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Right to Secrecy

Mr. Mackinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what representations he has received from (a) the Roman Catholic Church and (b) other religious denominations about the implications of new police powers of surveillance contained in the Police Bill [Lords] for the right of secrecy of the confessional and other private counselling by priests and pastors. [13312]

Mr. Maclean [holding answer 30 January 1997]: We have received no representations from the Roman Catholic Church or other religious denominations on this matter.

Asylum Seekers

Mr. Henderson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will provide breakdowns of the number of asylum seekers currently detained under Immigration Act powers by (a) nationality, (b) gender, (c) place of detention, (d) length of detention and (e) immigration status at the time of application. [13263]

31 Jan 1997 : Column: 381

Mr. Kirkhope: The requested breakdown of detained asylum seekers is given in the tables:

Table 1: Number of people recorded as being detained(1)(2) on 11 December 1996 who had sought asylum at some stage, by gender and immigration status

Gender	Port	Illegal entrants	Subject to deportation action	Total
Male	353	280	48	681
Female	52	13	8	73
Total	405	293	56	754

(1) Persons detained solely under the powers contained in Schedule 2 or 3 of the Immigration Act 1971.

(2) These figures include people who have been in detention for less than a month. Because of the delay in recording receptions into, and releases from, detention and the large number of persons detained for a short period, the figures should be used with caution.

Table 2: Number of people recorded as being detained (3)(4) on 11 December 1996 who had sought asylum at some stage, by stage of application and immigration status

Stage of application	Port	Illegal entrants	Subject to deportation action	Total
Awaiting initial decision	90	54	8	152
Awaiting result of appeal	219	132	28	379
Awaiting removal after refusal	96	107	20	223
Total	405	293	56	754

(3) Persons detained solely under the powers contained in Schedule 2 or 3 of the Immigration Act 1971.

(4) These figures include people who have been in detention for less than a month. Because of the delay in recording receptions into, and releases from, detention and the large number of persons detained for a short period, the figures should be used with caution.

Table 3: Number of people recorded as being detained(5)(6) on 11 December 1996 who had sought asylum at some stage, by length of detention(7) and immigration status

Length	Port	Illegal Entrants	Subject to Deportation action	Total
0-1 month(5)	74	92	7	173
1-2 months	54	57	9	120
2-6 months	169	107	26	302
6-12 months	88	30	11	129
12 months +	20	7	3	30
Total	405	293	56	754

(5) Persons detained solely under the powers contained in Schedule 2 or 3 of the Immigration Act 1971.

(6) These figures include people who have been in detention for less than a month. Because of the delay in recording receptions into, and releases from, detention and the large number of persons detained for a short period, the figures should be used with caution.

(7) In some cases the date a person enters detention may be understated due to the method of recording.

Table 4: Number of people recorded as being detained(8)(9) on 11 December 1996 who had sought asylum at some stage, by nationality and immigration status

Nationality	Port	Illegal entrants	Subject to deportation action	Total
Nigeria	58	26	22	106
Algeria	26	48	5	79
India	10	64	1	75
Sri Lanka	30	19	2	51
Zaire	35	4	3	42
Ghana	20	17	3	40
Pakistan	14	21	4	39
China People's Republic of	29	9	0	38
Turkey	21	11	0	32
Romania	4	13	0	17
Cyprus	15	0	0	15
Israel	15	0	0	15
Angola	10	1	3	14
Bangaldesh	4	7	0	11
Gambia	9	1	1	11
Yugoslavia	3	6	1	10
Iran	6	2	1	9
Jamaica	1	5	3	9
Russia	4	4	0	8
Columbia	6	1	0	7
Ethiopia	4	3	0	7
Poland	6	1	0	7
Tanzania	4	1	2	7
Uganda	6	0	1	7
Kenya	5	1	0	6
Liberia	6	0	0	6
Lithuania	4	2	0	6
Sierra Leone	3	3	0	6
Ecuador	4	1	0	5
Ivory Coast	3	2	0	5
Morocco	1	3	1	5
Iraq	3	0	1	4
Lebanon	2	2	0	4
Slovakia	3	0	0	3
South Africa	2	0	1	3
Bulgaria	1	1	0	2
Cameroon	1	1	0	2
Congo	2	0	0	2
Eritrea	1	1	0	2
Philippines	0	2	0	2
Somalia	2	0	0	2
Tunisia	2	0	0	2
Zimbabwe	2	0	0	2
Other	11	7	1	19
Nationality doubtful	7	3	0	10
Total	405	293	56	754

(8) Persons detained solely under the powers contained in schedule 2 or 3 of the Immigration Act 1971.

(9) These figures include people who have been in detention for less than a month. Because of the delay in recording receptions into, and releases from, detention and the large number of persons detained for a short period, the figures should be used with caution.

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Table 5: Number of people recorded as being detained(10)(11) on 11 December 1996 asylum at some state, by location of detention and immigration status

	Port	Illegal entrants	Subjects to Deportation action	Total
Prisons
HMP Rochester	74	50	13	137
HMP Haslar	34	48	4	86
HMP Birmingham	3	10	2	15
HMP Wormwood Scrubs	4	4	0	8
HMP Magilligan	0	6	0	6
HMP Manchester	0	4	1	5
HMP Brixton	0	4	1	5
HMP Greenock	0	4	0	4
HMP Wandsworth	0	0	2	2
HMP High Down	0	1	1	2
HMP Elmley	0	2	0	2
HMP Doncaster	0	2	0	2
HMP Armley	0	2	0	2
Other prison	7	5	4	16
Other Places of Detention
Campsfield House	98	52	12	162
Tinsley House	66	38	8	112
Harmondsworth	62	22	3	87
Police Cells	10	22	4	36
Meadvale Buildings	25	8	0	33
Queens Building	12	2	0	14
Manchester airport detention suite	1	7	1	9
Dover Harbour	5	0	0	5
Other places of detention	4	0	0	4
Total	405	293	56	754

(10) Persons detained solely under the powers contained in schedule 2 or 3 of the Immigration Act 1971.

(11) These figures include people who have been in detention for less than a month. Because of the delay in recording receptions into, and releases from, detention and the large number of persons detained for a short period, the figures should be used with caution.

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Mr. Henderson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what is the average time currently taken to reach an initial decision on (a) asylum applications submitted prior to the implementation of the Asylum and Immigration Appeals Act 1993, (b) asylum applications submitted since implementation of that Act and (c) all asylum applications; [13265]

(2) what is the average time currently taken to hear and determine an appeal against a refusal of asylum. [13266]

Mr. Kirkhope: Information on the times taken at the various stages of the asylum process are given in the table.

Average time involved in deciding applications for asylum (October-December 1996)

	Months
Time taken for an initial decision to be made (pre-Act applications)	48.2
Time taken for an initial decision to be made (post-Act applications)	12.7
Time taken by the Home Office to process an appeal	1.2
Time taken by the Immigration Appeals Authority to determine an appeal	10.0

Immigration Detainees

Mr. Henderson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to his answer of 10 December 1996, Official Report, column 144, what was the total number of cases of a person detained under Immigration Act powers that were reviewed by a director of the immigration service in 1996; and what criteria determine which cases are reviewed by the directors of the immigration service. [13280]

Mr. Kirkhope: Taking their respective caseloads together, the two directors of the immigration service reviewed detention in 718 cases in 1996. Cases are referred for review by the directors once detention exceeds six months, and monthly thereafter.

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