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Asylum Seekers
Mr. Gale: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list, for each month since January 1998, (a) the number of processed asylum applicants removed from the United Kingdom and (b) the number of processed asylum applicants whose claims have been rejected and who have not been traced. [117253]
Mrs. Roche: Provisional information, relating to removals and voluntary departures for January 1998 to February 2000 of persons who had applied for asylum at some stage, is given in the table.
Asylum seekers whose applications have been considered and refused 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. Cases dealt with on a safe third-country basis are also included.
The latest figure for the number of known asylum absconders is 20,000. This is a snapshot, taken from the Immigration and Nationality Directorate port and enforcement databases at the end of November 1998, of those persons (excluding dependants) who had applied for asylum at some point and who had breached the conditions of their temporary admission, temporary release or restriction order, or were otherwise found to be out of contact with the Immigration and Nationality Directorate. It should be noted that a person may become
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an absconder at any stage of the asylum process and that some persons recorded as absconders may have left the United Kingdom without the knowledge of the Immigration and Nationality Directorate. Data recording problems mean that this figure cannot currently be updated.
| Month | Removals and voluntary departures (10)(11) |
|---|---|
| January 1998 | 600 |
| February 1998 | 525 |
| March 1998 | 555 |
| April 1998 | 465 |
| May 1998 | 490 |
| June 1998 | 485 |
| July 1998 | 560 |
| August 1998 | 610 |
| September 1998 | 535 |
| October 1998 | 670 |
| November 1998 | 695 |
| December 1998 | 720 |
| January 1999 | 650 |
| February 1999 | 585 |
| March 1999 | 615 |
| April 1999 | 600 |
| May 1999 | 625 |
| June 1999 | 610 |
| July 1999 | 660 |
| August 1999 | 625 |
| September 1999 | 685 |
| October 1999 | 710 |
| November 1999 | 635 |
| December 1999 | 645 |
| January 2000 | 605 |
| February 2000 | 680 |
(10) 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.
(11) Figures are provisional, revised and rounded to the nearest five.
Mr. Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many asylum seekers had registered with each local authority in England and Wales at the most recent date for which figures are available. [117659]
Mrs. Roche: The information requested is not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Mr. Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to make regulations to specify that no further asylum seekers may be placed in particular local authority areas; which local authority areas he intends to specify; and if he will make a statement. [117656]
Mrs. Roche:
At present, there are no plans to exercise the relevant powers to make regulations that would permit no further asylum seekers to be placed in particular local authority areas.
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Mr. Lidington:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much accommodation each regional consortium has secured on behalf of the National Asylum Seekers Support Agency. [117654]
Mrs. Roche:
We have been conducting extensive negotiations with the regional consortia and expect in the coming months to sign contracts with them.
Mr. Lidington:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to set maximum limits to the number of asylum seekers which any individual local authority should be expected to support. [117657]
Mrs. Roche:
I have no present plans to do so.
Mr. Lidington:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if it is his policy to deport from the United Kingdom asylum seekers who are convicted of aggressive begging; and if he will make a statement. [117655]
Mrs. Roche:
I have made arrangements for details of foreign nationals arrested by the police for begging to be passed immediately to a central contact point in the Immigration and Nationality Directorate. The Immigration Service will establish the person's immigration status, and if they make an asylum application or have an application outstanding about which they have not yet been interviewed, will conduct an asylum interview. The application will be fast-tracked for decision, as will any appeal.
It is my policy to ensure that all asylum seekers, including those convicted of begging, whose applications are unfounded are removed from the United Kingdom as quickly as possible.
The hon. Member will be aware that important changes to speed up appeals and the removal of unsuccessful applicants are contained in the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 and will come into force later this year.
Mr. Lidington:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what target he has set for his Department to reply to letters from hon. Members about immigration, nationality and asylum cases; in how many cases his Department has met that target in the last year; and if he will make a statement. [117652]
Mrs. Roche:
I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave him on 25 October 1999, Official Report, column 687W and to the reply given to him by my hon. Friend, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State on 26 July 1999, Official Report, columns 63-64W.
The Immigration and Nationality Directorate (IND) has a target of 15 working days for replying to letters from hon. Members. This includes correspondence addressed to Ministers and to the Secretary to the IND Board. I regret that, due to current updating of the Information Technology used to record and track the correspondence addressed to the Secretary to the IND Board, I am unable to give a figure for the number of cases that met the target during last year. As soon as it becomes available I will ensure that it is passed to the hon. Member. For the period 1 April 1999 to 31 March 2000, replies to letters
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addressed to Ministers met the target in 9.7 per cent. of cases. Every effort is being made to improve on this figure.
