HC Deb 04 March 1991 vol 187 cc10-1W
Mr. Wigley

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what has been the average length of time spent in processing requests for asylum into the United Kingdom in each year since 1980.

Mr. Peter Lloyd

The information requested is given in the table.

Average length of time (in months) between the receipt of an application and the decision, 1983–901
Year in which decision made Applications for refugee status or asylum
1983 6
1984
1985 12½
1986 14
1987 14
1988 17
1989 12
21990 12
1 Excludes south-east Asian refugees given settlement on arrival.
2 Provisional.

Mr. Wigley

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many individuals currently seeking asylum have had to wait for two years or more before a decision is made on their cases.

Mr. Peter Lloyd

At 31 December 1990 some 4,000 asylum applicants, including associated dependants, are recorded as awaiting a decision in the United Kingdom for two years or more. However, this figure overstates the position because of under-recording of decisions made earlier.

Female offenders found guilty at all courts or cautioned for shoplifting offences 1980 to 1989 England and Wales
Number found guilty or cautioned for shoplifting offences Percentage found guilty or cautioned of shoplifting over all indictable offences Number given custody for shoplifting offences Average sentence length for shoplifting (months)
Magistrates' court Crown court
1980 52,797 55 659 3 4
1981 52,577 56 669 3 4
1982 56,904 58 750 2 4
1983 53,402 56 735 2 5
1984 50,919 55 751 2 5
1985 58,239 58 808 2 5
1986 49,807 56 657 2 6
1987 45,822 53 635 2 6
1988 37,787 47 535 3 6
1989 35,371 46 465 2 5