House of Commons Hansard Written Answers for 20 Jun 2007 (pt 0034)

20 Jun 2007 : Column 1937W—continued

X-rays

John Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment she has made of the impact of strategic health authority mergers on (a) access to and (b) use of, the £3 million capital allocation to purchase dual X-ray absorptiometry scans from the private sector; and if she will make a statement. [140505]

Mr. Ivan Lewis: The Department has not made an assessment of the impact of strategic health authority mergers on the access to, and use of, the £3 million capital allocation to purchase dual X-ray absorptiometry scans from the private sector. The Department no longer views the detailed monitoring of cash allocations as the best way forward. Instead, we are focusing on benefits to patients and the national health service, and in terms of DEXA scanning this has meant activity to reduce waiting times.

Information on how many people are waiting for a range of diagnostic tests, and for how long they are waiting has been published since January 2006. It is available at:

www.performance.doh.gov.uk.

It shows that the number of people waiting more than 13 weeks for a DEXA scan has fallen from 9,356 in January 2006 to just 683 in April 2007, including a fall in the number of people waiting over 26 weeks from 3,837 to 14.

Home Department

Antisocial Behaviour: Middlesbrough

Dr. Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many families in Middlesbrough, South and East Cleveland have been involved in the Family Intervention Project. [143421]

Mr. Coaker: On 19 June 2007 there were 16 families working with the Middlesbrough Family Intervention Project (FIP). This project covers the constituency area of Middlesbrough, South and East Cleveland.

20 Jun 2007 : Column 1938W

Asylum

Mr. Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 28 February 2007, Official Report, column 1351W, on asylum, what the normal criteria are for the allocation of cases between regions; what the regional strategic co-ordination arrangements are; and who makes the decisions on allocation. [130034]

Mr. Byrne: In each case, the Border and Immigration Agency first establishes whether there are special circumstances that would require an applicant to be housed in London or in a specific location outside London (for example if a medical condition was treatable only in a limited number of hospitals in the UK). If no such circumstances exist, asylum applicants who require accommodation are allocated to a case owner in one of the Border and Immigration Agency’s regions outside London. This reflects the Border and Immigration Agency’s policy of housing destitute asylum seekers away from London and the South East in places where accommodation is more freely available and in a manner which represents better value for money for the taxpayer.

Once any special circumstances have been ruled out, the decision to allocate to a particular region is made by the Border and Immigration Agency staff and is based upon a complex algorithm incorporating information on the availability of accommodation, the numbers of asylum seekers already housed in that region, the need to ensure each accommodation provider receives an equitable share of the Border and Immigration Agency business and the availability of the Border and Immigration Agency caseowner resource in that region.

Once an applicant has been allocated to a particular region, the accommodation provider then has some latitude as to in which town or city in that region the applicant is housed. The Regional Strategic Coordination Groups are a forum through which local authorities, accommodation providers, the Border and Immigration Agency and other key players should be able to influence, over time, the spread of the available accommodation within that region.

Asylum: Afghanistan

Mr. Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many applications for asylum were received from nationals of Afghanistan in each year since 1997; how many of these applications were (a) approved and (b) refused and resulted in deportations; and if he will make a statement. [142790]

Mr. Byrne: Information on how many Afghan asylum applications received in each year since 1997 that have been subsequently approved, rejected or deported is not available.

Information on asylum applications, initial decisions, appeals and removals for nationals of Afghanistan 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.

20 Jun 2007 : Column 1939W

Asylum: Bassetlaw

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many asylum seekers are living in Bassetlaw constituency. [138823]

Mr. Byrne: Statistics on the location of asylum seekers in the UK are linked to the available information on the support that the asylum seeker receives.

As at the end of March 2007, there were no asylum seekers recorded as receiving asylum support in the Bassetlaw constituency. This figure excludes those asylum seekers who are living in the Bassetlaw constituency but are not receiving support from Border and Immigration Agency.

The numbers of asylum seekers in receipt of support from Border and Immigration Agency, broken down by Government office region and local authority, are published on a quarterly and annual basis. 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.

Further breakdowns of those in receipt of support from Border and Immigration Agency by parliamentary constituency are also available from the Library of the House.

Asylum: Belarus

Mr. Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many applications for asylum were received from nationals of Belarus in each year since 1997; and how many of these applications were (a) approved and (b) refused and resulted in deportations. [143361]

Mr. Byrne [holding answer 18 June 2007]: The information requested could be obtained only by the detailed examination of individual case records at disproportionate cost.

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Information on the number of Belarusian asylum applications received in each year since 1997 is shown in the following table.

