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Sectarian Violence

Mr. Gorrie: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to introduce legislation to treat sectarian motivated violence and harassment as a specific crime. [154389]

Mr. Charles Clarke: We have no present plans to introduce legislation to make a specific offence of violence or harassment motivated by hostility based on

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the victim's membership (or presumed membership) of a religious group. The courts already have power to reflect aggravating factors of this type in the sentences they pass.

Entry Permits

Mr. Randall: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the criteria under which an immigration officer may grant (a) an asylum seeker and (b) an immigrant a 28 day permit to enter the United Kingdom. [154297]

Mrs. Roche: Although immigration officers are able to exercise discretion when granting leave to enter, there are no specific categories which provide for entry for 28 days only; therefore, no criteria exist for such a grant of leave.

Newly arrived asylum seekers would not normally be granted entry on arrival. They would, instead, be granted temporary admission pending consideration of their application for asylum. Dependent upon circumstances, the period of temporary admission will vary. However, if they had no friends or family in the United Kingdom and were granted temporary admission, this could initially be for one month, but again no specific criteria exist for this.

Mr. Randall: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) asylum seekers and (b) immigrants were given temporary admission to the United Kingdom by immigration officials at Heathrow in each of the last six months. [154308]

Mrs. Roche: The information is given in the table.

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Table 1: Asylum cases granted temporary admission (excluding DAS)

Arrival monthTotal Heathrow Terminal 1Total Heathrow Terminal 2Total Heathrow Terminal 3Total Heathrow Terminal 4Monthly total
September 2000150179216105650
October 2000 161126211116614
November 2000155152230117654
December 2000 166171236127700
January 2001 10111421294521
February 2001 10112620092519
Port total8348681,3056513,658

Table 2: Non asylum cases granted temporary admission (excluding DAS)

Arrival monthTotal Heathrow Terminal 1Total Heathrow Terminal 2Total Heathrow Terminal 3Total Heathrow Terminal 4Monthly total
September 200011118123184607
October 2000 7916918867503
November 20009913618784506
December 200010214320952506
January 2001 10616516684521
February 2001 12315422090587
Port total6209481,2014613,230

Note:

All totals exclude asylum dependants (DAS).


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Airwave Public Safety Radio

Mr. Todd: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment has been made of the trials of the Airwave public safety radio communications system; and if he will make a statement. [154431]

Mr. Charles Clarke: The main evaluation began on 19 March when Divisions in the Lancashire Constabulary started to migrate progressively to Airwave and use the service operationally. Service performance will be assessed continually by the Lancashire force and the Police Information Technology Organisation (PITO) against rigorous criteria and a formal report is planned for issue in June 2001. If the service meets the criteria set out in the main Airwave contract then national implementation of the service will begin.

Last autumn a number of contractually defined tests to prove radio coverage and service features and performance were carried out. Both Lancashire and PITO were party to these tests which proved satisfactory. PITO subsequently ran and monitored a large number of scripted quasi-operational tests on the system for a seven week period between November 2000 and January 2001. These tests involved some 300 police personnel drawn from the majority of forces in England, Wales and Scotland. User feedback was generally very positive.

Coram Family

Mr. Peter Bottomley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what additional information the Charity Commission has requested from the Coram family since the Attorney-General intervened in the collection scheme. [153669]

Mr. Boateng: This is a matter for the Charity Commission, who will write to the hon. Gentleman. A copy of the Commission's reply will be placed in the Library.

Promotional Campaigns

Mr. Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the television, newspaper and radio advertising and other promotional campaigns conducted by (a) his Department, (b) its agencies and (c) its departmental public bodies, in each of the past five years, showing for each the expenditure incurred by his Department; and if he will make a statement. [153420]

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Mr. Straw [holding answer 12 March 2001]: The information requested is as follows:










































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