Mr. Lidington:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the earliest date of a letter from an hon. Member which has yet to be dealt with by the Immigration and Nationality Directorate's ministerial case-handling team. [117651]
Mrs. Roche:
The Immigration and Nationality Directorate's Ministerial Correspondence Unit is currently dealing with letters from hon. Members received in December, the earliest being 17 December. We are aware, however, that there are some older cases within the system elsewhere in the Integrated Casework Directorate and our aim is to clear this backlog within the next few months.
Mr. Robertson:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what investigation he has carried out into allegations of abuse at Portland Young Offenders Institution; and if he will make a statement. [117661]
Mr. Boateng:
The allegations of abuse raised by the Howard League for Penal Reform give no details as to time, date or place of alleged incidents of abuse and do not identify victims, witnesses or alleged assailants. The Director General of the Prison Service has made it clear that he regards the allegations as serious, and he has twice asked the Howard League to provide this information, without which no investigation is possible. No further details have been received.
Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Prisons carried out a full inspection of Portland between 24 October and 3 November 1999. He was aware of the allegations before starting his inspection. He has raised a number of serious criticisms which are being addressed, but he did not report any evidence of the abuse of prisoners.
Mr. Godsiff:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (1) nationals of (a) Bangladesh, (b) Belarus, (c) Benin, (d) Bhutan, (e) Bulgaria, (f) Burundi and (g) Cambodia applied for entry clearance to come to the United Kingdom for temporary purposes, including visitor and student applications, in (i) 1998 and (ii) 1999; how many visas were issued for temporary purposes; how many recipients of these visas returned to their country of nationality before their visa expired; and how many applied (a) to remain permanently in the United Kingdom and (b) for political asylum; [116996]
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(3) nationals of (a) Morocco, (b) Mozambique, (c) Nepal, (d) Pakistan, (e) Peru, (f) the Phillippines and (g) Romania applied for entry clearance to come to the United Kingdom for temporary purposes, including visitor and student applications, in (i) 1998 and (ii) 1999; how many visas were issued for temporary purposes; how many recipients of these visas returned to their country of nationality before their visa expired; and how many applied (a) to remain permanently in the United Kingdom and (b) for political asylum; [116991]
(4) nationals of (a) Cameroon, (b) the Central African Republic, (c) Chad, (d) China, (e) Colombia, (f) the Congo and (g) Djibouti applied for entry clearance to come to the United Kingdom for temporary purposes, including visitor and student applications, in (i) 1998 and (ii) 1999; how many visas were issued for temporary purposes; how many recipients of these visas returned to their country of nationality before their visa expired; and how many applied (a) to remain permanently in the United Kingdom and (b) for political asylum; [116995]
(5) nationals of (a) Afghanistan, (b) Albania, (c) Algeria, (d) Angola, (e) Armenia, (f) Azerbaijan and (g) Bahrain applied for entry clearance to come to the United Kingdom for temporary purposes, including visitor and student applications, in (i) 1998 and (ii) 1999; how many visas were issued for temporary purposes; how many recipients of these visas returned to their country of nationality before their visa expired; and how many applied (a) to remain permanently in the United Kingdom and (b) for political asylum; [116997]
(6) nationals of (a) Russia, (b) Rwanda, (c) Saudi Arabia, (d) Senegal, (e) Sierra Leone, (f) Somalia, and (g) Sri Lanka applied for entry clearance to come to the United Kingdom for temporary purposes, including visitor and student applications, in (i) 1998 and (ii) 1999; how many visas were issued for temporary purposes; how many recipients of these visas returned to their country of nationality before their visa expired; and how many applied (a) to remain permanently in the United Kingdom and (b) for political asylum; [116989]
