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27 Jan 2009 : Column 273W—continued
Mr. Coaker:
Under the Police and Criminal Evidence Act (PACE) 1984 a police officer may only arrest a person if they suspect their involvement or attempted involvement in the commission of a criminal offence
and the officer reasonably believes that arrest is necessary against the criteria defined in section 24 of the Act and the ‘Code of Practice for the Statutory Power of Arrest by Police Officers’ (PACE Code G).
A decision to arrest a person under PACE is at the operational discretion of the individual officer concerned. The disclosure of information provided by regulatory authorities to the police is an operational matter for the individual authority and the police.
Asylum: Appeals
Mr. Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many appeals against decisions not to grant asylum have been upheld in each of the last five years for which figures are available; and if she will make a statement. [248433]
Mr. Woolas: Information on the number of asylum appeals upheld is published quarterly and annually. Copies of asylum statistics publications are available from the Library of the House and from the Home Office Research Development and Statistics website at:
The most recent publication available is Control of Immigration: Quarterly Statistical Summary, United Kingdom - Third Quarter 2008.
Mr. Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what access asylum seekers who are appealing against the decision not to grant them asylum have to (a) legal, (b) medical and (c) housing services; and if she will make a statement. [248434]
Mr. Woolas: A person who is appealing against the Secretary of State's decision not to grant them asylum is entitled to legal aid provided they satisfy the means test and can also show that the merits of their case justify public funding. The tests are set out in the Legal Services Commission's Funding Code.
A person who is appealing against the Secretary of State's decision not to grant asylum is eligible for NHS medical treatment.
The UK Border Agency provides support to asylum seekers who need it to avoid destitution from the time they arrive in the UK until their claim is fully determined (appeal rights exhausted). Support includes the provision of housing, if required. A person who had submitted an appeal against the Secretary of State's decision not to grant asylum and who had qualified for accommodation support whilst their asylum claim was still under consideration would continue to receive that support while the appeal remained outstanding.
Asylum: Deportation
Mr. Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what percentage of failed asylum seekers were returned to their homeland in each of the last five years for which figures are available; and if she will make a statement. [248432]
Mr. Woolas:
The following table shows the number of asylum cases, including dependants, who were removed, departed voluntarily or left under assisted returns from
the United Kingdom to their country of nationality between January 2004 and September 2008, along with the percentage of total asylum cases removed, departed voluntarily or left under assisted returns from the United Kingdom to their country of nationality.
The figures are rounded to the nearest five and data since 2007 are provisional.
Published statistics on immigration and asylum are available from the Library of the House and from the Home Office Research, Development and Statistics Directorate website at:
| Removals, voluntary departures and assisted returns( 1) of asylum cases( 2) , by destination, January 2004 to September 2008 | |||||
| Number of removals( 3) | |||||
| Period | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007( 4) | Jan-Sep 2008( 4) |
| (1) Includes enforced removals, port asylum removals which have been performed by enforcement officers using port powers of removal (and a small number of cases dealt with at juxtaposed controls), 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 since January 2005 persons who it has been established have left the UK without informing the immigration authorities. (2) Persons who had sought asylum at some stage, including dependants. (3) Figures are rounded to the nearest 5 (- = 0, * = 1 or 2) and may not sum to the totals shown because of independent rounding. (4) Provisional figures. | |||||
Asylum: Eritrea
Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many Eritrean asylum-seekers have returned voluntarily to Eritrea in the last year; how many have been granted asylum in the last five years; what plans she has to enforce the return of those who are not granted asylum; and how many are in receipt of section 4 support. [248999]
Mr. Woolas: There is no policy precluding the return of unsuccessful asylum seekers to Eritrea. Each case is considered on its individual merits against the background of the latest available country information and relevant case law. Individuals found not to be in need of international protection by the asylum decision making process and the independent appeals process are expected to leave the UK voluntarily. If they do not leave voluntarily they may have their return enforced.
