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Asylum Seekers
Mr. Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many asylum application forms submitted in each month since 1 January have been returned because the applicant provided no proper address; and if he will make a statement. [142435]
Mrs. Roche: Since 31 August, postal applications submitted without the full address of the applicant have been returned with a request for the address to be given. This measure was introduced to ensure that basic information about the applicant was available to help deter fraudulent or multiple applications. The application is recorded once the address has been provided, except for applicants living in London who are first required to come to Croydon for screening. Reliable information on the number of applications returned for the address to be provided is not available, but is estimated to be about 450 a month on average.
Mr. Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many asylum seekers are being supported by each local authority; and if he will make a statement. [142468]
Mrs. Roche: The table gives records of the number of support weeks provided by local authorities to single adults and to families in the period 1 April to 29 September 2000. This information has been taken from the un-audited asylum support grant claims for the period and some authorities have not yet submitted claims.
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The Home Office does not hold records for each authority of the individual asylum seekers receiving support.
Mr. Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the average cost is of supporting (a) a single asylum seeker and (b) a family for seven days; and if he will make a statement. [142428]
Mrs. Roche: For the first six months of 2000-01 the average cost to the Home Office of supporting a single asylum seeker for seven days is estimated at £119 and £241 for a family.
These figures cover single adult asylum seekers and asylum seeking families on social security benefits, as well as those supported by local authorities under the interim scheme and by the National Asylum Support Service.
Mr. Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on his Department's handling of the asylum application of N. Asur Saribal. [142427]
Mrs. Roche: It is the general policy of the Immigration and Nationality Directorate not to disclose any information it may hold on an individual to third parties unless requested to do so by, or with the written consent of, the individual concerned or their authorised representative.
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Mr. Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) in how many asylum cases since 1 May 1997 an applicant has been successful after the Home Office had pleaded that the application should be refused under Article 1F(b) of the 1951 Convention; [142455]
- (2) how many applications for asylum awaiting an initial or appeal decision have been made by people who (a) have been convicted of and (b) have been charged with a serious criminal offence in their country of origin; [142453]
(3) how many applications for asylum in each of the last five years have been refused under Article 1F(b) of the 1951 Convention on the grounds that the applicant had been convicted of a serious non-political criminal offence outside his country of refuge. [142454]
Mrs. Roche: I regret that this information could be obtained only by examination of individual case records and is, therefore, available only at disproportionate cost.
Mr. Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) family and (b) non- family asylum applications made since 1 April received an initial decision within two months. [142429]
Mrs. Roche: 37,095 asylum seekers made applications between 1 April 2000 and 30 September 2000 of which 2,890 were families.
Approximately two thirds of new substantive family applications lodged between 1 April 2000 and 30 September 2000 had an initial decision within two months. Information on non-family applications is not at present available.
Prisons
Mr. Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the population of (a) open and (b) other prisons in the United Kingdom. [142103]
Mr. Boateng: On 31 October 2000, the population of open prisons in England and Wales was provisionally 3,943, and the population for other prisons in England and Wales was 60,275.
Information relating to Scotland and Northern Ireland is a matter for Ministers in the Scottish Parliament and Northern Ireland Assembly.
Mr. Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list in respect of each prison establishment at the latest date for which figures are available, the figures for (a) certified normal accommodation, (b) total accommodation and (c) the number of inmates. [142458]
Mr. Boateng: The latest data available are for Friday 8 December 2000. The information requested is set out in the table.
(5) In Use Certified Normal Accommodation (CNA) excludes places taken out of use for refurbishment
(6) Morton Hall prison is being re-roled to a female prison
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Mr. Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prisoners, expressed as a percentage of the average prison population, are held two to a cell designed for one; and what was the average rate of such doubling over the period since 1 April. [142443]
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Mr. Boateng: The number of prisoners held two to a cell designed for one, expressed as a proportion of the average population for the financial year to October 2000 was 17.4 per cent. This figure is provisional and subject to validation.
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