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Referendum Campaigns

Mr. Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the total cost to public funds of material issued by Her Majesty's Government during the recent referendum campaigns in (a) Wales, (b) Scotland, (c) Northern Ireland and (d) London. [115826]

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Mr. Mike O'Brien [holding answer 22 March 2000]: The total amount spent by the Government on publicity in connection with each of the four referendum campaigns in 1997-98 is given in the table:

£
Scotland1,274,706
Wales608,774
London1,600,000
Northern Ireland569,600

Campsfield House

Dr. Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proportion of detainees held at Campsfield House had been detained for longer than six months in each quarter since June 1996. [115374]

Mrs. Roche: The information requested is not collected but the following table, extracted from records at Campsfield House, shows the length of detention at that centre. The table does not take account of time that may have been spent in detention before arrival at Campsfield House.

6 to 9 months9 to 12 monthsOver 12 monthsNumber of detainees
1996
June1574192
July1583195
August2245197
September2545198
October2587197
November2195196
December(28)--(28)--(28)--(28)--
1997
January2582191
February2561195
March2582196
April1884198
May1561193
June563195
July1262195
August741190
September602108
October512105
November721109
December321110
1998
January210109
February500108
March610109
April700110
May610110
June720109
July630110
August421121
September422162
October322184
November612183
December413181
1999
January602181
February622183
March721184
April610184
May(28)--(28)--(28)--(28)--
June530184
July600175
August810181
September1020180
October830184
November(28)--(28)--(28)--(28)--
December841181
2000
January751184

(28) Not available


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Immigration and Nationality Directorate

Ms Oona King: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) for how many weeks the dedicated team in IND dealing with the backlog of general and settlement casework has been operating; and how many cases have been determined in each of these weeks; [115404]

Mrs. Roche: A dedicated team, The After-Entry Clearance Team (AECT), was set up in April 1999 specifically to tackle the backlog of general and settlement casework and consists of 12 staff. The available information on output is set out in the table which shows that since they were established they have completed over 17,650 cases.

Monthly output of AECT 1999-2000

MonthOutput
1999
April541
May1,996
June1,662
July1,526
August1,459
September2,198
October 1,841
November1,784
December1,404
2000
January1,722
February1,523

Ms Oona King: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many cases are currently in the backlog of general and settlement casework; and what is the target date for clearing them. [115380]

Mrs. Roche: The backlog of general and settlement cases, which are in the Case Allocation Unit and the Work in Progress store awaiting action by caseworkers, is currently 29,000. We aim to clear this to fractional levels by the summer.

Angola

Ms Oona King: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people have been

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(a) removed and (b) deported to Angola in each of the last five years; and if it is his policy to return people to that country. [115350]

Mrs. Roche: The only information available relates to the number of Angolans removed from the United Kingdom. To the nearest five, 130 Angolan nationals were removed in 1995, 140 in 1996, 180 in 1997 and 95 in 1998. Regrettably data for 1999 are not yet available. In addition, these removal figures may not include all dependants. Unfortunately, it is not possible to provide an accurate breakdown between the number of people removed and the number deported; similarly it is not possible to confirm how many of the people removed from the United Kingdom were returned to Angola. This information could be obtained only by examining individual case files.

Returns to Angola are considered on a case-by-case basis after a careful assessment of the risk to the individual, taking account of the information and advice about conditions in Angola which has been made available by a range of international and non-governmental organisations. No one is returned unless it is clear that it is safe to do so.

Elderly People (Fear of Crime)

Mr. Field: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will set out (a) baseline data for 1997 and (b) data for subsequent years for his Department's measurement of fear of crime among the elderly as included in the poverty audit, "Opportunity for All". [116025]

Mr. Charles Clarke: The First Annual Report, "Opportunity for All: Tackling Poverty and Social Exclusion", was published in September 1999. The indicator for fear of crime and the elderly is the proportion of those aged 60 years or over whose lives are greatly affected by fear of crime. The 1998 British Crime Survey reported that 10 per cent. of people in that age group said that their own quality of life was greatly affected by fear of crime.

This estimate is based on a sample of adults within the age group living in private households in England and Wales. The responses are on a scale of one to 10, where one is no effect and 10 is total effect on the quality of their lives. The definition of "greatly affected" are those who give scores of eight, nine or 10 on the scale. The question is being repeated in the 2000 British Crime Survey.

