Question time briefing: Home Office

---

ePolitix.com reports on Monday's questions to Home Office ministers.

The home secretary has announced that cancelling the government's ID card scheme would cost in the region of £40m.

Jacqui Smith also insisted that the government is "on track" to introduce identity cards this autumn, in response to questioning in the Commons .

The home secretary told MPs that a contract would be awarded next month to upgrade passport application systems.

A second contract will be signed for a biometric database for the next generation of passports and ID cards, while a third contract for the ID cards themselves is expected to be awarded later this year.

"As is normal, these contracts have been written to protect the public purse with standard clauses in the event of termination," Smith told the Commons.

"Cancellation of the ID cards contract and partial termination of the application and database contracts would cost in the region of £40 million in the early years.

"Therefore, as I have made clear on many occasions, scrapping ID cards and the identity database will not free up a large fund of money to spend on other priorities."

Also speaking during Home office questions, minister Alan Campbell denied that the government has ignored the independent advice of a government advisory body on drugs.

He told MPs that the government agreed with much of the advice given by the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs on cannabis and ecstasy.

But he said that ministers were obliged to look at the "wider picture" on drugs classification.

Following a question from Mary Creagh (Lab, Wakefield) on government progress on its strategy to tackle drugs, Campbell claimed that drug use is at its lowest level for a decade.

Campbell also highlighted the government's use of family intervention programmes to target substance misuse.

Lindsay Hoyle (Lab, Chorley) called for "hard line" government action against drug dealers.

Campbell replied that enforcement is a key part of the government's drug policy. But he stressed that ministers want to avoid a "revolving door policy" for offenders.

Home Office ministers also admitted that more needed to be done to tackle violent crime, following a question from Mark Harper (Con, Forest of Dean) on the latest estimates.

Vernon Coaker quoted the latest British Crime Survey statistics which show 2.2 million incidents of violent crime against adults in England and Wales, down 40 per cent.

Coaker stated that people found in possession of a knife are now far more likely to be charged and face stricter penalties. He said the statistics were "encouraging" but that there was "much more to be done".

Keith Vaz (Lab, Leicester East) pointed out that over half of those who commit acts of violence were under the influence of alcohol. He called for a floor price for alcohol.

Coaker agreed that binge drinking is not acceptable.

Jacqui Smith also used Home Office questions to announce that the government is in the process of drawing up proposals to end the 'blanket' retention of DNA samples from the national DNA database.

The home secretary said that a consultation would be brought forward soon, admitting that there was a need to balance "protecting the public" with being "fair to the individual".

And she rejected allegations put forward in a Joseph Rowntree Reform Trust report that a quarter of major public sector databases could be illegal.

Celia Barlow (Lab, Hove) and Anne Moffat (Lab, East Lothian) both inquired on the number of convictions for serious crimes resulting from DNA samples on the national database.

And Madeleine Moon (Lab, Bridgend) said that while 89 per cent of her constituents support the use of a national DNA database, 59 per cent thought innocent people on database should be removed. She accused the government of a "lack of clarity" on the issue.

Smith repeated that the government is bringing forward proposals for a "more proportionate" way to deal with DNA retention.

But shadow home secretary Chris Grayling said that storing the DNA of innocent people was "morally and legally" quite wrong. He urged ministers to stop keeping the data immediately.

Smith replied: "There is a period of time, quite reasonably, in which it is quite right that consideration is given."

She pointed out that DNA retention had been upheld by UK courts. And she emphasised that the record was not like a police record, and would not be regarded during security clearings or job applications.

Ministers also admitted that the government was not able to give an accurate assessment of the number of illegal immigrants residing in the UK.

Immigration minister Phil Woolas told the Commons that the government aims to be able to count 95 per cent of illegal immigrants in and out of the country by 2010, hitting 100 per cent by 2014.

But he criticised Mayor of London Boris Johnson's proposals for an immigration 'amnesty', stating that it would be "unfair" for legal migrants in the country.

Woolas also suggested that an amnesty could "act as a further pull factor" for more illegal immigrants.

But Andrew Mackinlay (Lab, Thurrock) accused immigration officials of "gross incompetence" on the backlog of applications to become legal immigrants.

On another topic, Coaker confirmed to the Commons that the UK Human Trafficking Centre has developed a programme to give all new police recruits training on human trafficking as part of their core training.

He explained: "It is one thing having these laws in place but another to ensure that police have the confidence to use them."

But Labour was accused by shadow immigration minister Damian Green of trying to "fool" people over the introduction of a new 'Australian-style' points-based immigration system.

Green claimed that the Australian system had tighter controls and only under a Conservative government would the points-based system be properly enforced in the UK.

Barry Gardiner (Lab, Brent North) also criticised ministers, saying there was a "discrepancy" with tier five of the new immigration system on applications for foreign performers.

But Smith hailed the system as the "most radical in a generation". And she corrected Gardiner, saying that wages for performers from abroad had to meet industry standards on wages, not the national minimum wage.

The home secretary also cautioned that migrant labour is not the only way to fill job shortages.

Topical questions:

Prompted by a question from Alison Seabeck (Lan, Plymouth, Devonport), the home secretary told MPs that the government was "on track" to introduce ID cards by this autumn.

Jacqui Smith stated that a cancellation of the ID contract would cost in the region of £40m in the scheme's early years. So, she told the Opposition, ending the ID scheme will not "free up" a large sum of money to spend on other priorities.

Pete Wishart (SNP, Perth and North Perthshire) called for skilled migrant workers to be given extra points to work to Scotland.

Woolas said that without the introduction of internal border controls, it was not possible. But he admitted that there are some skills shortages in Scotland.

Jim Cunningham (Lab, Coventry South) called for action on wheel-clamping companies which abuse the system.

Smith replied that the government was conducting a feasibility study on regulating "roguish" wheel-clamping firms.

Jo Swinson (Lib Dem, East Dunbartonshire) expressed concern over the collection under the e-borders system of travel data from innocent people.

Woolas stated that the system had been in use for four years already and that data was collected.

Responding on Twitter, Swinson claimed that the immigration minister had "avoided" answering her question. She said that she would pursue her query with a written question.

John Bercow (Con, Buckingham) said that a limited number of migrant workers in the UK is "necessary and desirable". He called for requirements to be led by the economy and not the tabloid newspapers.

The home secretary confirmed that the independent migration authority would continue to publish its statistics on migration.