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2 Feb 2004 : Column 695W—continued
HOME DEPARTMENT
Anti-Social Behaviour
Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department for what reasons Part 8 of the Anti-Social Behaviour Act 2003 was not extended to Northern Ireland; and what discussions he had with his colleagues in the Northern Ireland Office during the Bill's passage through Parliament in relation to the extension of Part 8 to Northern Ireland. [150663]
Ms Blears: The high hedges provisions were introduced into the Anti-Social Behaviour Bill following extensive consultation in England and Wales and after lengthy discussions in Parliament as several Private Members' Bills failed to become law. The consultation showed widespread support for legislation to give local authorities in England and Wales the powers to deal with complaints about high hedges.
No similar consultation has been conducted in Northern Ireland and there is no solid evidence to suggest that legislation is necessary. We have kept our colleagues in the Northern Ireland Office in touch with our proposals for England and Wales throughout.
Asylum Detention Centres
Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the constituencies being considered for detention centres for asylum seekers. [151269]
Beverley Hughes: As part of the expansion of the detention estate we are exploring the possibility of various sites throughout the country. However we are at an early stage. As soon as we seriously consider any particular site we will put it into the public domain and the local MP(s) will be notified.
Asylum Seekers
Mr. Crausby: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the cost was in each of the last five years of the administration of the National Asylum Support Service. [147784]
Beverley Hughes: The administration cost of the National Asylum Support Service (NASS) for the last five years was as follows.
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| £ million | |
|---|---|
| 1998–99 | (29)— |
| 1999–2000 | (29)— |
| 2000–01 | 36 |
| 2001–02 | 36 |
| 2002–03 | (30)— |
(29) NASS was established as a separate directorate within Immigration and Nationality Directorate (IND) from 2000–01. Equivalent administration costs for prior years are not separately identifiable.
(30) The actuals for 2002–03 are yet to be audited and published.
Mr. Crausby: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the cost was in each of the last five years of the support of asylum seekers under the 1999 legislation. [147785]
Beverley Hughes: The asylum support costs for the last five years was as follows:
| Costs | |
|---|---|
| 1998–99 | 475 |
| 1999–2000 | 589 |
| 2000–01 | 747 |
| 2001–02 | 1,046 |
| 2002–03 | (31)— |
(31) The actuals for 2002–03 are yet to be audited and published.
Mr. Crausby: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the cost was in each of the last five years of overseas transport for those asylum seekers deported and removed from the United Kingdom. [147786]
Beverley Hughes: The cost in each of the last five years of overseas transport for both asylum and non-asylum removals from the United Kingdom was as follows:
| Total (£000) | |
|---|---|
| 1998–99 | 4,384 |
| 1999–2000 | 4,515 |
| 2000–01 | 6,068 |
| 2001–02 | 11,485 |
| 2002–03 | (32)— |
(32) The actuals for 2002–03 are yet to be audited and published.
Mr. Crausby: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the cost was in each of the last five years of detention in (a) detention centres and (b) elsewhere. [147788]
Beverley Hughes: The cost in each of the last five years the cost of detention in detention centres and elsewhere for the Immigration and Nationality Directorate was as follows:
| £000 | |
|---|---|
| 1998–99 | 10,219 |
| 1999–2000 | 13,821 |
| 2000–01 | 24,979 |
| 2001–02 | 47,243 |
| 2002–03 | (33)— |
(33) The actuals for 2002–03 are yet to be audited and published.
These costs include both the actual costs of holding detainees and expenditure related to the expansion of the detention estate during this period. It is not possible to separate these costs.
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Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the difference is between an induction centre and a detention centre; and if he will list those centres which are both induction and detention centres. [147864]
Beverley Hughes: Differences between induction centres and detention centres, which were renamed removal centres under section 66 of the Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002, are substantial. Induction Centres provide additional services for the asylum applicant, including health screening, and initiate the consideration of their asylum claim and support needs. Induction Centres provide short-term accommodation, where necessary, prior to dispersal. Accommodation and services are provided in a variety of buildings which are expected to have a low profile in the existing community. Asylum applicants staying in induction centres are not detained and are free to leave their accommodation. Removal centres provide safe and secure accommodation for those who are detained under immigration legislation. No facility acts as both a centre for induction and detention.
Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many asylum seekers were removed from the UK in each month since January 2002; how many of these were part of the voluntary assisted return programme; to what countries individuals were returned; and how long they had been present in the UK before their repatriation. [148040]
Beverley Hughes: The number of asylum seekers removed from the United Kingdom in each month from January 2002 to September 2003 (the latest month for which data are available) is shown in the table.
Of the 10,740 principal asylum applicants removed from the United Kingdom in 2002, 895 departed under the Voluntary Assisted Return Programmes (VARP). Information on the number of these who departed each month is not available. Data on the number departing under the VARP programmes in 2003 will be published at the end of August on the Home Office website: www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/immigration.html
Information on the destination of people removed from the UK and the length of time that they had been present here prior to departure is not available, except by examination of individual case-files at disproportionate cost.
Assisted Voluntary Returns aim to secure the dignified, safe and sustainable return of those who wish to leave the UK voluntarily. The International Organisation for Migration, which runs this programme on behalf of the Home Office, will assist the returnee prior to departure with counselling and independent advice. They will also help with travel arrangements, tickets etc.
On arrival in their country of origin the returnee can receive, if they so choose, reintegration assistance worth up to approximately £500 (not cash). Reintegration assistance includes help in the country of origin to access existing services such as health, education and housing. Employment-related training and help to access available employment is also offered to enhance the sustainability of the return.
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| Month | Principal applicants | Dependants | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| January 2002 | 855 | 155 | 1,050 |
| February 2002 | 865 | 150 | 1,015 |
| March 2002 | 725 | 135 | 860 |
| April 2002 | 860 | 165 | 1,025 |
| May 2002 | 955 | 180 | 1,135 |
| June 2002 | 845 | 230 | 1,075 |
| July 2002 | 970 | 245 | 1,215 |
| August 2002 | 995 | 310 | 1,305 |
| September 2002 | 845 | 295 | 1,135 |
| October 2002 | 945 | 340 | 1,285 |
| November 2002 | 965 | 370 | 1,335 |
| December 2002 | 920 | 550 | 1,470 |
| January 2003 | 770 | 390 | 1,160 |
| February 2003 | 890 | 455 | 1,350 |
| March 2003 | 955 | 525 | 1,480 |
| April 2003 | 1,025 | 395 | 1,420 |
| May 2003 | 1,175 | 405 | 1,580 |
| June 2003 | 945 | 335 | 1,285 |
| July 2003 | 1,230 | 395 | 1,630 |
| August 2003 | 1,075 | 390 | 1,470 |
| September 2003 | 1,120 | 435 | 1,560 |
| Total | 19,935 | 6,900 | 26,835 |
(34) Includes persons departing "voluntarily" after enforcement action had been initiated against them and persons leaving under the Assisted Voluntary Return Programmes run by the International Organisation for Migration.
(35) Provisional data.
Note:
Data are rounded to nearest five and may not sum due to rounding.
Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department where the individuals who participated in the International Organisation for Migration voluntary assisted return programme returned to. [148044]
Beverley Hughes: Of the 10,740 principal asylum applicants removed from the United Kingdom in 2002, 895 departed under the Voluntary Assisted Return Programmes (VARP).
Information on the nationality and destination of asylum seekers who leave under the VARP is not centrally available and could only be obtained by examination of individual case-files at disproportionate cost.
Tom Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many young people up to 16 years were allowed to enter the United Kingdom from Somalia during 2003. [148070]
Beverley Hughes: The requested information is not available.
Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what conclusions the Department has reached on data collection methods for the assessment of the number of failed asylum seekers remaining in the UK. [150332]
Beverley Hughes: It is assumed that 'data collection' refers not to failed asylum seekers specifically but to work to assess the size of the illegally resident population in the UK. The Home Office has commissioned a review of methods used in other countries to estimate the size of their illegal populations. The research was commissioned in order to help define methods appropriate for the UK.