Asylum Seekers

Mr. Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many failed asylum seekers had (a) deportation and (b) enforcement action initiated against them in each of the last five years for which figures are available; and, of those, how many left the United Kingdom. [115972]

Mrs. Roche: Information on enforcement action initiated, comprising action taken under illegal entry and deportation procedures, including figures showing the number of cases initiated against persons who had applied for asylum at some stage, can be found in the Command Paper, "Control of Immigration: Statistics, United Kingdom, 1998" (Table 7.1) for 1995 and Home Office Statistical Bulletin, "Control of Immigration: Statistics, United Kingdom, First Half 1999" (Table 5.1) for 1996

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to first half 1999. Copies of those publications are in the Library. It should be noted that the relevant figures therein are presented by the date that enforcement action was initiated. This date may be prior to, after, or the same as, the date of the asylum decision, where such a decision has been taken. Enforcement statistics do not include removal action initiated against failed port asylum applicants under port procedures.

Comprehensive data are not available on persons removed or departing voluntarily following the initiation of enforcement action against them by the date that such action was initiated. Additionally, it is not known how many persons have left the country voluntarily without notifying the Immigration and Nationality Directorate. Figures are not, therefore, available on the numbers of failed asylum seekers leaving the United Kingdom who had enforcement action initiated against them in the last five years.

Mr. Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many failed asylum seekers are unlawfully at large in the United Kingdom. [115975]

Mrs. Roche: It is not known how many asylum applicants, in total, leave the country and it is not, therefore, possible to state how many failed asylum applicants remain unlawfully in the United Kingdom.

Mr. Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list, for each of the last five years for which figures are available, the criminal offences committed by (a) asylum seekers whose applications had not been determined and (b) failed asylum seekers, indicating the (i) maximum and (ii) average sentence passed in respect of each type of offence. [115987]

Mr. Charles Clarke: The information is not available centrally.

The Home Office Court Proceedings Database does not hold information about the characteristics of individual cases apart from those that are evident from the description of the offence with which the defendant has been charged.

Mr. Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which local authorities have applied to his Department to be placed on the list of authorities which will not be required to accept further asylum seekers; which of those local authorities have had their applications accepted; and if he will make a statement. [115979]

Mrs. Roche: There is no list of local authorities that will not be required to accept further asylum seekers. Some months ago local authorities were invited to inform the National Asylum Support Service if they felt they should be considered for exemption from accepting any further asylum seekers under the statutory interim arrangements should the Government decide to make regulations or make Directions specifying the maximum number of asylum seekers that any given local authority would need to support.

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In reply the following local authorities listed expressed the view that supporting further asylum seekers would cause them great difficulties.



    Crawley Borough Council


    London Borough of Hillingdon


    Isle of Wight Council


    The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea


    Lambeth Social Services


    New Forest District Council


    Norfolk County Council Social Services


    Northampton Borough Council and other Districts in the Country of Northamptonshire


    Oxford City Council


    Oxfordshire County Council


    London Borough of Richmond Upon Thames


    Shepway District Council


    Slough Borough Council


    South Cambridgeshire District Council


    Thurrock Council


    City of Westminster


    West Sussex County Council


    Wycombe District Council.

The Government have noted the views of these Councils but have reached no conclusion about whether, were they to exercise the relevant powers, they should be exempted from accepting further asylum seekers.

Mr. Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what was the average waiting time for an initial decision in respect of claims for political asylum in (a) 1996, (b) 1997, (c) 1998, (d) 1999 and (e) 2000 to date; [116023]

Mrs. Roche: The available information is given in the table. The figures were calculated by taking the mean length of time between the date that the asylum application was lodged and the date of the initial decision. The figures relate to asylum applications lodged by principal applicants only.

The information on appeals is not available in this format for the time period. The estimated waiting time for an appeal to be determined by an adjudicator was around 12 weeks at the end of February 2000 (this figure is based on an imputed calculation).

23 Mar 2000 : Column: 670W

Average time to initial decision, in months, 1996-99 (29), (30), (31)

YearAll applicationsApplications lodged pre July 1993Applications lodged post July 1993
1996175211
1997226414
1998177812
1999(32)359116

(29) Excluding dependants

(30) Figures are estimates based on cases for which information is recorded

(31) The average length of time (in months) is calculated for date application is lodged to the date of initial decision, and relates to the year in which the decisions were made

(32) As at December 1999, excludes cases awaiting an initial decision.


Mr. Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the amount (a) spent, (b) claimed and (c) allocated to each council in the United Kingdom in respect of expenditure on asylum seekers in (i) 1998-99 and (ii) 1999-2000. [115977]

Mrs. Roche: Payments to local authorities for the support of asylum seekers for the year 1998-99 were the responsibility of the Department of Health. Three grants were payable--one for supporting adults, one for supporting families and one for supporting unaccompanied asylum seeking children. The Department of Health is currently reconciling, in the light of the audit certificates now being provided, the amount claimed by authorities and the payments made to authorities. It is, therefore, not possible at the moment to give the full information requested as the amounts may be increased or reduced as a result of audit. I will write to the hon. Member with the fullest information as soon as possible.

