§ Mr. ClappisonTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many incidents of clandestine illegal entry have been reported to his Department(a) in each of the last five years and (b) in the most recent period for which figures are available; [56191]
(2) how many illegal entrants have been removed from the United Kingdom in (a) each of the last five years and (b) the most recent period for which figures are available. [56189]
§ Mr. Mike O'BrienInformation on illegal entrants removed from the United Kingdom between 1 January 1993 and 30 June 1998 are given in Table 1.
In addition to clandestine illegal entrants detected directly by the Immigration Service, the Immigration and Nationality Directorate also receives notification of "self-confessed" clandestine entry and referrals of instances of possible clandestine entry and often involving groups of people, from other sources, such as the police. Regrettably, there is no central record of the numbers of such referrals received. The available information, which relates to the numbers of clandestine entrants on whom notice of illegal entry was served between 1 January 1994 and 30 June 1998, is given in Table 2. 182W
Table 1. Persons removed1 from the United Kingdom as a result of illegal entry action2, 1993–983,4,5 Year Persons leaving the United Kingdom 1993 3,790 1994 3,280 1995 3,160 1996 3,400 19974 4,490 19984,5 2,300 1 Includes persons departing 'voluntarily' after illegal entry action had been initiated against them 2 Covers persons served with papers and dealt with as illegal entrants as defined by section 33(1) of the Immigration Act 1971 3 Data are rounded 4 1997 and 1998 data are provisional 5 1998 data are for 1 January to 30 June only
Table 2. Persons served with papers as clandestine illegal entrants1, 1994–982 Year Persons served with illegal entry papers1 1994 1,810 1995 3,350 1996 4,110 19973 4,030 19983,4 3,530 1 Illegal entrants are defined by section 33(1) of the Immigration Act 1971. These data cover clandestine illegal entrants only 2 Data are rounded 3 1997 and 1998 data are provisional 4 1998 data are for 1 January to 30 June only
§ Mr. ClappisonTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the letter of 24 August 1998 from the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, to the hon. Member for North Warwickshire (Mr. O'Brien), in how many cases of clandestine illegal entry the individuals concerned have been referred to a place where their circumstances can be assessed and any applications processed according to the most recent figures which are available. [56173]
§ Mr. Mike O'BrienAs I explained in my letter of 24 August to the hon. Member, it is the normal practice of the Immigration Service to respond to incidents where immigration offenders are detected, although there will be 183W occasions when immigration staff are already deployed dealing with other incidents and we are unable to respond immediately.
The Immigration Service is consulting the police forces most affected to ensure that incidents are dealt with properly. In areas where it is necessary, we hope to have a standard agreement in place in the next few months between the police and the Immigration Service which will provide a clear mechanism for dealing with clandestine entrants.
Local immigration offices have not, hitherto, been required to keep records of the number of requests to attend to which they have been unable to respond and this information has not been collected centrally. They have now been asked to collect and submit this information.
§ Mr. ClappisonTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what arrangements are in place for the police to deal with cases of clandestine illegal entry where immigration officers are unable to attend. [56190]
§ Mr. BoatengThe Immigration Service endeavours to respond to all incidents involving clandestine entrants. As a result of the considerable rise in clandestine entry this year, there are occasions where resources are stretched so that the Immigration Service is unable to respond immediately. On such occasions, the Immigration Service tries to ensure that the individuals concerned are referred to a place where their circumstances can be assessed and any applications processed. The Immigration Service is consulting the police forces most affected to ensure that incidents are dealt with properly. In areas where it is necessary, we hope to have a standard agreement in place shortly between the police and the Immigration Service to provide a clear mechanism for dealing with clandestine entrants.