(7) nationals of (a) Yugoslavia, (b) Ukraine, (c) Vietnam and (d) Yemen, applied for entry clearance to come to the United Kingdom for temporary purposes, including visitor and student applications, in (i) 1998 and (ii) 1999; how many visas were issued for temporary purposes; how many recipients of these visas returned to their country of nationality before their visa expired; and how many applied (a) to remain permanently in the United Kingdom and (b) for political asylum; [116980]
(8) nationals of (a) Liberia, (b) Libya, (c) Macedonia, (d) Madagascar, (e) the Maldives, (f) Moldova and (g) Mongolia applied for entry clearance to come to the United Kingdom for temporary purposes, including visitor and student applications, in (i) 1998 and (ii) 1999; how many visas were issued for temporary purposes; how many recipients of these visas returned to their country of nationality before their visa expired; and how many applied (a) to remain permanently in the United Kingdom and (b) for political asylum; [116990]
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(9) nationals of (a) Georgia, (b) Ghana, (c) Guyana, (d) Haiti, (e) India, (f) Indonesia and (g) Iran applied for entry clearance to come to the United Kingdom for temporary purposes, including visitor and student applications, in (i) 1998 and (ii) 1999; how many visas were issued for temporary purposes; how many recipients of these visas returned to their country of nationality before their visa expired; and how many applied (a) to remain permanently in the United Kingdom and (b) for political asylum; [116993]
(10) Zambian nationals applied for entry clearance to come to the United Kingdom for temporary purposes, including visitor and student applications in (i) 1998 and (ii) 1999; how many visas were issued for temporary purposes; how many recipients of these visas returned to their country of nationality before their visa expired; and how many applied (a) to remain permanently in the United Kingdom and (b) for political asylum; [116981]
(11) nationals of (a) the Sudan, (b) Syria, (c) Taiwan, (d) Tanzania, (e) Thailand, (f) Tunisia and (g) Turkey applied for entry clearance to come to the United Kingdom for temporary purposes, including visitor and student applications, in (i) 1998 and (ii) 1999; how many visas were issued for temporary purposes; how many recipients of these visas returned to their country of nationality before their visa expired; and how many applied (a) to remain permanently in the United Kingdom and (b) for political asylum; [116979]
(12) nationals of (a) Iraq, (b) Ivory Coast, (c) Jordan, (d) Kenya, (e) Kuwait, (f) Laos and (g) Lebanon applied for entry clearance to come to the United Kingdom for temporary purposes, including visitor and student applications, in (i) 1998 and (ii) 1999; how many visas were issued for temporary purposes; how many recipients of these visas returned to their country of nationality before their visa expired; and how many applied (a) to remain permanently in the United Kingdom and (b) for political asylum. [116992]
Mrs. Roche:
The available information is given in the tables.
Entry clearance data are available by country of application only, which is not necessarily the country of the applicant's nationality. There were no entry clearance issuing posts in Afghanistan, Benin, Bhutan, Burundi, Central African Republic, Chad, Congo, Djibouti, Eritrea, Gabon, Haiti, Iraq, Laos, Maldives, Moldova, Rwanda, Somalia and Sierra Leone in 1998 and 1999. Residents of these countries have to apply elsewhere. The entry clearance issuing post in Sudan was re-opened in 1999.
No data are available on the numbers of persons who return to their country of nationality before their leave to enter or remain in the United Kingdom expires.
Information is not available on the number of holders of visas for temporary purposes who apply for asylum or for settlement. The information given in Table 2 on grants of settlement includes persons who entered the United
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Kingdom with an entry clearance leading to settlement; and the data on asylum applications and those who entered by clandestine means include persons who held no entry clearance.