Since 1 April 1999, the Home Office has been responsible for reimbursing local authorities for the costs of supporting asylum seekers. Costs for the period 1 April-5 December are on the basis of a Special Grant Report. The table shows the amount of gross expenditure identified by local authorities for that period and the amount they have claimed in accordance with the grant rules. All claims will be met in full. These payments will be subject to audit by District Auditors and may be subject to variation in light of the findings of the auditors. Full information for the period 6 December 1999-31 March 2000 is not yet available.

Asylum support 1 April 1999 to 5 December 1999

Local authorityGross expenditureClaim
Barking and Dagenham7,262,7767,002,166
Barnet4,504,3993,895,802
Barnsley48,10349,590
Bath and North East Somerset18,02518,025
Bedford694,866668,890
Birmingham1,530,5521,530,552
Blackburn with Darwen7,5557,555
Blackpool5,7765,222
Bexley693,927612,519
Bolton Metro44,88444,884
Bournemouth111,125111,125
Bracknell Forest11,48411,484
Bradford123,974121,670
Brent5,785,7825,273,406
Brighton and Hove453,109447,379
Bristol City581,165581,165
Bromley1,697,8781,530,850
Buckinghamshire80,60177,280
Bury11,7849,921
Calderdale34,61634,616
Cambridgeshire477,531477,531
Camden7,802,6845,871,860
Cheshire144,444134,503
Cornwall760760
Corporation of London757,500505,000
Coventry203,990134,830
Croydon2,129,6872,090,070
Cumbria----
Darlington2,561 2,561
Derby68,57168,571
Derbyshire44,76044,760
Devon8,7688,768
Doncaster41,16641,166
Dorset6,271 5,880
Dudley49,05749,057
Durham6,3966,396
Ealing3,469,3383,268,448
East Riding of Yorkshire33,52631,091
East Sussex249,979252,289
Enfield5,426,8104,955,507
Essex577,911560,931
Gateshead39,84539,845
Gloucestershire157,868157,868
Greenwich2,910,2992,910,299
Hackney6,474,1296,348,793
Halton----
Hammersmith and Fulham8,286,8106,553,030
Hampshire187,760173,057
Haringey5,447,1874,423,740
Harrow2,560,2972,076,459
Hartlepool----
Havering1,314,517987,840
Herefordshire10,05810,058
Hertfordshire1,128,9891,128,989
Hillingdon4,675,1124,240,593
Hounslow3,358,8803,007,750
Islington12,709,18111,186,794
Isle of Wight----
Kensington and Chelsea6,540,9184,906,980
Kent7,994,0357,995,905
Kingston upon Hull254,321192,640
Kingston upon Thames1,124,800767,520
Kirklees155,742151,200
Knowsley----
Lambeth8,743,6658,856,975
Lancashire80,37673,458
Leeds170,701170,701
Leicester651,888605,463
Leicestershire339,357303,042
Lewisham4,885,5674,928,599
Lincolnshire189,264189,264
Liverpool227,703227,703
Luton678,245678,245
Manchester1,330,0231,298,648
Medway153,841139,011
Merton2,799,5592,491,867
Middlesbrough101,241101,241
Milton Keynes600,771548,045
City of Newcastle335,340335,340
Newham14,174,85114,174,851
Norfolk266,820266,820
North East Lincolnshire189,909151,740
North Lincolnshire8,8908,890
North Somerset31,08129,680
North Tyneside22,66121,892
North Yorkshire11,16011,160
Northamptonshie5,109,1455,109,145
Northumberland4,3154,315
Nottingham137,91895,356
Nottinghamshire118,884111,907
Oldham8,1658,165
Oxfordshire2,257,4212,227,141
Peterborough104,290104,290
Plymouth52,66052,228
Poole60,19828,393
Portsmouth244,646211,460
Reading645,848642,235
Redbridge3,853,4193,832,621
Redcar and Cleveland86,13984,978
Richmond upon Thames4,110,2821,688,699
Rochdale36,55528,941
Rotherham52,38344,160
Rutland30,31230,312
Salford99,71799,717
Sandwell246,707225,770
Sefton25,37419,160
Sheffield1,266,0161,210,780
Shropshire10,87710,877
Slough3,421,2792,817,100
Solihull10,93610,640
Somerset28,22017,520
South Gloucestershire132,23482,284
South Tyneside23,49922,557
Southampton140,048104,048
Southend on Sea611,023611,023
Southwark9,288,5058,534,740
Staffordshire281,125279,140
Stockport73,12573,125
Stockton on Tees18,88918,889
Stoke on Trent51,84248,576
Suffolk87,99281,754
Sunderland17,68317,683
Surrey801,783616,380
Sutton1,613,9751,405,400
Swindon152,652152,652
Tameside4,6073,500
Telford and Wrekin28,48524,401
Thurrock860,371842,400
Torbay----
Tower Hamlets1,940,9101,796,280
Trafford111,72897,368
Wakefield116,607107,473
Walsall46,73740,664
Waltham Forest5,528,6185,528,618
Wandsworth4,256,9962,621,705
Warrington40,42635,000
Warwickshire274,806269,381
West Berkshire5,6555,655
West Sussex451,646422,860
Westminster9,725,7836,714,560
Wigan5,5025,502
Wiltshire108,915101,944
Windsor and Maidenhead53,40146,840
Wirral630630
Wokingham53,02853,028
Worcestershire336,953200,953
York6,2516,251
St. Helens----
Wolverhampton36,72836,728
Isle of Wight----
Isles of Scilly----
Total205,877,613183,177,970