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The illegally resident population includes overstayers, clandestine entrants and workers in breach of their right to remain in the UK, as well as failed asylum seekers.
Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what target for the removal of failed asylum seekers has been set. [150334]
Beverley Hughes: Our Public Service Agreement target for asylum removals is to remove a greater proportion of failed asylum seekers from the United Kingdom. The Immigration Service, like other Government Departments, also has various internal measures against which its performance is monitored and managed.
Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps are being taken to encourage participation in the Voluntary Assisted Return Programme. [150335]
Beverley Hughes: The Voluntary Assisted Return and Reintegration Programme (VARRP) is widely advertised directly by the Home Office within the asylum system and through outreach and advice work by non-governmental and international organisations. Information on the programme can be found in Reporting Centres, Reception Centres and Removals Centres as well as from the Home Office website. Asylum seekers who have been refused asylum are sent an information sheet which gives details of how to return voluntarily. We also hold regular meetings with non-governmental and international organisations including the Refugee Council, Refugee Action, UNHCR and IOM to discuss promotion of voluntary return. The voluntary sector organisations conduct outreach work with community groups directly to advise them of the option of voluntary return. The Home Office hosts meetings with Afghan community groups to raise the profile of voluntary return including the Return to Afghanistan Programme and the recently launched Afghan Explore and Prepare Programme.
In the first instance, those who are interested in returning home voluntarily are required to register their interest with the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) who are co-funded by the Home Office and the European Refugee Fund (ERF) to operate VARRP.
Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many strip searches have been conducted at removal centres in the last 12 months. [150338]
Beverley Hughes: Strip searches of adult detainees in immigration removal centres may take place only on the basis of specific evidence or intelligence of a risk to the safety and security of the centre, its staff or other detainees. Central records of the number of such searches are not maintained and the information requested is therefore available only at disproportionate cost.
Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether the booking of flights for departing asylum seekers is centrally co-ordinated by the Immigration and Nationality Directorate. [150340]
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Beverley Hughes: The booking of flights for the removal of asylum seekers is not centrally co-ordinated by the Immigration and Nationality Directorate but is made by the immigration office dealing with the individual case.
Where the removal is to be effected at the expense of the inbound carrier under the provisions of paragraphs 8 and 9 of schedule 2 to the Immigration Act 1971, arrangements will be made directly with the carrier. If removal is to be effected at public expense under paragraph 10 of the same schedule they will be made via the travel company contracted to the Immigration and Nationality Directorate for that purpose. In these cases there is a central unit in the Immigration Service which provides a ticket procurement and payment function for these bookings. These arrangements apply in all removal cases and there are no separate processes for those who have sought asylum here.
Mr. Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many failed Iraqi asylum seekers (a) have been removed from the UK, (b) have voluntarily left the UK with government support and (c) have otherwise been recorded as leaving the UK in each year since 1997. [150619]
Beverley Hughes: Estimates of the number of nationals of Iraq who had sought asylum at some stage and who were removed from the UK from 1997 to June 2003 (the latest date for which figures are available) are shown in the table. These figures include persons departing 'voluntarily' after the initiation of enforcement action against them, and persons leaving under Assisted Voluntary Returns Programmes run by the International Organisation for Migration.
| Nationals of Iraq | |
|---|---|
| 1997 | 40 |
| 1998 | 40 |
| 1999 | n/a |
| 2000 | n/a |
| 2001 | 90 |
| 2002 | 195 |
| January to June 2003 | 175 |
n/a = Not available.
(36) Includes persons departing "voluntarily" after enforcement action had been initiated against them, persons leaving under Assisted Voluntary Return Programmes run by the International Organisation for Migration, and removals on safe third country, grounds.
(37) Figures rounded to the nearest five and may not sum to total due to rounding.
(38) Data have been estimated due to data quality issues.
(39) Provisional figures.
At present removals to Iraq are on a voluntary basis only. Enforced returns will commence when the circumstances are right.
Information on the destination of these removals and whether they departed voluntarily with government support is not available, except by examination of individual case-files at disproportionate cost.
