§ Mr. Andrew SmithTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what number and percentage of detainees at Campsfield house have had their applications for asylum determined; what percentage of these have been granted; what percentage have been deported; and to which countries and on what grounds;
(2) how many asylum seekers and illegal entrants have been held since January 1993 in prison and detention centres (a) before the opening of Campsfield house and (b) subsequently, categorised by ethnic origin;
(3) how many of those who have been granted temporary admission to the United Kingdom without detention as (a) asylum seekers and (b) illegal entrants have absconded in the most recent year for which statistics are available.
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§ Mr. Charles WardleThis information is not available and that which might be gathered could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
§ Mr. Andrew SmithTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what number and percentage of detainees at Campsfield house have had their applications for bail heard; what percentage have been granted; and what percentage refused and on what grounds.
§ Mr. Charles WardleThe information requested is not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
§ Mr. GerrardTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list, by country of origin, how many visitors have been refused entry to the United Kingdom since the enactment of the Asylum and Immigration Appeals Act 1993.
§ Mr. Charles WardleThe available statistics relate to calendar months and are given in the tables. Separate data for persons seeking entry as visitors who were refused and removed at ports in the United Kingdom are not available, but visitors are likely to comprise the majority of the total.
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TABLE 1. Persons refused leave to enter and removed at ports in the United Kingdom, in the period August to November 1993. Geographical region and nationality Number of persons All nationalities 5,742 European Community 81 Belgium 1 Denmark — France 40 Germany 1 Greece — Italy 16 Luxembourg — Netherlands 10 Portugal 12 Spain 1 Other Western Europe 341 Austria 18 Cyprus 50 Finland 22 Malta 10 Norway 23 Sweden 48 Switzerland 20 Turkey 69 Former Yugoslavia 81 Eastern Europe 921 Bulgaria 5 Former Czechoslovakia 100 Hungary 47 Poland 623 Romania 49 Former USSR 97 Americas 935 Argentina 15 Barbados 11 Brazil 81 Canada 33 Chile 11 Colombia 135 Guyana 30 Jamaica 144 Mexico 19 Peru 43 Trinidad and Tobago 24 USA 372
Geographical region and nationality Number of persons Venezuela 17 Africa 1,509 Algeria 66 Angola 11 Egypt 6 Ethiopia 10 Ghana 142 Kenya 110 Libya 10 Mauritius 52 Morocco 36 Nigeria 426 Sierra Leone 134 Somalia 23 South Africa 255 Sudan 11 Tanzania 52 Tunisia 3 Uganda 57 Zaire 30 Zambia 23 Zimbabwe 52 Indian sub-continent 245 Bangladesh 50 India 107 Pakistan 88 Middle East 183 Iran 47 Iraq 13 Israel 51 Jordan 7 Kuwait 1 Lebanon 46 Saudi Arabia 13 Syria 2 Yemen 3 Remainder of Asia 364 China 38 Indonesia 8 Japan 58 Malaysia 137 Philippines 23 Singapore 14 South Korea 16 Sri Lanka 33 Thailand 7 Hong Kong1 30 Australasia 110 Australia 70 New Zealand 40 Others 1,053 British Overseas citizens 32 Other countries not elsewhere specified 527 Stateless and nationality doubtful 494 1 British dependent territories citizens and British nationals (overseas) only. 153W
Table 2 Persons refused a visit entry clearance in selected countries1, in the period August to December 1993 Country of application Number of persons Bangladesh 1,350 India 2,780 Pakistan 3,400 Hong Kong 220 1 Corresponding data for other countries are not available centrally.
2 Including July 1993.
§ Mr. GerrardTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many asylum seekers whose applications were made since the enactment of the Asylum and Immigration Appeals Act 1993 are currently held in detention;
(2) how many asylum seekers whose applications were made before the enactment of the Asylum and Immigration Appeals Act 1993 are currently held in detention.
§ Mr. Charles WardleThe table relates to asylum seekers in detention on 17 February 1994. The date of application is not recorded centrally in illegal entry cases and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Applied before 26 July 1993 Applied on or after 26 July 1993 Total Port cases 38 322 360 Deportation cases 22 49 71 Illegal entrants — — 289 720
§ Ms GordonTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when the decision was taken that it was safe to return unsuccessful asylum seekers to Sudan; from what date the new policy is to take effect, and what internal circumstances have changed in Sudan to justify this change of policy.
§ Mr. Charles WardleWe have been prepared since August 1993 to consider returning to Sudan unsuccessful asylum seekers who do not qualify for refugee status and where there are no strong compassionate or other grounds for granting them exceptional leave to remain. This decision was made after a careful assessment of circumstances in both northern and southern Sudan and of the position of the different ethnic and religious groups in the country.
§ Mr. GerrardTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list, by country of origin, how many asylum seekers have been refused entry to the United Kingdom, detained and deported since the enactment of the Asylum and Immigration Appeals Act 1993.
§ Mr. Charles WardleBetween 26 July 1993 and 16 January 1994, 334 passengers who had sought asylum on arrival were removed from the United Kingdom following refusal of entry. Their countries of nationality are listed in the table. Of these passengers, 225 remained in detention for the whole period of their stay, and the remainder may have spent some time in detention.
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Number Afghanistan 1 Algeria 9 Angola 14 Bangladesh 2 Bulgaria 1 Burkina Faso 1 Brazil 1 China 3 Colombia 5 Congo 1
Number Czechoslovakia 1 Ethiopia 2 Former Yugoslavia 8 Former Soviet Union 7 Ghana 40 Hungary 2 India 11 Iran 3 Ivory Coast 12 Jamaica 1 Jordan 1 Kenya 4 Kuwait 1 Lebanon 5 Liberia 3 Malawi 1 Niger 4 Nigeria 31 Pakistan 9 Peru 1 Poland 8 Romania 30 Saudi Arabia 1 Sierra Leone 10 Somalia 11 South Africa 1 Sri Lanka 16 Sudan 2 Tanzania 3 Turkey 26 Uganda 8 USA 1 Nationality Doubtful (Palestine) 6 Nationality Doubtful 10 Zaire 16
§ Mr. BlairTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) to which countries asylum seekers rejected on third country grounds have been removed; and how many have subsequently been returned to the United Kingdom by the authorities of the third country since 26 July 1993;
(2) how many asylum applications have been refused on safe third country grounds since 26 July 1993; and how many asylum seekers have subsequently been removed from the United Kingdom.
§ Mr. Charles WardleIn the six complete months—1 August 1993 to 31 January 1994—since 26 July 1993 there were 459 refusals on third country grounds—431 in port cases and 28 in in-country cases. During the same six months, 177 port asylum applicants refused on third country grounds were removed or departed voluntarily. Corresponding information on in-country cases is not available.
Information on the destination of third country removals is not readily available.
In the period 1 August 1993 to 21 January 1994, 28 port asylum cases, who had been removed on third country grounds, were returned to the United Kingdom.