23 Mar 2000 : Column: 672W

Mr. Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many appeals against asylum decisions were (a) lodged and (b) heard in each of the last five years for which figures are available. [115968]

Mrs. Roche: Information regarding asylum appeals for each of the years 1994-98 is given in Table 8.1 of the Home Office statistical bulletins, "Asylum Statistics

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United Kingdom" 1995, 1996 and 1998, issues 9/96, 15/97 and 10/99, copies of which are available in the Library.

Information for 1999 will be published in the latest issue of the bulletin in June of this year.

Mr. Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many asylum seekers left the United Kingdom in each of the last five years for which figures are available. [115978]

Mrs. Roche: Information is not recorded centrally on the numbers of in-country asylum applicants who depart voluntarily before enforcement action is initiated against them. Nor is it known how many asylum applicants leave the country voluntarily without notifying the Immigration and National Directorate of their departure. It is not, therefore, possible to give a total figure for asylum seekers leaving the United Kingdom.

The available information, relating to removals and known voluntary departures for 1995-99 under port and enforcement procedures of persons who have applied for asylum at some stage, is given in the table. For port asylum applicants, the figures include persons departing voluntarily up to and including the point of notification of the decision on the asylum application and those persons who have had their asylum application refused and leave the country before they have exhausted their rights of appeal. For in-country applicants, the figures exclude persons departing voluntarily before the initiation of enforcement action.

Failed asylum seekers are removed only once all their rights of appeal in the United Kingdom have been exhausted. It should be noted that the figures may include some persons who withdrew their asylum application or appeal before a decision or determination had been reached.

Removals and voluntary departures (33) of asylum applicants, excluding dependants, 1995-99

YearNumber
19953,180
19964,840
19977,160
19986,900
1999(34)7,645

(33) For port asylum applicants, the data include persons departing voluntarily up to and including the point of notification of the decision on the asylum application and those persons who have had their asylum application refused and leave the country before they have exhausted their rights of appeal. For in-country applicants, the data exclude persons departing voluntarily before the initiation of enforcement action.

(34) 1999 data are provisional.

Note:

Data are rounded to 5.


Mr. Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the monthly cost of maintaining (a) adult asylum seekers, (b) child asylum seekers and (c) asylum seeking families (i) in detention, (ii) under the new support arrangements to be brought in from 3 April and (iii) under the interim arrangements made under the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999. [115973]

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Mrs. Roche: The monthly direct cost of an available place in an immigration detention centre comes to just under £2,500. No differentiation is made between the cost of holding adults, children or families.

The total average cost to the immigration service of holding a detainee is slightly over £5,000 per month. This represents the full cost of immigration detention, including the cost of escorting detainees, the cost of holding people in police cells and secondary examination areas, and management and other overheads.

Unaccompanied children who claim asylum are not included in the interim arrangements made under the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999, nor are they included in the new support arrangements.

Under the interim arrangements made under the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999, the Home Office makes available to local authorities against certified claims a grant of up to £650 per month for a single asylum seeker and up to £950 per month for a family unit.

Under the new asylum seeker support arrangements to be phased in from 3 April 2000 destitute asylum seekers will be provided with accommodation and essential living needs, in the form of vouchers. The value of vouchers provided will be decided on a case-by-case basis. The maximum weekly levels of voucher support for asylum seekers under the new arrangements are shown in the table.

£

Maximum amount of weekly voucher support including £10 cash voucher
Single person aged 25 or over36.54
Single person aged at least 18 but under 2528.95
Lone parent aged 18 or over36.54
Qualifying couple57.37
Person aged under 1626.60
Person aged at least 16 but under 18 (except a member of a qualifying couple)31.75

Costs associated with accommodation under the new support arrangements being phased in from 3 April 2000 are commercially confidential.


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