For the period January to September 2008 there were five assisted voluntary returns to Eritrea from the UK. Additionally, for the same period, there were 260 enforced removals of Eritreans including further voluntary departures after enforcement action had been initiated. All removals statistics are for principal applicants only, excluding any dependants who were also removed. Figures relating to the period October to December 2008 will not be available until 24 February 2009.
Information concerning grants of asylum to Eritrean nationals from 1998-2007 is published in table 3.1 (cases granted asylum) of Asylum Statistics United Kingdom 2007 (bulletin 11/08). Quarterly data for the period January to September 2008 have also been published. This is available from the Library of the House and from the Home Office Research, Development and Statistics Directorate website at:
As at 11 January 2009, there were 902 Eritreans receiving section 4 support. This figure is taken from management information, which is provisional and subject to change.
Asylum: Malawi
Kate Hoey: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what procedures are in place to monitor the welfare of asylum seekers who have arrived in the UK using Malawian passports but who claim to be Zimbabweans after they have been returned to Malawi. [248731]
Mr. Woolas: Unsuccessful asylum claimants are returned to Malawi only if they are entitled to reside there, and only when the decision making and independent appeals system have found that this would be consistent with our obligations under the Refugee Convention and the European Convention on Human Rights. Among many other factors, decision makers and the courts take full account of any risk that the claimant would be removed from Malawi to a country where they could be at risk.
The UK Border Agency does not routinely monitor the treatment of individual unsuccessful asylum claimants on return to their country of origin. They are, by definition, foreign nationals who have been found as a matter of law not to need the UK's protection and it would be inconsistent with that finding for the UK to assume an ongoing responsibility for them when they return to their own country.
The UK Border Agency does constantly strive to obtain the best information to inform the asylum decision making process. It works closely with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, including the British embassy in Harare and the British high commission in Lilongwe, who will pass to the UK Border Agency any relevant information they receive regarding the treatment of unsuccessful asylum seekers returned from the UK.
Kate Hoey: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what co-operation her Department receives from the Malawian High Commission and the Malawian Ministry of Home Affairs in connection with establishing the entitlement to Malawian citizenship of asylum seekers who arrive in the UK using Malawian passports but claiming to be Zimbabweans. [248732]
Mr. Woolas: Information received from asylum seekers for their asylum claim is treated in confidence and the details of their asylum claims are not disclosed to the authorities of the country or countries they fear being returned to. The nationality or entitlement of an applicant to reside in a country is determined by looking at and weighing up all of the available documentary and oral evidence. Where a person holds a genuine Malawian passport or other identity document issued by the Malawian authorities, this would normally be enough to show that the holder is entitled to reside in Malawi.
Where claims are unsuccessful, limited disclosure of information may be made to foreign authorities, including the Malawian authorities where we are returning an individual to Malawi, if it is necessary for travel documentation purposes.
No reference is made to the fact the individual has claimed asylum in the UK.
Kate Hoey: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what co-operation her Department receives from the Malawian High Commission and the Malawian Ministry of Home Affairs in confirming as genuine the Malawian passports of asylum seekers who arrive in the UK using Malawian passports but who claim asylum as Zimbabweans. [248733]
Mr. Woolas: Information received from asylum seekers for their asylum claim is treated in confidence and the details of their asylum claims are not disclosed to the authorities of the country or countries they fear being returned to. The nationality or entitlement of an applicant to reside in a country is determined by looking at and weighing up all of the available documentary and oral evidence. Where a person holds a genuine Malawian passport or other identity document issued by the Malawian authorities, this would normally be enough to show that the holder is entitled to reside in Malawi.
Where claims are unsuccessful, limited disclosure of information may be made to foreign authorities, including the Malawian authorities where we are returning an individual to Malawi, if it is necessary for travel documentation purposes.
No reference is made to the fact the individual has claimed asylum in the UK.
