Resource Management Group
United Kingdom Border Agency
Lunar House
40 Wellesley Road
11 Floor, Short Corridor
Croydon CR9 2BY
Simon Wright / Web
Date21 November 2008
Ref10408
Dear Mr Wright,
Thank you for your request dated16/10/2008. This falls to be dealt with under the Freedom of Information Act 2000. I have listed your questionsbelow for reference.
1) How many people with a criminal record of violent crime (Howmany Murderers?, Rapists? and Child Sex Offenders - Both in the UKand in other countries) have been granted British Citizenship inthe past year and previous year.
2) How many people granted British citizenship in the past have hadtheir Citizenship withdrawn by the UK government and is there achart showing what the main reasons for citizenship withdrawal havebeen (for example, 25% were due to fraud issues)
3) What is the most accurate or latest estimate on the % of trucksor cargo searched or checked before entering the United Kingdomsince the border agency was introduced.
4) How many illegal immigrants / failed asylum seekers arecurrently being held or have been released because the UnitedKingdom is unable to deport them to their home nation because ofthe Human Rights Act of 1998 which incorporated The EuropeanConvention on Human Rights into British law.
5) Is there a list of the countries the UK authorities are unable to deport people to because of the Human Rights Act or other laws /rulings which prevent people from being returned.
Questions 1 and 2
As part of the Home Office, the UK Border Agency (UKBA) is not obliged to comply with any information request where the prescribed costs of supplying you with the information exceed £600. The £600 limit applies to all central government departments and is based on work being carried out at a rate of £25 per hour, which equates to 3½ days work per request. Prescribed costs include those which cover the cost of locating and retrieving information, and preparing our response to you. They do not include considering whether any information is exempt from disclosure, overheads such as heating or lighting, or disbursements such as photocopying or postage.
I can confirm that we do hold information, which you are interested in but have estimated that the cost of answering your request would exceed the £600 limit and we are therefore unable to comply with it, as the information would be held on individual files. Therefore to answer your request it would be necessary to identify and locate all nationality files and search them for the information requested, which would need to be collated into the format requested. Although your request would at present be too costly to answer, if you refine it so that it falls under the cost limit we will consider it further.
You should however be aware that if you break your request down into a series of smaller requests, we might, depending on the circumstances of the case, decline to answer if the aggregated cost of complying exceeds £600, as permitted by the Fees Regulations.
Even if a new request were to fall below the £600 cost limit, the information you request might be withheld under the terms of a number of substantive exemptions contained in part II of the Freedom of Information Act 2000. These exemptions could also make it necessary for us to extend the period for responding beyond the usual 20 working day target if they involve having to consider the public interest balancing test.
Question 3
Sincethe creation of theUK Border Agency in April 2008, European Operations command has maintained and secured the UK borders in all the Juxtaposed locations in Northern France and Belgium.
Since April 2008 to date we havesearched over 550,000 freight vehicles at the juxtaposed ports of Calais, Coquelles and Dunkerque. This is an increaseof over 7% on the same period last year.
The Calais Chamber of Commerce and Industry complete 100% freight screening on all vehicles, and along with Eurotunnel at Coquelles and the port operator of Dunkerque, the UK Border Agency works alongsideother agencies do complete thoroughfreight searchingchecks. By using advanced detection technology equipment we can detect thepresence of clandestines using specific detection technology including CO2 probes, heartbeat detectors, passive milimetricwave imagers,body detectiondogsand scanning technology.Both UK and France are committed to combating illegal immigration and continue to work closely together.
The new agency has further strengthened our borders with the recent release of figures showing thatfrom April to September 2008 we have, along with our partners, prevented over 12200 individual clandestine attempts intotheUK and in addition refusedmore than 3400 individualsfromentering the UK.
Question 4
Information on those in detention and leaving detention is available on the Research Development Statistical (RDS) website and I have enclosed a link for your reference. UKBA does not hold the specific information you have requested in the format requested. However, where an asylum applicant does not qualify for refugee status, the case owner should always consider whether they qualify for leave on the basis of Humanitarian Protection and if not, then consider whether they qualify for Discretionary Leave.
Discretionary leave is to be granted only where the Secretary of State is satisfied that neither an enforced nor voluntary return is possible without material prejudice to the rights protected under the ECHR. Therefore, cases where removal would breach the ECHR are granted Discretionary Leave and further detention would not be an issue.
Question 5
There are no countries to which the Government will not return failed asylum seekers for safety reasons.
Each asylum and human rights claim is considered on its individual merits in accordance with our international obligations and taking full account of conditions in the country concerned as they impact on the individual. Those found to be in need of international protection are provided with it. Failed asylum seekers of all nationalities who have been found by the Home Office and the appeals process not to be in need of international protection and have no legal basis of stay in the UK are expected to return to their country of origin and may have their removal enforced.
We are not currently enforcing the return of unsuccessful non-Arab Darfuri asylum seekers to Sudan, nor are we enforcing returns to Zimbabwe or Democratic Republic of Congo. The courts are considering the situation in these countries and we have no plans to resume enforced returns before the courts have reached a conclusion.
If you are dissatisfied with this response, you may request an independent internal review of our handling of your request. Internal review requests should be submitted within two months of UKBA sending a substantive reply to your original request and should be addressed to:
UK Border Agency
Central Freedom of Information Team
11th Floor
Lunar House, Short Corridor
40 Wellesley Road
Croydon
CR9 2BY
During the independent review the department’s handling of your information request will be reassessed by staff who were not involved in providing you with this response. Should you remain dissatisfied after this internal review, you will have a right of complaint to the Information Commissioner as established by section 50 of the Freedom of Information Act.
Yours sincerely,
Mr Feakins,
Freedom of Information Team,
Resource Management Group