Applications^{( 1)} received for asylum in the UK, excluding dependants, for nationals of Belarus, 1997 to 2006
	Number of applications
1997	35
1998	110
1999⁽²⁾	600
2000⁽²⁾	580
2001	80
2002	110
2003	120
2004	45
2005⁽³⁾	60
2006⁽³⁾	55
⁽¹⁾ Figures rounded to the nearest 5. ⁽²⁾ May exclude some cases lodged at local enforcement offices between January 1999 and March 2000. ⁽³⁾ Provisional figures.

Asylum: Deportation

Mr. Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people against whom removal proceedings were commenced were detained in an immigration centre prior to their removal in each month of the last two years; and what percentage this represents of the total number of people against whom removal proceedings were commenced in each month. [123535]

John Reid: The accompanying tables show the number of persons recorded as leaving detention solely under Immigration Act powers in order to be removed from the UK in 2005 and in each of the first three quarters of 2006.

Data on the total number of persons against whom removal proceedings were commenced are not available; they could be obtained through examination of individual records only at disproportionate cost.

Copies of statistics publications are available from the Home Office’s Research, Development and Statistics website at:

http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds.

Persons recorded as leaving detention in the United Kingdom solely under Immigration Act powers, 2005, by reason for leaving detention^{( 1,2,6)} (excluding Oakington and Harwich Abbey)
Number of individuals
		of whom:
Reason for leaving detention	Total persons	asylum seekers	Q1 2005	Q2 2005	Q3 2005	Q4 2005
Removed from the UK	20,420	9,975	4,845	4,995	5,095	5,480
Granted leave to enter/remain⁽³⁾	130	20	25	35	40	30
Granted temporary admission/release⁽⁴⁾	7,290	5,720	1,640	1,800	1,710	2,140
Bailed⁽⁵⁾	1,370	1,090	270	285	395	415
Other	5	5	*	*	*	—
Total leaving detention	29,210	16,805	6,785	7,115	7,245	8,065
⁽¹⁾ Figures exclude persons recorded as leaving detention from police cells and Prison Service establishments, those recorded as detained under both criminal and immigration powers at time of removal/release and their children. ⁽²⁾ Some detainees may be recorded more than once if, for example, the person has been detained on more than one separate occasion in the time period shown. ⁽³⁾ Short or long term stay in the UK has been granted. ⁽⁴⁾ Decision on case has not been made. ⁽⁵⁾ Detainee has applied for, and been granted, bail at a bail hearing. ⁽⁶⁾ Provisional figures.

20 Jun 2007 : Column 1941W

Persons recorded as leaving detention in the United Kingdom solely under Immigration Act powers, Quarter 1 2006, by reason and place of detention^{( 1,6)} (excluding Oakington and Harwich)
Number of individuals
Place of last detention	^{( 2)} Total leaving detention	Removed from the UK	^{( 3)} Granted leave to enter/ remain	^{( 4)} Granted temporary admission/ release	^{( 5)} Bailed	Other
Total persons	7,490	5,360	30	1,730	375	*
of whom: asylum seekers	4,445	2,785	5	7,330	325	*
⁽¹⁾ Figures rounded to the nearest 5, with * = 1 or 2 and may not sum due to rounding. Figures exclude persons recorded as detained in police cells and Prison Service establishments, those recorded as detained under both criminal and immigration powers at time of removal/release and their children. ⁽²⁾ Some detainees may be recorded more than once if, for example, the person has been detained on more than one separate occasion in the time period shown. ⁽³⁾ Short or long term stay in the UK has been granted. ⁽⁴⁾ Decision on case has not been made. ⁽⁵⁾ Detainee has applied for, and been granted, bail at a bail hearing. ⁽⁶⁾ Provisional figures.

Persons recorded as leaving detention in the United Kingdom solely under Immigration Act powers, Quarter 2 2006, by reason and place of detention^{( 1,6)} (excluding Oakington and Harwich)
Number of individuals
Place of last detention	^{( 2)} Total leaving detention	Removed from the UK	^{( 3)} Granted leave to enter/ remain	^{( 4)} Granted temporary admission/ release	^{( 5)} Bailed	Other
Total persons	7,390	5,155	55	1,820	360	—
of whom: asylum seekers	4,360	2,610	5	1,465	280	—
⁽¹⁾ Figures rounded to the nearest 5, with * = 1 or 2 and may not sum due to rounding. Figures exclude persons recorded as detained in police cells and Prison Service establishments, those recorded as detained under both criminal and immigration powers at time of removal/release and their children. ⁽²⁾ Some detainees may be recorded more than once if, for example, the person has been detained on more than one separate occasion in the time period shown. ⁽³⁾ Short or long term stay in the UK has been granted. ⁽⁴⁾ Decision on case has not been made. ⁽⁵⁾ Detainee has applied for, and been granted, bail at a bail hearing. ⁽⁶⁾ Provisional figures.

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