(2) nationals of (a) the Dominican Republic, (b) Ecuador, (c) Egypt, (d) Eritrea, (e) Fiji, (f) Gabon and (g) Gambia applied for entry clearance to come to the United Kingdom for temporary purposes, including visitor and student applications, in (i) 1998 and (ii) 1999; how many visas were issued for temporary purposes; how many recipients of these visas returned to their country of nationality before their visa expired; and how many applied (a) to remain permanently in the United Kingdom and (b) for political asylum; [116994]
| Applications received | Entry clearances issued | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Country of application | 1998 | 1999 | 1998 | 1999 |
| Albania | 200 | 1,680 | 240 | 1,320 |
| Algeria | 3,500 | 3,370 | 3,500 | 3,370 |
| Angola | 1,600 | 1,740 | 1,570 | 1,440 |
| Armenia | 1,020 | 960 | 850 | 940 |
| Azerbaijan | 3,190 | 2,700 | 3,170 | 2,550 |
| Bahrain | 13,150 | 11,000 | 13,090 | 11,720 |
| Bangladesh | 12,820 | 14,980 | 9,820 | 11,140 |
| Belarus | 7,100 | 7,100 | 6,620 | 6,950 |
| Bulgaria | 17,130 | 21,000 | 15,790 | 19,390 |
| Cameroon | 2,050 | 2,020 | 1,540 | 1,600 |
| China | 38,900 | 47,230 | (13)-- | 39,460 |
| Colombia | 20,550 | 16,930 | 19,470 | 15,640 |
| Congo Democratic Republic(15) | 650 | (13)-- | 470 | (13)-- |
| Dominican Republic | 1,110 | 1,370 | 1,010 | 1,310 |
| Ecuador | 3,000 | 1,980 | 2,800 | 1,710 |
| Egypt | 29,440 | 30,410 | 28,820 | 29,970 |
| Ethiopia | 3,740 | 3,730 | 3,100 | 2,890 |
| Fiji | 720 | (13)-- | 700 | (13)-- |
| Gambia | 2,980 | 3,630 | 2,340 | 2,680 |
| Georgia | 1,900 | (13)-- | 1,880 | (13)-- |
| Ghana | 22,160 | 27,460 | 16,130 | 20,980 |
| Guyana | 1,470 | 1,450 | 1,240 | 1,220 |
| India | 142,800 | 170,050 | 129,560 | 152,040 |
| Indonesia | 8,680 | 18,370 | 8,390 | 17,540 |
| Iran | 23,740 | (13)-- | 21,970 | (13)-- |
| Ivory Coast | 2,300 | 2,110 | 1,970 | 2,210 |
| Jordan | 8,900 | 8,450 | 8,920 | 8,240 |
| Kenya | 16,600 | 17,380 | 14,750 | 13,740 |
| Kuwait | 42,740 | 36,060 | 42,500 | 32,230 |
| Lebanon | 7,430 | 7,380 | 7,070 | 7,070 |
| Libya | 820 | 1,390 | 770 | 1,310 |
| Macedonia | 420 | 720 | 420 | 720 |
| Madagascar | 290 | 350 | 280 | 320 |
| Mongolia | 810 | 900 | 710 | 740 |
| Morocco | 7,260 | 6,870 | 6,380 | 6,160 |
| Mozambique | 790 | 700 | 750 | 570 |
| Nepal | 3,780 | 4,070 | 2,920 | 3,060 |
| Pakistan | 65,790 | 70,260 | 49,010 | 47,970 |
| Peru | 3,840 | 3,580 | 3,680 | 3,570 |
| Philippines | 17,010 | 19,060 | 14,540 | 17,750 |
| Romania | 23,030 | 21,860 | 20,680 | 19,840 |
| Russia | 94,180 | 69,460 | 89,630 | 66,500 |
| Rwanda | 100 | 110 | 100 | 110 |
| Saudi Arabia | 57,630 | 56,680 | 55,300 | 53,440 |
| Senegal | 1,200 | 1,380 | 1,030 | 1,130 |
| Sri Lanka | 14,000 | 17,770 | 12,710 | 15,220 |
| Sudan | (14)-- | 1,470 | (14)-- | 1,160 |
| Syria | 5,820 | (13)-- | 5,320 | (13)-- |
| Taiwan | 41,060 | 42,990 | 41,060 | 42,990 |
| Tanzania | 8,870 | 9,460 | 7,180 | 6,860 |
| Thailand | 20,830 | 28,090 | 18,460 | 25,650 |
| Tunisia | 7,250 | 7,070 | 5,880 | 5,990 |
| Turkey | 66,850 | 62,510 | 61,280 | 43,510 |
| Ukraine | 23,560 | 22,520 | 20,850 | 18,890 |
| Vietnam | 2,080 | 1,690 | 1,840 | 1,380 |
| Yemen | 3,720 | 3,780 | 3,300 | 3,360 |
| Yugoslavia | 14,690 | 2,660 | 14,130 | 2,540 |
| Zambia | 4,340 | 4,620 | 4,120 | 4,390 |
(12) 1999 data are provisional
(13) Not available
(14) Not applicable (no entry clearance facilities in that country)
(15) Formerly Zaire
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(16) Excluding persons given indefinite leave to enter
(17) All settlement data are rounded to three significant figures or to the nearest 10 if less than 1,000
(18) Russia includes holders of Soviet Union passports
(19) Figures are rounded to the nearest 5 with * = 1 or 2, and exclude dependants
(20) 1999 data are provisional
(21) Negligible (i.e. five or fewer)
(22) Not available
(23) Formerly Zaire
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