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4 Sep 2006 : Column 1742W—continued

Arrests (Firearm Smuggling)

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people have been arrested for attempting to smuggle a firearm into the UK in each of the last five years; and what average sentence was imposed on those convicted. [86790]

Mr. Sutcliffe: Information on arrests collected centrally in England and Wales is based on persons arrested for “notifiable” offences by main offence group only and does not identify individual offences.

It is not possible to identify from the Home Office Court Proceedings Database (which relates to England and Wales) the offence of attempting to smuggle a firearm into the country.

Information relating to Northern Ireland and Scotland is a matter for the Northern Ireland Office and the Scottish Executive respectively.

Assaults

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many attacks there have been on (a) prison officers and (b) probation officers in each (i) prison and (ii) probation service area in each of the last five years. [89149]

John Reid: The following table details the number of assaults on staff by prisoners for the last five years as reported on the central incident reporting system for prisons in England and Wales. It is not possible to differentiate the grades of staff assaulted from these central records. There are no central records on the number of assaults that take place on probation officers in probation service areas.

Number of assaults on staff by prisoners for the last five years in prisons in England and Wales
Prisoner on prison staff assaults

2001

2,468

2002

2,587

2003

2,604

2004

2,887

2005

3,209

Total

13,755


4 Sep 2006 : Column 1743W

Asylum/Immigration

Mr. Love: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what (a) essential needs and (b) minimum weekly costs of unsuccessful asylum seekers his Department is required to meet; and if he will make a statement. [64109]

Mr. McNulty: Destitute unsuccessful asylum seeking families with minor dependants normally continue to receive support under section 95 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999. The average cost of section 95 support, including accommodation and subsistence, from un-audited April 2005 to November 2005 financial information, is estimated at £141 per person per week. Other destitute unsuccessful asylum applicants who meet the eligibility criteria may be supported under section four of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999. Support is normally provided in self-catering accommodation with vouchers provided for the purchase of food and essential toiletries. The average cost of section four support for the period April 2005 to November 2005 is estimated at £129 per person per week.

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many Russian nationals have been granted political asylum since 1 January 2005; and how many of them (a) were facing criminal charges in Russia and (b) have been subject to requests for extradition by the Russian authorities. [84172]

Mr. Byrne [holding answer 10 July 2006]: 25 (rounded to the nearest five) Russian nationals have been granted asylum between 1 January 2005 and 31 March 2006. According to management information figures, four of those have also been the subjects of requests by the Russian Federation for extradition.

Martin Linton: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the average cost of processing an asylum application, including support, is according to the most recently available figures. [84812]

Mr. Byrne: The most recently audited figure for the average cost of processing an asylum application in the Immigration and Nationality Directorate, including support, is £3,050. This figure represents the average cost for asylum screening and initial decision but excludes legal aid and is derived from the National Audit Office report “Improving the Speed and Quality of Asylum Decisions”, HC535 Session 2003-04, publication date 23 June 2004.

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many asylum applications were received from Somalia in each of the last five years; how many have been in 2006-07; how many of these have been (i) approved, (ii) rejected and (iii) not determined; and how many Somali people have been returned under immigration law. [85003]

Mr. Byrne [holding answer 17 July 2006]: Available information on asylum applications, initial decisions, appeals and removals for nationals of Somalia are published quarterly and annually. Copies of these publications are available from the Library and
4 Sep 2006 : Column 1744W
from the Home Office Research, Development and Statistics website at http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/immigration1.html. The next publication covering the second quarter of 2006 will be published on the 22 August 2006.

David T.C. Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the daily food budget is per person for asylum seekers in asylum seeker detention centres. [85101]

Mr. Byrne: The average daily cost of detaining a person in an immigration removal centre is £116. This includes the cost of providing three meals a day for each detainee.

