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31 Mar 2009 : Column 1070W—continued

Home Department

Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs

Chris Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether any members of the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs have expertise in the links between drug use and psychosis. [265321]

Jacqui Smith: The Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD) has five members that have specific expertise in the links between drug use and psychosis. Those members are Professor David Nutt (Chair of the ACMD, Professor of Psychopharmacology University of Bristol and Head of the Department of Neuropsychopharmacology and Molecular Imaging at Imperial College London), Professor Ilana Crome (Professor of Addiction Psychiatry, Keele University Medical School), Dr. John Marsden (Research Psychologist, Institute of Psychiatry), Ms Carmel Clancy (Principal Lecturer at Middlesex University) and Dr. Mary Rowlands (Consultant Psychiatrist). Further details of which are on the ACMD's web pages:

www.drugs.homeoffice.gov.uk/drugslaws/acmd/aboutus/committeesandmembers/listmembers/

Chris Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what criteria she uses to assess nominees to her Department’s Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs. [265322]

Jacqui Smith: Appointments to the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD) are made through open competition in accordance with Office of the Commissioner for Public Appointments Code of Practice. Applications to join the ACMD are assessed by criteria that are tailored to the specific expertise that is being recruited to the ACMD at the time.

Asylum

Chris Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what her most recent estimate is of how long it will take to (a) clear the backlog of outstanding asylum cases and (b) deport all those unsuccessful in these cases. [242735]

Jacqui Smith [holding answer 16 December 2008]: We are committed to completing the backlog of asylum cases by the summer of 2011. This will of course include cases that are removed from the country. So far 23,500 removals have been effected as at 31 October 2008.

Chris Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what percentage of the estimated 450,000 older cases backlog in the Case Resolution Directorate are estimated to be refused asylum seekers. [255865]

Jacqui Smith: Of the 450,000 older cases 155,500 cases were concluded at the last update. The backlog contains a huge variety of cases, including errors and duplicates, and the time taken to conclude a case varies greatly, depending on its case type. To obtain the information requested would involve disproportionate cost.

Paul Holmes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) Afghani, (b) Belarusian, (c) Burmese, (d) Chinese, (e) Colombian, (f) Cuban, (g) Democratic Republic of Congo, (h) Democratic People's Republic of Korea, (i) Iranian, (j) Iraqi, (k) Israeli, (l) Nepalese, (m) Pakistani, (n) Russian, (o) Saudi Arabian, (p) Syrian, (q) Turkmenistani, (r) Uzbekistani, (s) Vietnamese, (t) Sudanese and (u) Zimbabwean nationals (i) were refused asylum in the UK in each of the last 12 months and (ii) are awaiting a decision on an asylum application. [268035]

31 Mar 2009 : Column 1071W

Mr. Woolas: The following tables show the number of principal applicants refused asylum in the UK over the last 12 months, for which figures have been published, on the requested nationalities. Information on asylum applicants awaiting an initial decision, by nationality, is unavailable and could be obtained only by examination of individual case records at disproportionate cost.

31 Mar 2009 : Column 1072W

Information on main asylum nationalities is published annually and quarterly. The latest quarterly statistics were published on 24 February 2009 and are available from the Library of the House and from the Home Office Research, Development and Statistics Directorate website at:

http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/immigration-asylum-stats.html

Refusals at initial decision on asylum applications to the UK( 1,2) , excluding dependants, 2008 by month
	Afghanistan	Belarus	Burma	China	Colombia	Cuba	Dem. Rep. of Congo	Dem. People’s Rep. of Korea	Iran	Iraq	Israel
January	105	*	*	135	*	*	15	5	110	80	*
February	105	5	5	70	*	—	15	10	100	100	*
March	100	—	5	45	*	—	15	5	75	100	*
April	115	—	5	75	—	*	15	10	105	95	—
May	85	—	5	70	*	—	15	10	100	65	*
June	100	*	5	85	*	—	15	10	125	80	*
July	155	5	10	75	—	—	20	10	145	105	—
August	115	5	5	55	5	—	20	10	105	75	*
September	145	*	5	70	*	*	10	5	100	90	*
October	125	*	*	50	—	—	20	5	155	100	*
November	115	5	*	45	—	—	15	5	145	115	—
December	105	—	*	35	*	*	10	*	105	70	—
Total	1,365	20	45	810	10	5	185	90	1,365	1,080	10

	Nepal	Pakistan	Russia	Saudi Arabia	Sudan	Syria	Turkmenistan	Uzbekistan	Vietnam	Zimbabwe
January	—	50	5	—	10	5	—	—	5	80
February	*	60	*	—	10	5	—	—	15	100
March	*	60	*	—	15	5	*	—	10	90
April	*	75	5	—	5	5	—	5	5	175
May	*	65	*	—	15	5	—	—	10	200
June	*	45	5	—	10	5	*	—	5	255
July	5	75	5	*	15	15	*	*	5	285
August	*	55	*	—	10	10	—	—	10	235
September	5	55	5	—	10	10	—	*	10	240
October	—	70	*	5	15	5	—	*	10	240
November	—	65	5	5	5	5	5	—	5	105
December	—	55	*	5	10	5	—	*	5	15
Total	15	725	35	15	140	80	5	5	95	2,020
(1) Provisional figures rounded to nearest five (‘—’ = 0, ‘*’ = one or two). (2) Information is of initial decisions, excluding the outcome of appeals or other subsequent decisions.

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