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Asylum Seekers

Mr. Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the Audit Commission report, "Halfway Home: An Analysis of the Variation in the Cost of Supporting Asylum Seekers". [157981]

Mrs. Roche: Following the publication last year of the Audit Commission's Report, "Another Country" we requested that it undertake research into why some local authorities were able to live within the grant limits set for supporting asylum seekers, while others, in similar circumstances, could not. The report, "Half Way Home" is the result.

We welcome this report and the sensible recommendations it makes about the way local authorities are reimbursed for supporting asylum seekers. We will discuss with the Local Government Association and the Association of London Government the best way of taking this forward, with a view to implementing a new grant scheme for this (2001-02) financial year.

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Mr. Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many and what percentage of asylum seekers from Zimbabwe who applied for asylum in (a) each of the last six months and (b) in total have received a positive initial decision on their application (i) in total and (ii) of those who have been sent to Oakington; and if he will make a statement. [157980]

Mrs. Roche: The number of asylum applications from nationals of Zimbabwe during the last six months is shown in the table.

Month	Asylum Applications(14),(15)
September 2000	85
October 2000	90
November 2000	130
December 2000	145
January 2001	125
February 2001	125
Total	700

⁽¹⁴⁾ Figures rounded to the nearest 5

⁽¹⁵⁾ Provisional figures

The number of initial decisions relating to applications of asylum from Zimbabwean nationals between September 2000 and February 2001 is only available for applicants dealt with at Oakington--the monthly breakdown is shown in the table. Information on the other Zimbabwean applications made in that period could be obtained only by examination of individual case records and is, therefore, available only at disproportionate cost.

Month	Total Principal Applicants (Zimbabweans)	Number of Grants of Asylum	Percentage of Grants from Total
September 2000	42	0	0
October 2000	54	0	0
November 2000	60	4	6.7
December 2000	59	0	0
January 2001	83	1	1.2
February 2001	89	2	2.2
Total	387	7	n/a

Mr. Ennis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many asylum seekers have been housed in (a) England, (b) Barnsley and (c) Doncaster in the last 12 months. [157298]

Mrs. Roche: As at the end of February 2001, 21,410 ¹ asylum seekers (including dependants) were allocated accommodation in the UK by the National Asylum Support Service. Of these, 110 ¹ were allocated accommodation in Barnsley and 400 ¹ were allocated accommodation in Doncaster.

Information on the number of asylum seekers supported by local authorities under the previous support arrangements is not held centrally.

¹ Figures rounded to the nearest 10.

Mr. Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what limits he has placed on the period an asylum seeker can be held in prison. [157011]

Mrs. Roche: There is no time limit on the period an individual may be detained under the Immigration Act 1971. However, detention is used only sparingly and for the shortest period necessary.

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Miss Widdecombe: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many reports the Immigration and Nationality Directorate have received of asylum seekers convicted of offences while in the United Kingdom since 1999; and if he will make a statement. [157529]

Mrs. Roche [holding answer 9 April 2001]: The Immigration and Nationality Directorate is not routinely informed of the immigration status of all third country nationals convicted of criminal offences in the United Kingdom. The number who were referred for court recommended deportation in 1999 was 350. In the first half of 2000, 320 persons were recommended for deportation by the courts. It is not recorded how many of these had claimed asylum.

Details of the nationality or immigration status of a defendant charged or convicted with committing a criminal offence are not collected centrally on the Home Office Court Proceedings Database.

Miss Widdecombe: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the cost of asylum support is, including unaccompanied minors (a) in the period 2000-01, (b) estimated for the current financial year 2001-02 and (c) estimated for the period 2002-03; and if he will make a statement. [157522]

Mrs. Roche [holding answer 9 April 2001]: Estimated expenditure on asylum support, including unaccompanied asylum seeking minors in 2000-01 is £751 million (estimated final outturn). This is made up of:

Grant payments to local authorities for Adult, Families and unaccompanied asylum seeking children--£575 million

Support payments by the National Asylum Support Service--£115 million

Payments to Department of Social Service (DSS) for supporting asylum seekers on benefit--£56 million

Payments to the Scottish Executive for support to adults and families who applied before April 2000--£5 million.

The budget of £702 million for 2000-01 was made up of an original sum of £604 million for asylum support costs together with transfers of £60 million from the Department of Health for the costs of unaccompanied asylum seeking children and £38 million from DSS for Housing Benefit costs. The additional £49 million expenditure was as a result of additional funds being provided to asylum support because of savings elsewhere in the Immigration and Nationality Directorate budget.

Provisional estimates for asylum support costs for 2001-02 and 2002-03 were given in my reply of 24 July 2000, Official Report, column 450W, to the hon. Member for Aylesbury (Mr. Lidington). This funding will be reviewed if needed.