Jim Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many asylum seekers whose cases failed had an address in the city of Newcastle upon Tyne at the point of failure in each year from 2000 to 2005. [86567]

Mr. Byrne: Available statistics on the location of asylum seekers in the UK are linked to the available information on the support that the asylum seeker receives. The numbers of asylum seekers supported by the National Asylum Support Service (NASS) are published on a quarterly and annual basis, broken down by local authority. Data on asylum seekers supported by NASS broken down by parliamentary constituency are also available from the Library of the House.

Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many asylum applications were received from (a) Sierra Leone, (b) Indonesia, (c) the Democratic Republic of Congo and (d) Angola in each of last five years; how many have been received from each country in 2006-07; how many have (i) been approved, (ii) been rejected and (iii) not been determined in each case; and how many people from each country have been returned under immigration law. [86884]

Mr. Byrne [holding answer 24 July 2006]: The information requested is not available. Information on asylum applications, initial decisions, appeals and removals by nationality are published quarterly and annually. Copies of these publications are available from the Library of the House and from the Home Office Research, Development and Statistics website at http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/immigration1.html. The next publication covering the second quarter of 2006 will be published on the 22 August 2006.

Greg Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many removals of failed asylum applicants have been made in the last (a) one, (b) three and (c) 12 months. [85747]

Mr. Byrne [holding answer 14 July 2006]: Information relating to the number of removals of asylum applicants is available from the Quarterly Asylum Statistics bulletin published in May 2006. At present the latest figures available correspond to the first quarter of 2006. Statistics on immigration and asylum, including the Quarterly Asylum bulletin,
4 Sep 2006 : Column 1745W
are available on the Home Office’s Research, Development and Statistics website at: http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/immigration1.html

Greg Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the difference has been between the number of failed asylum seekers removed and the number of new applications for asylum in each of the last 12 months. [85749]

Mr. Byrne [holding answer 14 July 2006]: Information on the number of failed asylum seekers removed and the number of new applications for asylum has been published as part of the public performance target: removing more failed asylum seekers than new anticipated unfounded applications. Copies of this report are available at the IND website: http://www.ind.homeoffice.gov.uk/6353/aboutus/tippingpointsresults.pdf

Greg Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether any person granted family indefinite leave to remain since October 2003 had at the time of approval (a) a criminal conviction and (b) been the subject of (i) an antisocial behaviour order and (ii) a sex offender order. [85750]

Mr. Byrne [holding answer 14 July 2006]: I am advised that from the Immigration and Nationality Directorate internal records we are aware that we have, due to the exceptional nature of their cases indefinite leave to remain was granted to three families, where the applicant had an unspent criminal conviction for a recordable offence. None of these people were the subject of an antisocial behaviour or a sex offender order. In addition, four cases involving unspent convictions for non-recordable offences were also granted on a discretionary basis due to exceptional circumstances.

Greg Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people have been granted family indefinite leave to remain (ILR) in each (a) month, (b) quarter and (c) year since the family ILR exercise began. [85751]

Mr. Byrne [holding answer 14 July 2006]: Information on the Family ILR Exercise is published quarterly and annually. Copies are available from the Library and on the Home Office Research Development and Statistics Directorate website at:


4 Sep 2006 : Column 1746W
Month Indefinite leave to enter (ILE) Indefinite leave to remain (ILR) Grand total

2004

January

5

60

65

February

65

635

700

March

870

1,060

1,930

April

610

565

1,175

May

405

530

935

June

580

395

975

July

240

245

485

August

265

265

530

September

180

165

345

October

115

140

255

November

290

370

660

December

230

335

565

2005

January

230

390

620

February

280

390

670

March

225

345

570

April

295

410

705

May

290

390

680

June

300

475

775

July

450

490

940

August

580

910

1,490

September

615

780

1,395

October

585

715

1,300

November

560

745

1,305

December

360

475

835

2006

January

365

525

890

February

320

460

780

March

570

780

1,350

Grand Total

9,880

13,045

22,925


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