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18 Jul 2005 : Column 1299W—continued

Immigration

Mr. Hancock: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs pursuant to the letter from the Immigrant Appellate Authority, to Bury Law Centre, dated 13 January, reference HX/02411/
 
18 Jul 2005 : Column 1300W
 
2003, which issues are repeatedly occurring and causing delays in determining cases; and in respect of which countries. [12416]

Bridget Prentice: The Immigration Appeals Tribunal (IAT) developed a system of country guidance cases to facilitate consistent decision making. This enabled the IAT to issue guidance cases on the circumstances and risks to certain groups in particular countries following a detailed assessment of the available country information. The IAT (and now Asylum and Immigration Tribunal (AIT)) nominates leader cases which contain issues consistently seen by Tribunal judiciary. These lead to other cases being identified as containing very similar issues to that of the leader case—known as follower cases—which are heard and determined once the leader case has been promulgated. The number of leader cases currently awaiting determination has caused some delays in listing the follower cases for hearing. There has been some further delay due to the commencement of the AIT on 4 April 2005, created by a merger of the Immigration Appellate Authority (IAA) and the IAT. The leader cases, which number approximately 100, are expected to be listed to be heard substantively in September and October of this year, and once these have been determined the follower cases, approximately 300 in number, will then be listed for hearing as soon as is practicable.

Mr. Hancock: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs how many cases are awaiting determination by the Immigration Appellate Authority (IAA); and what the average time between the receipt by the IAA of an appeal and a final decision being made was in the last period for which figures are available. [12417]

Bridget Prentice: The latest provisional information shows that by the end of March 2005 the Immigration Appellate Authority (IAA) had the following outstanding work: 25,304 Adjudicator appeals, 5,217 applications for permission to appeal to the Immigration Appeal Tribunal (IAT) and 4,783 substantive IAT appeal hearings. On 4 April 2005 the commencement of section 26 of The Asylum and Immigration (Treatment of Claimants, etc.) Act 2004 introduced a unified appeals system under the Asylum and Immigration Tribunal (AIT). All outstanding work from the IAA and the IAT was transferred to an equivalent appeal stage within the AIT process. Provisional information indicates that, for the period 1 January 2003 to 31 March 2005, the average time between the receipt by the IAA of an appeal and a final decision being made was 25 weeks.

Magistrates Courts

Mr. Oaten: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs which magistrates courts have closed since May 1997, broken down by parliamentary constituency; and what the date of each closure was. [13209]

Ms Harman: Up until 1 April 2005 magistrates courts were the responsibility of locally managed magistrates courts committees. The magistrates courts that have closed since May 1997 broken down by parliamentary constituency are set out in the following table.
 