Miss Widdecombe: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many asylum seekers are (a) supported by NASS under the new support arrangements, (b) supported by local authorities under the previous support arrangements and (c) unaccompanied minors; and if he will make a statement. [157523]

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Mrs. Roche [holding answer 9 April 2001]: As at the end of February 2001, 11,630 asylum ¹ seekers (including dependants) were allocated subsistence only support by the National Asylum Support Service (NASS) and 21,400 ^{1 , 2} asylum seekers (including dependants) were allocated accommodation and subsistence support by NASS.

Information on the number of asylum seekers being supported by local authorities under the previous support arrangements is not held centrally.

As at the 26 January 2001 there were 5,540 ¹ unaccompanied minors being supported in England by local authorities. The figures for unaccompanied minors being supported in Scotland and Wales are not held centrally.

¹ All figures are rounded to the nearest 10.

² A very small proportion of these cases may be allocated accommodation support only.

Departmental Policies

(Hampstead and Highgate)

Ms Glenda Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the effects, with statistical information, on Hampstead and Highgate of his Department's policies since 2 May 1997. [158015]

Mr. Charles Clarke: The Home Office is working to build a safe, just and tolerant society in which the rights and responsibilities of individuals, families and communities are properly balanced, and the protection and security of the public are maintained. Detailed information on the impact of Home Office policies across the full range of responsibilities is set out in Home Office Annual Reports. A copy of the most recent report, Home Office Annual Report 2000-01, is available in the Library. Information on recorded crime and policing is also published. 'Recorded Crime England and Wales, 12 months to September 2000' and 'Police Service Strength England and Wales, 30 September 2000' can be found in the Library. The recorded crime statistics include information on recorded crime by Basic Command Unit and Crime and Disorder partnerships.

The impact of Home Office policies and actions is not normally examined by constituency and the statistics which the Department collects, such as recorded crime, cannot be matched in the way requested although set out below are examples relating to the Hampstead and Highgate constituency or the immediate locality:

Closed Circuit Television (CCTV)

London Borough of Camden, in partnership with the Metropolitan Police, were awarded £598,000 for a scheme extending the existing Camden Town Centre system with 17 new cameras and provision of a centralised control room. The scheme will encompass three London Underground stations in Camden Town, Chalk Farm and Mornington Crescent.

Youth Offending

Hampstead and Highgate is covered by the Camden Youth Offending Team (YOT). Multi-agency partnerships have been strengthened through the establishment of YOTs, involving staff from Social Services, Education, Police, Probation and Health Departments. Seven Youth Justice Board (YJB) Development Grants have been awarded to Camden YOT and Youth Service. The local authority continues to allocate over £300,000 per annum in grants to voluntary organisations, the YOT and other

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departments to develop preventative initiatives. Links are being developed between the YOT and the local minority ethnic communities.

A youth inclusion programme has been established in Castlehaven Ward for over 50 young people most at risk of re-offending. This is being funded through YJB and local authority grants for 2 years. The YJB awarded Camden YOT £94,000 for 2000-01 to develop a range of new services including: substance misuse; new Referral Orders and accommodation advice and support. Conditional approval has been given by the YJB for a new Intensive Supervision and Surveillance Scheme (ISSP), between Camden, Islington, Hackney and Tower Hamlet YOTs, to prevent custody and reduce re-offending by the most persistent offenders. Camden YOT is involved with the Police, Housing and Youth Service in response to anti-social behaviour and other local crime issues.

Camden is on course to achieve the multi-agency target of a 15 per cent. reduction in youth offending by March 2002. The YOT is working closely with the police and youth court to halve the time from arrest to sentence of persistent young offenders from 142 to 71 days. YOT preventative and early intervention referrals and services have increased significantly. These include: restorative conferences between victims and offenders; assessments and intervention in response to anti-social behaviour (to prevent the need for anti-social behaviour orders); assessments and enhanced services for looked after children at risk of re-offending; assessments and intervention for other high risk groups including young people involved in substance misuse and excluded from school.

Contact time with young people on court orders has doubled to twice weekly for three months, in accordance with revised national standards. The YOT national assessment tool has been implemented in Camden, enabling analysis of risk factors that contribute to young people offending. A new information system has also been purchased for the YOT, to enhance quality of monitoring.

More generally, all of the policies of the Home Office will impact on the residents of Hampstead and Highgate to a greater or lesser extent. For example:

376 Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnerships have been established;

racial harassment and racially motivated crimes have been made criminal offences by the Crime and Disorder Act 1998;

the asylum backlog has been cut from 103,495 at the end of January 2000 to 49,690 by the end of February 2001; andl

good progress is being made in reducing the incidence of fire deaths in England and Wales. They have dropped from 605 in 1997 to 534 in 1999.

Information on the Home Office and its policies is also published on its website "www.homeoffice.gov.uk".

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