HC Deb 21 June 1989 vol 155 cc135-6W
Mr. Corbyn

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many of the Kurdish asylum seekers from Turkey who have arrived since the beginning of May were refused admission at airports and removed immediately; and to which countries they went.

Mr. Renton

None; immigration officers are required to refer all applications for asylum to the refugee unit of the Home Office for decision.

Mr. Corbyn

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many asylum applications were made in 1988; and what were the nationalities of the applicants.

Mr. Renton

This information will be contained in the 1988 issue of the annual Home Office statistical bulletin "Refugee Statistics, United Kingdom" which will be published next month.

Mr. Corbyn

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many Kurdish asylum seekers from Turkey have arrived since the beginning of May; how many are currently held in(a) prison, (b) Harmondsworth detention centre and (c) elsewhere; and if he will list the institutions where they are being held.

Mr. Renton

The information is not readily available in the precise form requested since records do not identify different ethnic groupings. As of midnight on 19 June, 2,838 Turkish nationals had arrived since the beginning of May and had sought asylum; 81 were detained in prison establishments at Winchester, Dorchester, Exeter and Gloucester; 92 were detained in Harmondsworth detention centre, Gatwick beehive and Latchmere house remand centre.

Mr. Corbyn

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many Kurdish asylum-seekers from Turkey who have arrived in Britain since the beginning of May have been interviewed about their claim for asylum; and how many of these have been(a) given refugee status, (b) given exceptional leave to remain, (c) refused leave to remain and removed and (d) refused leave to remain and are awaiting removal.

Mr. Renton

By 19 June the asylum applications from 138 Turkish nationals had been considered in detail. The results of this consideration are12: met the criteria of the 1951 UN convention and have been recognised as refugees; 38: have been given leave to remain in the United Kingdom on an exceptional basis; 5: are receiving further consideration; 3: departed voluntarily before a final decision was reached; 61: have been notified of a provisional decision that they do not qualify for asylum and any further information/representations are awaited; 19: did not qualify for asylum or leave to enter under the immigration rules, were refused entry and have been returned to Turkey. In addition, 128 have made voluntary departures after withdrawing their claims for asylum.