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Courthouse	Date	Constituency
Magistrates courthouse closures from May 1997
Bromsgrove	31 May 1997	Bromsgrove
Ledbury	31 May 1997	Leominster
Hebburn	5 June 1997	Jarrow
South Shields (Kepple Street)	5 June 1997	South Shields
Chippenham (Market Place)	30 June 1997	North Wiltshire
Ashton under Lyne (Manchester Road)	31 August 1997	Ashton-Under-Lyne
Duckinsfield	31 August 1997	Denton and Reddish
Thorne	31 August 1997	Doncaster North
Pontardawe	9 October 1997	Neath
Braintree	31 December 1997	Braintree
Stokesley	31 December 1997	Richmond (Yorks)
Clacton on Sea	31 October 1997	Harwich
Bargoed	31 December 1997	Caerphilly
Monmouth	31 December 1997	Monmouth
Pontlottyn	31 December 1997	Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney
Pontypool	31 December 1997	Torfaen
Magistrates courthouse closures in 1998
Malton	6 February 1998	Ryedale
Marlborough Street	31 March 1998	Cities of London and Westminster
Bishop's Stortford	31 March 1998	Hertford and Stortford
Hatfield	31 March 1998	Welwyn Hatfield
Hitchin	31 March 1998	Hitchin and Harpenden
Market Rasen	31 March 1998	Gainsborough
Chertsey	31 March 1998	Runnymede and Weybridge
Farnham	31 March 1998	South West Surrey
Oxted	31 March 1998	East Surrey
Lutterworth	31 July1998	Harborough
Ripon	1 August 1998	Skipton and Ripon
Barnard Castle	31 December 1998	Bishop Auckland
Clerkenwell	31 December 1998	Islington South and Finsbury
Sheerness	31 December 1998	Canterbury
West Malling	31 December1998	Tonbridge and Malling
Lytham	31 December 1998	Fylde
Diss	31 December 1998	South Norfolk
Corwen	31 December 1998	Clwyd South
Felixstowe	31 December 1998	Suffolk Coastal
Haverhill	31 December 1998	West Suffolk
Saxmundham	31 December 1998	Suffolk Coastal
Stowmarket	31 December 1998	Bury St. Edmunds
Newmarket	31 December 1998	West Suffolk
March	31 December 1998	North East Cambridgeshire
Saffron Walden	31 December 1998	Saffron Walden
Magistrates courthouse closures in 1999
Christchurch	31 March 1999	Christchurch
Abingdon	31 March 1999	Oxford West and Abingdon
Henley on Thames	31 March 1999	Henley
Windsor	31 March 1999	Windsor
Morley	31 March 1999	Morley and Rothwell
Pudsey	31 March 1999	Pudsey
Stow on the Wold	30 June 1999	Stroud
Magistrates courthouse closures in 2000
Ampthill	1 January 2000	Mid Bedfordshire
Biggleswade	1 January 2000	North East Bedfordshire
Dunstable	1 January 2000	Mid Bedfordshire
Leighton Buzzard	1 January 2000	Bedfordshire South West
Lichfield	31 March 2000	Tamworth
Keighley	1 April 2000	Keighley
Keswick	30 April 2000	Workington
Windermere	31 May 2000	Westmorland and Lonsdale
Wigton	31 May 2000	Penrith and the Border
Appleby	31 May 2000	Penrith and the Border
Gravesend	9 June 2000	Gravesham
Wootton Bassett	2 October 2000	North Wiltshire
Abergele	31 December 2000	Clwyd West
Magistrates courthouse closures in 2001
Alfreton	1 January 2001	Amber Valley
Ashbourne	1 January 2001	West Derbyshire
Bakewell	1 January 2001	West Derbyshire
Matlock	l January 2001	West Derbyshire
Leigh	31 March 2001	Leigh
Middleton	31 March 2001	Heywood and Middleton
Leek	31 March 2001	Staffordshire Moorlands
Worcester	31 March 2001	Hereford and Worcester
Warrington Patten Hall	1 April 2001	Warrington South
Macclesfield Park Green	1 April 2001	Macclesfield
Bideford	30 April 200l	Torridge and West Devon
Exmouth	30 April 2001	East Devon
Kingsbridge	30 April 2001	Totnes
South Molton	30 April 2001	North Devon
Teignmouth	30 April 2001	Teignbridge
Tavistock	30 April 2001	Torridge and West Devon
Axminster	4 May 2001	East Devon
Tiverton	4 May 200l	Tiverton and Honiton
Newquay	30 June 200l	North Cornwall
Southampton (Commercial Road)	31 August 2001	Southampton Itchen
Womborne	1 September 2001	Staffordshire South
Gillingham	30 September 2001	North Dorset
Bridlington	9 November 200l	East Yorkshire
Brough	9 November 2001	Haltem
Driffield	9 November 2001	East Yorkshire
Hull (Guildhall)	9 November 2001	Kingston upon Hull West and Hessle
Hull (Lowgate)	9 November 2001	Kingston upon Hull West and Hessle
Pocklington	9 November 2001	East Yorkshire
Withernsea	9 November 2001	Beverley and Holderness
Arundel	1 December 2001	Arundel and South Downs
Magistrates courthouse closures in 2002
Bridgenorth	31 January 2002	Ludlow
Leominster	31 January 2002	Leominster
Fakenham	1 May 2002	North Suffolk
Tunbridge Wells	2 June 2002	Tunbridge Wells
Beaconsfield	1 July 2002	Beaconsfield
Buckingham	1 July 2002	Buckingham
Evesham	30 November 2002	Mid Worcestershire
Magistrates courthouse closures in 2003
Thame	31 January 2003	Henley
Droitwich	21 March 2003	Mid Worcestershire
Machynllech	31 March 2003	Meirionnydd Nant Conwy
Chester Le Street	31 March 2003	North Durham
Rugeley	31 May 2003	Cannock Chase
Lampeter	9 June 2003	Ceredigion
Tenby	30 June 2003	Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire
Camberley	30 June 2003	Surrey Heath
Trowbridge	30 September 2003	Westbury
Whitchurch	3 October 2003	North Shropshire
Long Sutton	31 October 2003	South Holland and the Deepings
Caistor	31 December 2003	Gainsborough
Horncastle	31 December 2003	Louth and Horncastle
Magistrates courthouse closures in 2004
Richmond	31 March 2004	Richmond (Yorks)
Stourbridge	23 June 2004	Stourbridge

 
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