals for the recall of hon. Members by their constituents.
Mr Nick Clegg
The Government remains committed to introducing a recall mechanism which is transparent, robust and fair when parliamentary time allows. We reiterated this commitment in our response to the Political and Constitutional Reform Committee’s report on recall.
The Government’s legislative programme for the fourth session of Parliament will be announced in the Queen’s Speech.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Hanson on 2014-06-16.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, from which other Departments temporary additional staff at the Passport Office have been deployed; and what training costs have arisen from such redeployment.
James Brokenshire
To date, all but one of the additional staff have been redeployed from within HM
Passport Office and the wider Home Office.
Discussions are continuing with other Government Departments about whether
deployment of any more of their staff would be necessary.
The training that has arisen from this deployment has been delivered using
internal resources and this has not incurred any additional costs other than
the time of those involved and certain travel and subsistence costs.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Hanson on 2014-03-27.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, which local authorities are currently in discussions with her Department on the vulnerable persons relocation scheme for Syrian nationals.
James Brokenshire
A number of local authorities have indicated that they would like to participate in the Vulnerable Persons Relocation scheme, and discussions are ongoing with other local authorities who have expressed an interest. However, as the scheme is based on vulnerability, including women and children at risk, people with medical needs and survivors of torture and violence, it would not be appropriate for us to release details of where individuals are being placed, as this may undermine their privacy and recovery.
The first beneficiaries of the scheme arrived in the UK on 25 March. This is the result of excellent cooperation with UNHCR, the International Organisation for Migration and local authority services, which has allowed us to identify vulnerable individuals in need of evacuation and ensure that the support they need is in place in the UK.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Hanson on 2014-06-04.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what total income was received by the Passport Office in fees for (a) fast track and (b) premium service (i) in 2013 and (b) between 1 January and 31 May 2014.
James Brokenshire
Table A sets out the requested information in respect of how many telephone
calls were received during the requested periods.
Table B shows income received in fees for premium and fast track services.
Table C provides information on the number of full time equivalent staff
employed by HM passport Office on 31 December for each of the years from 2010 –
2013.
Table D sets out the number of first time passport applications and the number
of passport renewals received during each month between January 2013 and May
2014.
In the period between 1 January and 31 May 2014, 31,188 straightforward
passport applications processed by Her Majesty’s Passport Office were not
processed within the 3-week target.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Hanson on 2014-06-16.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what discussions her Department has had with representatives of the travel insurance industry regarding cancellations of holidays or business trips due to delays in processing passport applications.
James Brokenshire
Home Office Ministers and officials have meetings with a wide variety of
international partners, as well as organisations and individuals in the public
and private sectors, as part of the process of policy development and
operational delivery.
Details of Ministerial meetings with external organisations and individuals are
passed to the Cabinet Office on a quarterly basis and are subsequently
published on the Cabinet Office website, which is available here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/home-office-mnisters-hospitality-data
The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Hanson on 2014-04-02.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, for how long funding will be made available to local authorities for accepting refugees from Syria under the vulnerable persons relocation scheme.
James Brokenshire
Central government will meet the full first year costs of the Vulnerable
Persons Relocation (VPR) scheme, including integration support, education and
healthcare costs. These timescales are consistent with those applied to our
funding of the Gateway Protection Programme. The level of support provided
will depend on the individual needs of beneficiaries, and will be assessed on a
case-by-case basis. Costs will be recovered wherever possible, including from
the EU.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Hanson on 2014-06-04.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many passport applications processed by the Passport Office between 1 January and 31 May 2014 which missed the three week target for processing.
James Brokenshire
Table A sets out the requested information in respect of how many telephone
calls were received during the requested periods.
Table B shows income received in fees for premium and fast track services.
Table C provides information on the number of full time equivalent staff
employed by HM passport Office on 31 December for each of the years from 2010 –
2013.
Table D sets out the number of first time passport applications and the number
of passport renewals received during each month between January 2013 and May
2014.
In the period between 1 January and 31 May 2014, 31,188 straightforward
passport applications processed by Her Majesty’s Passport Office were not
processed within the 3-week target.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Hanson on 2014-06-18.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, which completed reports from the Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration have been submitted for publication but had not yet been published on 17 June 2014; and what the (a) date of submission and (b) date she expects to publish the report is in each case.
Karen Bradley
The Home Secretary laid two reports before Parliament on 19 June 2014,
that had been supplied by the Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and
Immigration pursuant to sections 50 (2) and 50 (3) of the UK Borders Act 2007:
– An unannounced inspection of the service provided by Glasgow Public Enquiry
Office, ID 13061402 06/14.
– The rights of European Citizens and their spouses to come to the UK:
inspecting the application process and the tackling of abuse, ID 2634429 04/14.
Four further reports have been supplied by the Chief Inspector that will be
published shortly.