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Estimates of the nationality of those asylum seekers who were removed from the UK in the third quarter of 2003 are due to be published on 24 February 2004 on the Home Office website: www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/immigration1.html
Mr. Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many failed asylum seekers he estimates are in the UK without legal basis for their presence; and how many are failed Iraqi asylum seekers. [150621]
Beverley Hughes: Information on the total number of asylum seekers currently in the UK, including failed asylum seekers, is not currently available. This could be obtained only at disproportionate cost by examination of individual case records. Even such an exercise, however, would not produce a valid estimate as some applicants may leave the United Kingdom without informing the Immigration Service.
The Government have commissioned research into the methods used in other countries to estimate the size of the illegal population in order to define methods appropriate for the UK.
The work required is challenging because, by definition, illegal migrants fall outside official statistics and are therefore difficult to measure. People illegally present in the UK are also motivated to ensure they remain hidden, further compounding the difficulties of conducting research.
The number of cases (principal applicants) awaiting initial decision or awaiting appeal determinations continues to fall as the level of applications falls, initial decisions continue to outstrip the number of applications, and record numbers of appeals are determined by the IAA. The latest published figures show that as at the end of September 2003 there were:
- 29,100 cases awaiting an initial decision (of this total, 8,500 cases were work in progress, i.e. the application had been outstanding for six months or less), the lowest level for a decade;
- an estimated 16,000 appeals lodged with the Home Office which had not been sent to the Immigration Appellate Authority (a proportion of appeals lodged do not result in appeal bundles being sent to the IAA); and
- 28,800 asylum cases work in progress in the IAA (18,100 at the Adjudicator Tier, 5,600 applications for permission to appeal to the Tribunal, and 5,100 Tribunal Appeals).
Information on asylum applications is published quarterly. The next publication will be available at the end of February 2004 on the Home Office Research Development and Statistics Directorate website at http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/immigration1.html.
Mr. Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many Iraqi asylum seekers have returned to Iraq since the fall of Saddam Hussein. [150622]
Beverley Hughes: Estimates of the number of nationals of Iraq who had sought asylum at some stage and who were removed from the UK since the fall of Saddam Hussein in April 2003 to June 2003—the latest available figures—are shown in the table. These figures include persons departing 'voluntarily' after the initiation of enforcement action against them, and
2 Feb 2004 : Column 702W
persons leaving under Assisted Voluntary Returns Programmes run by the International Organisation for Migration.
| Nationals of Iraq | |
|---|---|
| April 2003 | 45 |
| May 2003 | 25 |
| June 2003 | 20 |
| Total | 85 |
(40) Includes persons departing "voluntarily" after enforcement action had been initiated against them, persons leaving under Assisted Voluntary Return Programmes run by the International Organisation for Migration, and removals on safe third country grounds.
(41) Figures rounded to the nearest five and may not sum to total due to rounding.
(42) Data have been estimated due to data quality issues.
(43) Provisional figures.
Information on the destination of these removals is not available.
At present removals to Iraq are on a voluntary basis only, enforced returns will commence when the circumstances are right.
Figures for principal asylum applicants removed from the United Kingdom in the period July to September 2003 will be available after publication of Asylum statistics Quarter 4 2003 on 24 February 2004 on the Home Office website: www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/immigration1.html
Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the average length of time taken to process asylum applications originating in (a) England, (b) Scotland, (c) Wales and (d) Northern Ireland was in the last year for which figures are available. [151330]
Beverley Hughes: Information on the average length of time taken to process asylum applications lodged in each of the regions of the UK is not available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. Asylum applications data are not available at regional level.
The latest published statistics show that the speed of processing asylum applications continues to improve. Provisional data show that 81 per cent. of applications received in the period April to June 2003 had initial decisions reached and served within two months and that 74 per cent. of applications (excluding withdrawals and 3rd country cases 1 ) received in 2002–03 were decided and served within two months. This exceeded the Government's target of 65 per cent. for 2002–03, and was a significant increase on the corresponding figure of 61 per cent. for 2001–02.
Information on the timeliness of initial decisions is published quarterly on the Home Office website at http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/immigration1.html.
- 1 Cases which may be the responsibility of other EU member states under the Dublin Convention.
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