Immigration and Nationality Directorate (Hansard, 22 April 1999)

§ Mr. Clappison
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to provide additional storage space for files being dealt with by the Case Allocation Unit in the Immigration and Nationality Directorate. [80772]

§ Mr. Mike O'Brien
We intend to transfer some non-active files from storage accommodation in Croydon to Acton. The space made available will meet all the foreseeable needs of the Case Allocation Unit. We expect the exercise to be completed by the end of May.
663W

§ Mr. Clappison
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the throughput of files by the Case Allocation Unit planned for in the new organisation of immigration and asylum caseworking; and what is the throughput achieved according to the most recent figures available. [80773]

§ Mr. Mike O'Brien
No firm projections of throughput of files by the Case Allocation Unit were made.
During the week ending 9 April, the Case Allocation Unit received 2,865 files and despatched 1,338. This was an unusually low throughput due to the Easter holiday period.

§ Mr. Clappison
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate he has made of the average daily number of(a) callers trying to make a call to the Immigration and Nationality Directorate, (b) calls made to that Directorate and (c) calls answered by the Telephone Caller Unit. [80780]

§ Mr. Mike O'Brien
Figures for calls made during normal working hours in February and March are as follows:

(a) Average number of callers per day: 5,240

(b) Average number of calls per day: 47,046

(c) Average number of calls answered per day: 1,690

Note that many calls are repeat calls.

§ Mr. Clappison
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many visits he and his Ministers have made to the Immigration and Nationality Directorate at Croydon in the last year. [80781]

§ Mr. Mike O'Brien
The Home Secretary has visited the Immigration and Nationality Directorate (IND) four times during the past year: on 14 September 1998, 18 February 1999 and 23 March 1999. He is planning to visit IND again shortly.
I have visited IND eight times during the last year, on 11 June 1998, 14 September 1998 and on 11 February, 3 March, 11 March, 23 March, 31 March and 13 April 1999.

§ Mr. Clappison
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what change in the level of productivity was planned for in the reorganisation of caseworking in the Immigration and Nationality Directorate; and what level of productivity is currently being achieved. [80777]

§ Mr. Mike O'Brien
The Immigration and Nationality Directorate's Private Finance Initiative contract with Siemens Business Services measures productivity as reduction in unit costs. The contract with Siemens assumes that unit costs reductions of more than 40 per cent. can be achieved when the new computer system is introduced to support the new modern ways of working. Delivery of the computer system has been delayed and the recent reorganisation of caseworking has been planned on a unit cost reduction of 32 per cent.
A unit cost reduction of 15 per cent. was achieved prior to the recent disruption caused by the business change and modernisation initiative which was also part of the Public Finance Initiative project. Unit costs for the year ending February 1999 had reduced by between 3 per cent. and 4 per cent. Unit costs for February 1999, in which output was badly affected by the disruption, were 28 per cent. higher than pre-contract levels.
664W

§ Mr. Clappison
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he expects the joint team established by the Home Office and Siemens Business Services on 17 March to report. [81467]

§ Mr. Mike O'Brien
The Project Team has reported its proposals for addressing the operational recovery of the Integrated Casework Directorate, which have been approved. The project team is continuing its work.

§ Mr. Clappison
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department by how much the backlog in the asylum casework of the Immigration and Nationality Directorate has grown(a) in the last year and (b) in the last three months for which figures are available. [80770]

§ Mr. Mike O'Brien
The estimated number of applications for asylum awaiting an initial decision rose by 20,340 in the 12 months between March 1998 and February 1999 to 71,295. In the three months between December 1998 and February 1999, the figure rose by 10,405.

§ Mr. Clappison
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many staff were planned for the Telephone Caller Unit of the Immigration and Nationality Directorate under the reorganisation of caseworking; and what is the average number of staff currently manning the Telephone Caller Unit. [80778]

§ Mr. Mike O'Brien
The Immigration and Nationality Enquiry Bureau deals with both telephone and written inquiries from members of the public and with specialised inquiries from other Government departments and local authorities. The original complement of the unit, which assumed that the full information Technology system would be available, was 64. This was revised to 94 for the period of Team Based Caseworking. There are currently 83 staff in post. The average number of staff manning the telephones each day during March was 40.

§ Mr. Clappison
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many meetings he and Ministers in his Department have held with Siemens plc in connection with the reorganisation of caseworking in the Immigration and Nationality Directorate in the last year. [80779]

§ Mr. Mike O'Brien
The Home Secretary and I have had four meetings with Siemens plc during the last year.

§ Mr. Clappison
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) on what date it was planned that(a) the Public Caller Unit and (b) the Asylum Screening Unit would move from Lunar House to the Whitgift Centre; and when it is now planned that these moves will take place; [80774]
(2) what factors underlay his decision to delay the move of the Public Caller Unit and the Asylum Screening Unit from Lunar House to the Whitgift Centre. [80775]

§ Mr. Mike O'Brien
The Public Caller Unit (PCU) commenced its planned phased move to the Whitgift Centre on Monday 1 February and completed the move on Friday 12 February. The Asylum Screening Unit (ASU) was originally scheduled to close in Lunar House on Friday 5 March and open in the Whitgift Centre on Monday 8 March.
665W
During the initial transition phase to the Immigration Casework Directorate, the PCU experienced a large increase in the numbers of callers which continued after the PCU's move to the Whitgift Centre. In order to deal with these increased numbers additional temporary accommodation in Lunar House has been used by the PCU since Wednesday 10 March. Because of this, the planned move of the ASU to the Whitgift Centre was put on hold while the situation was reviewed.
Following the review, it was agreed that additional improved queuing facilities for callers to the PCU and ASU should be provided. Additional staff for the PCU and ASU will also be provided in order to deal with the expected numbers of callers attending these units each day. It is now planned that the ASU will close in Lunar House on Friday 30 April and open in the Whitgift Centre on Tuesday 4 May. The PCU will close its additional accommodation in Lunar House on Friday 28 May.

§ Mr. Clappison
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate he has made of when the backlog of asylum casework in the Immigration and Nationality Directorate will be cleared. [80768]

§ Mr. Mike O'Brien
The Government are committed to reducing the Immigration and Nationality Directorate casework backlog to frictional levels by 2001. Our plans for dealing with Immigration and Nationality Directorate casework backlogs are set out int he Government's White Paper, "Fairer, Faster and Firmer—A Modern Approach to Immigration and Asylum."