§ 15. Mr. Nigel Waterson (Eastbourne)How many Kosovan refugees are currently being accommodated in (i) the United Kingdom, (ii) East Sussex and (iii) Eastbourne. [85579]
§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department (Mr. Mike O'Brien)So far, 3,773 Kosovan evacuees have been airlifted to Britain under the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees programme. Most of them have been housed in the midlands, the north of England and Scotland. However, 12,360 nationals of the former Yugoslavia have applied for asylum in the United Kingdom since 1996. We cannot identify the precise number living in East Sussex or Eastbourne without examining individual cases.
§ Mr. WatersonDespite the fact that the Minister cannot give me the current figures, can he project how many of these refugees will eventually be housed in East Sussex and in my constituency? Will he give the House an assurance that there will be the closest and most detailed consultation between central Government and local government to ensure that the arrangements are proper, efficiently handled and put no undue extra burden on overstretched services in particular areas?
§ Mr. O'BrienThe hon. Gentleman makes a reasonable request. We shall endeavour to ensure that there is full consultation with the local authorities and that they are given as much information as possible about the numbers that they should expect in their area. We shall try to ensure that the arrangements for meeting any additional costs are arrived at after full and proper consultation.
§ Fiona Mactaggart (Slough)The Kosovan refugees have largely been accepted into hostels and settlement centres. Will my hon. Friend the Minister consider whether that approach might be appropriate for other groups of refugees if it is successful? Will he assure the House that the research unit in the Home Office will look carefully at the consequences of new decisions on support systems so that we learn the lessons of new arrangements for supporting refugees?
§ Mr. O'BrienMy hon. Friend asks two reasonable questions. I hope that I can give a positive response on both. The voluntary sector's use of reception centres for the Kosovans has been successful. We are looking closely at the lessons to be learned from that. We want to be sure that we get it right when we introduce new systems. We can learn a lot from our experience with the Kosovans. We want to ensure that research into support mechanisms is done effectively and that we learn lessons from it.