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Home Office

Answer

Mr. Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many staff days he estimates the Immigration and Nationality Directorate will devote to training in 2000-01 as a result of (a) the Human Rights Act 1998, (b) the Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000 and (c) the Freedom of Information Act 2000. [142463] Mrs. Roche: Training in the Immigration and Nationality Directorate (IND) is provided in different ways according to need, including via guidance material and team briefings as an alternative to, or to supplement, formal training. It is therefore impossible to estimate the total number of staff days IND will devote to training in these areas. The position in relation to each Act is summarised as follows: (a) Human Rights Act 1998 IND has now virtually completed a comprehensive training programme. All staff were provided with introductory guidance in April 1999, and detailed staff instructions were issued subsequently. From May 1999, nominated staff attended half-day seminars on the Act and its implications for the work of IND. The final stage of the programme was to provide a two-day training course for those staff requiring in-depth knowledge of human rights issues. Figures for formal training activity undertaken thus far are provided in the table, along with an estimate of the formal training commitment in the immediate future. Human rights issues will of course be reflected where relevant in all future training activities. _________________________________________________________________________________________________. Trained{ 1} To be trained{ 1} Half-day seminar 1,255 101 2 day course 358 632 _________________________________________________________________________________________________. {1} Figures given in staff days (b) Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000 IND intends to implement an extensive training programme on the Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000. Where possible, this will be integrated with other relevant training programmes planned for the new year, including induction training for 700 new recruits to the Immigration Service and race awareness training due to be delivered to over 1,800 IND middle managers between January and March 2001. In addition, IND plans to provide more detailed training on the Act to approximately 550 key staff in March 2001. (c) Freedom of Information Act 2000 The Home Office plans to organise a half-day pilot training event in IND, involving more than 50 staff, before the end of this financial year. This will be used to assess the Directorate's wider training needs in respect of Freedom of Information.

Secondary information

Type

Written question

Reference

359 c104-5W;359 c102-3W; 142463

Session

2000-01

Subjects

Immigration Training Immigration and Nationality Directorate

Legislation

Freedom of Information Act 2000

Human Rights Act 1998

Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000

Contains statistics

Yes

Link

View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk