HL Deb 21 July 1998 vol 592 cc84-5WA
Lord Avebury

asked Her Majesty's Government:

When they expect to reach a decision on the asylum applications of Sheikh Ali Salman, Hamza Ali Jasim Kadhem and Sayed Haider Hasan Ali, citizens of Bahrain, who applied at the port of entry on 15 January 1995. [HL2748]

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Home Office (Lord Williams of Mostyn)

A decision has been taken to grant refugee status to the three individuals in question and their dependants. This decision has been communicated to their legal representatives.

Lord Avebury

asked Her Majesty's Government:

How many persons who applied for asylum in January 1995 are still awaiting a first decision; and whether they will explain why Bahraini cases usually take much longer to resolve than the average. [HL2749]

Lord Williams of Mostyn

As at 31 May 1998, it is estimated that, of 52,110 asylum applications awaiting an initial decision, approximately 20 per cent. were lodged in 1995. I regret that it is not possible to produce an estimate for January 1995 alone with the available data.

The large backlog of cases in the Asylum Directorate means that it is inevitable that some cases take longer than others to resolve. Delays are often compounded by the individual complexity of cases, which are thoroughly investigated and considered.

The Government will be committing more resources to the processing of asylum claims and will be announcing more details of their plans in this area shortly.

Nineteen Bahrain applications remain outstanding. The oldest case dates back to 1994.

Asylum applications awaiting an initial decision as at 31 May 1998 by year of application 1
Year of application Percentage
Pre 1994 20
1994 15
1995 20
1996 10
1997 25
1998 10
Total 52,110 (100%)
1 Estimates rounded to the nearest 5 per cent.