§ Dr. CableTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has, under interim funding arrangements for asylum seekers, to assist local authorities in respect of families who declared their intention to seek asylum at the port of entry and are eligible for benefits. [68579]
§ Mr. Mike O'BrienAt present, asylum seekers with families who declare their intention to seek asylum at the port of entry may, if they qualify, be eligible for income support, housing benefit and assistance under the homelessness legislation. Local authority costs for such services are covered by the local government finance settlement in the normal way.
§ Sir Norman FowlerTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many asylum seekers arrived in this country without any documentation during 1998; what countries they claimed to come from; and if he will make a statement. [69302]
§ Mr. Mike O'BrienI regret that information on the number of asylum seekers who arrived in this country without any documentation could only be obtained by examination of individual case records and is, therefore, only available at disproportionate cost.
§ Sir Norman FowlerTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many applicants for political asylum arrived as passengers at each(a) port and (b) airport in England and Wales, during the last quarter of (i) 1997 and (ii) 1998; and if he will make a statement; [69305]
757W(2) how many applicants for political asylum arrived as passengers at each (a) port and (b) airport in England and Wales, during (a) 1997 and (b) 1998; and if he will make a statement. [69304]
§ Mr. Mike O'BrienThe information requested is given in the table.
Applications 1 received for asylum at pans in the England and Wales, excluding dependants, by location where made, 1997 and 1998 Number of principal applicants Port 19972 October to December 1997 1998 October to December 1998 Ashford 25 5 35 10 Birmingham 50 15 50 10 Bristol 10 5 5 * Cardiff 10 5 10 5 Cheriton 5 — — — Dover 1,355 565 4,205 1,510 East Midlands 5 5 10 * Felixstowe 65 15 80 25 Folkstone 5 5 30 * Gatwick North 1,935 385 1,930 630 Gatwick South 1,065 285 1,310 385 Harwich 100 55 600 170 Heathrow Terminal 1 1,700 530 2,495 915 Heathrow Terminal 2 2,435 655 3,300 920 Heathrow Terminal 3 2,885 860 3,050 745 Heathrow Terminal 4 1,605 315 1,775 520 Hull 10 5 40 15 Humberside 5 — * — Immigham * — — — Leeds Bradford 20 5 15 5 Liverpool 10 5 10 * London City 215 135 395 130 Luton 30 15 60 10 Manchester Terminal 1 10 * 25 10 Manchester Terminal 2 200 50 375 110 Newhaven 5 * 50 15 Norwich * — 10 10 Plymouth 10 5 5 — Poole * * — — Portsmouth 15 5 70 30 Preston * — — — Prestwick * — — — Ramsgate 55 10 5 — Sheffield City 10 5 15 5 Southampton 5 * * * Stanstead 350 120 300 85 Swansea 5 5 * — Teesport 20 — 20 — Tilbury * — * — Tyne 5 * 35 10 Waterloo 2,230 465 2,820 705 Total England and Wales 16,485 4,540 23,145 6,995 Other ports 100 35 200 30 Total port applications 16,590 4,575 23,345 7,020 1Provisional figures, rounded to the nearest 5 with * = 1 or 2 2Revised Source:
Immigration Research and Statistics Service, RDS
§ Sir Norman FowlerTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many asylum seekers made applications in the last quarter of(a) 1997 and (b) 1998; and if he will make a statement. [69303]
§ Mr. Mike O'BrienThe number of asylum applications made in the last quarter of 1997 was 8,455. In the last quarter of 1998 the figure was 14,400. After the then record year for asylum claims in 1991, the previous Administration introduced legislation to control abuse of
758WThere was a temporary drop in asylum claims after the Asylum and Immigration Act 1996 but the figures have since increased. We inherited the current asylum legislation and will seek to amend it in a new Bill shortly.
the asylum system. It temporarily reduced the numbers applying after the Asylum and Immigration Appeals Act 1993, but those figures started to rise to similar levels after a time.
After 1996, new legislation produced another temporary reduction in claims, but since then the figures have risen again. The asylum legislation currently in place is that of previous Administrations. The present Administration will introduce a Bill to amend it shortly.
759W
§ Sir Norman FowlerTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will estimate the number of dependants accompanying those who made applications for political asylum in each of the last two years. [69301]
§ Mr. Mike O'BrienIt is estimated that in 1997, 8,980 dependants accompanied applicants for asylum in the United Kingdom. The estimate for 1998 is 11,970. This information relates to dependants applying with the principal applicant or arriving subsequently, before the principal application was decided. It excludes dependants who arrive after the principal decision.