§ Mr. WatersonTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement about the provision of false information to the immigration authorities with a view to obtaining political asylum or British citizenship; and if deportation orders against people providing such information carry rights of appeal. [14289]
§ Mr. Mike O'BrienIf false information were supplied in support of an application for asylum, this might have a bearing on the credibility of the applicant but would need to be considered as part of the totality of the evidence in determining whether the criteria in the 1951 United Nations Convention relating to the Status of Refugees were met. If it came to light after a grant of asylum that information relevant to the grant had been given falsely, the decision would need to be re-assessed in the light of the totality of the evidence taking account of the new facts.
Under legislation, all refused asylum seekers have a right of appeal before any removal to a country where they claim to fear persecution.
As to British citizenship, it is an offence, contrary to section 46 of the British Nationality Act 1981, to make any false statement for the purpose of procuring anything to be done or not to be done under that Act. Where the Secretary of State is misled as to the applicant's identity, the grant of citizenship may be treated as a nullity.
§ Mr. WatersonTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department in 1996(a) what was the total cost to the Government of supporting political asylum seekers, (b) how many of them were held in detention and how many subsequently deported and (c) how many illegal immigrants were deported; and what are the figures for the current year to date. [14231]
§ Mr. Mike O'BrienThe available information regarding the direct cost to Central Government of supporting asylum seekers is given below. This relates to persons seeking asylum on political or other grounds of persecution. I regret that information about the other indirect costs to Central or Local Government is not available, such as the costs involved in providing medical treatment, education, housing and social work for asylum seekers.
The estimated cost to the Department of Social Security of support for asylum seekers in 1996 was £300 million.
This information is based on the February, May, August and November 1996 Income Support Quarterly Statistical Enquiries, and the May 1996 Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit Management Information System. Information on the receipt of other Social Security benefits is based solely on those asylum seekers also claiming Income Support, as asylum seekers cannot be identified from other data sources.
653WThe Department of Health has contributed to the costs of supporting those asylum seekers not eligible for Department for Social Security benefits, by providing three special grants to local authorities, which totalled £12.7 million in 1996–97. These grants were:
The Persons from Abroad with Children grant (PFACG) for asylum seeking families— £4.1 million;The Asylum Seekers Accommodation grant (ASAG) for adults without children— £5.6 million;The Unaccompanied Asylum-Seeking Children grant (UASC)— £3 million.Reliable information on the historical flow of persons placed into detention, and of those who were subsequently deported, can be obtained only through examination of individual case records. I regret that the information requested is, therefore, available only at disproportionate cost. However, as at 11 December 1996, the number of asylum seekers held in detention, solely under the powers contained in Schedule 2 or 3 of the Immigration Act 1971, was 754; the equivalent figure as at 30 September 1997 was 772.
The provisional figure for the number of persons subject to enforcement action (i.e. served with illegal entry notices or where deportation proceedings had been initiated) removed from the United Kingdom between 1 January 1997 and 30 September 1997 is 4,949. This includes voluntary/supervised departures made after enforcement action had been initiated. The figure covers asylum and non-asylum enforcement cases but excludes persons removed as a result of port refusal procedures. Equivalent information for 1996 can be found in table 7.1
White Black Asian Other ethnic origin Not provided Total Number of ethnic staff as percentage Male 2,066 81 147 37 441 2,772 9.56 Female 2,017 168 355 31 314 2,885 19.20 Total 4,083 249 502 68 755 5,657 14.48