Asylum: Peterborough
Mr. Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many asylum seekers resident in Peterborough constituency were in receipt of section 4 support as at 1 November 2008; and if she will make a statement. [249284]
Mr. Woolas: Asylum seekers who would otherwise be destitute are supported under section 95 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999. Unsuccessful asylum seekers may be eligible for support under section 4 of the 1999 Act if they are destitute and there is a temporary barrier to leaving the UK. On 9 November 2008, the nearest date for which figures are available, there were 22 people, excluding dependants, in receipt of section 4 support in the Peterborough constituency.
The figure provided is management information, not national statistics, which is provisional and subject to change.
Borders: Personal Records
Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent progress has been made on the e-Borders programme; and if she will make a statement. [250052]
Mr. Woolas: Since contract award in November 2007, the legislation which requires carriers to provide e-Borders with the required data has been put in place.
Significant progress has been made in taking forward the design and delivery of the e-Borders solution, the first phase of which is currently being tested. In addition to this, a site in the North-West has been secured for the new operational base, the National Border Targeting Centre.
Since Project Semaphore, the operational prototype to test the e-Borders concept was trialled in 2005; over 79 million passenger movements have been monitored.
Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent discussions her Department has had with the Department for Transport on the role of registered traveller programmes in enhancing airline security and contributing to the e-borders programme. [250064]
Mr. Woolas: Ministers and officials from the Home Office and the Department for Transport have had several discussions concerning the use of “registered traveller” and automated border controls and the contribution they can make to border and passenger security. Both Departments are committed to working together, with airport operators, to introduce new technology to ensure that travel to and from the UK, and the crossing of the border, is quick and safe for all passengers.
There are currently two automated border control systems in operation: The Iris Recognition Immigration System (IRIS) and the Automated Clearance Service (ACS).
IRIS is a pre-enrolment scheme for frequent travellers and is in operation at 10 major airports around the UK. ACS is a scheme for UK and European e-passport holders, currently in trial at Manchester and Stansted airports only. It does not require pre-enrolment—passengers simply present their e-Passport as evidence of identity and entitlement to entry. The aim of both schemes is to help low-risk passengers cross the UK Border more quickly. While they are not a formal component of aviation or maritime security policy, both schemes ensure that only passengers who are entitled to cross our border are able to do so.
In the future, ACS deployment will be fully integrated with the e-Borders system.
Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent discussions she has had with (a) airline operators, (b) airport operators and (c) the Department for Transport on the introduction of authority to carry; and when she expects these discussions to be completed. [250096]
Mr. Woolas: The e-Borders programme officials meet regularly with concerned partners. I have recently met with members of the British Air Transport Association, including representatives from British Airways, Virgin and bmi.
Discussions continue to take place with carrier and port representatives both on an individual level and at regular working groups. In addition the e-Borders programme is represented at the ‘Facilitation Stakeholders Forum’, organised by the Department for Transport. These meetings provide an opportunity for all e-Borders issues to be discussed, including the Authority to Carry scheme.
The introduction of an Authority to Carry Scheme will only be brought forward for parliamentary approval, once the full 12 week consultation period with all stakeholders has taken place.
Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate she has made of the average annual cost of applying checks to each individual passenger movement under the e-Borders programme. [250097]
Mr. Woolas: The total gross cost of the e-Borders programme will be £1.4 billion over 10 years from 2007.
The gross cost to Government is £1.2 billion over that period. The global figure for carriers is £242 million over the same 10-year period, which includes the set-up and running costs.
The average cost per passenger movement was estimated at 14p when the regulatory impact assessment was prepared in 2006, however we expect this figure to drop considerably and the average to go down as carriers modernise their systems.
Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent progress has been made in discussions with the European Commission on the EU's passenger name record proposals; and if she will make a statement. [250099]
Mr. Woolas: In November 2007 the European Commission published draft legislation on the use of EU passenger name records (PNR) for law enforcement purposes. The UK Government believes that the EU PNR proposal presents an important opportunity to share data in the fight against terrorism and organised crime, and facilitate legitimate travel to the UK.
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