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10 Feb 2003 : Column 535W—continued
Advisory Panel on Country Information
Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he will establish the Advisory Panel on Country Information under section 142 of the Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002. [95952]
Beverley Hughes [holding answer 6 February 2003]: We expect to establish the Advisory Panel on Country Information in the coming months.
Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what arrangements and funding are or will be in place to assist the Advisory Panel on Country Information to carry out its functions under section 142(3) of the Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002. [95953]
Beverley Hughes [holding answer 6 February 2003]: A secretariat will be established to provide support to the Advisory Panel on Country Information.
The cost of any fees, allowances or expenses will be met from within existing funds available to the Immigration and Nationality Directorate.
Asylum Seekers
Diana Organ: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what constitutes an exceptional case for the purposes of the Home Office's discretion to grant permission to work for asylum seekers. [96544]
Beverley Hughes [holding answer 7 February 2003]: Each case is considered on its individual merits. Permission to work would be granted if no decision had been made on the application for asylum and where the asylum seeker was able to demonstrate that there were compelling exceptional or compassionate circumstances which justified granting permission to work.
Mr. Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when the asylum application made by Mr. Samir Ameur on 16 March 1999 will be determined. [94444]
Beverley Hughes [holding answer 30 January 2003]: I wrote to the hon. Member on 17 January 2003, and again on 6 February 2003.
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Mr. Simmonds: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people residing in Boston and Skegness (a) have had their initial application for asylum rejected and have submitted an appeal, (b) have applied for asylum and (c) have had an asylum appeal rejected. [95705]
Beverley Hughes: Asylum applications data are not available at regional level except by port (for those applications made at port—these accounted for 36 per cent. of applications in 2001). Corresponding information on initial decision outcomes, appeal cases and dismissed appeal cases, relating to persons in particular areas of the United Kingdom is also unavailable. The requested information could be obtained only at disproportionate cost by examination of individual case records.
Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps he is taking to ensure that asylum seekers and recognised refugees who are eligible to vote are on the electoral register. [96238]
Beverley Hughes [holding answer 6 February 2003]: The Representation of the People Act 1983 clearly stipulates who can and cannot vote in the United Kingdom. Asylum seekers are not eligible to vote and neither are refugees unless they become citizens of the United Kingdom. A visa allowing foreign nationals to stay in the United Kingdom indefinitely is not the same as citizenship and therefore, does not entitle a person the right to vote.
Programmes for people seeking naturalisation will include information on the electoral process in the United Kingdom
Diana Organ: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proposals he has to use Beachley Barracks, Sedbury, Chepstow, in Gloucestershire as a dispersal centre for asylum seekers. [96233]
Beverley Hughes: This property has not been considered to date by the National Asylum Support Service (NASS) for emergency accommodation, dispersal accommodation or as an induction centre for the housing of asylum seekers. Site searching for suitable sites for an accommodation centre has continued as previously announced. We will not be putting into the public domain details of any sites unless and until they are considered to be a serious prospect for the siting of an accommodation centre.
Mr. Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate he has made of the total level of asylum support (a) fraud and (b) overpayment in each year since the establishment of NASS. [95130]
Beverley Hughes [holding answer 3 February 2003]: The Home Office does not currently have an estimate of the level of asylum support fraud or the overpayment that could be related to this. However, we have established a dedicated team to investigate potential fraud in the asylum support system. We have also set up a team to conduct an audit of those cases supported by local authorities to assist the local authorities in identifying potential fraud in those cases. As part of the National Asylum Support Service regionalisation programme the structure and responsibilities of the
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investigations teams are being re-assessed with a view to strengthening the teams and improving working practice.
Mr. Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to his answer of 27 January 2003 (refs 91210, 91211 and 91212), what the total level of fraud was in the 1,286 cases where NASS support was terminated; and if he will make a statement. [95220]
Beverley Hughes [holding answer 3 February 2003]: The National Asylum Support Service (NASS) does not keep a central record of the level of fraud in individual cases.
Correspondence
Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he will respond substantively to the letter sent to him by the hon. Member for Epsom and Ewell on behalf of Mr. T. Dethridge of Epsom, dated 20 November 2001. [96491]
Hilary Benn: A reply to the letter was sent on 31 January 2003. I apologise to the hon Member for the delay in replying.
GPs
Mr. Maude: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many general practitioners have been accepted for entry to Britain under (a) the Highly Skilled Migrants Programme and (b) through work permits in the past year. [95470]
Beverley Hughes: The number of general practitioners approved during the period 5 February 2002 to 4 February 2003 are as follows:
| Number | |
|---|---|
| Work Permits | 53 |
| Highly Skilled Migrant Programme | 9 |
Highly Skilled Migrants Programme
Mr. Maude : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many applications have been (a) made and (b) accepted for the Highly Skilled Migrants Programme, broken down by (i) nationality and (ii) occupation. [95469]
Beverley Hughes: Since the launch of the Highly Skilled Migrant Programme on 28 January 2002, 2,809 applications have been received up to 5 February 2003. 1,414 of the applications have been approved. The nationality information requested is set out in the table. At present it is not possible to supply the occupational information requested due to the limitations of the Highly Skilled Migrant Programme database. However, the database is being re-written to ensure that information of the type requested is extracted and published during the next financial year.
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