§ Mr. ColemanTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will introduce a requirement that all asylum interviews are tape-recorded. [67094]
§ Mr. Mike O'BrienMy officials are considering the practical implications of piloting the tape-recording of asylum interviews. I will advise the House of my conclusions shortly.
§ Mr. ColemanTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) when he expects to have disposed of the outstanding applications for asylum made between 1 July 1993 and 31 December 1995; [67110]
(2) when he expects to have disposed of the outstanding asylum applications made before 1 July 1993. [67096]
§ Mr. Mike O'BrienI would refer my hon. Friend to the reply I gave to the hon. Member for Hertsmere (Mr. Clappison) on 18 January 1999,Official Report, column 332.
§ Mr. ColemanTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will publish guidelines to staff on implementing the new policy of considering compassionate circumstances at all stages of an asylum case. [67095]
§ Mr. Mike O'BrienAs we made clear in our White Paper "Fairer, Faster and Firmer—A Modem Approach to Immigration and Asylum" published in July, we are developing criteria which would allow due weight to be given to compassionate factors in cases involving children, including cases of asylum claims, where refusal of leave to remain would otherwise be the appropriate course. Once the criteria are decided, instructions given to staff will be published.
§ Mr. ColemanTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the average length of time from asylum application to initial decision in each year since 1980. [67117]
§ Mr. Mike O'BrienInformation from 1984 onwards is given in the table. Regretfully, information for earlier years is not available.198W
Average decision times in months, 1984–1998 1 Year of decision All applications 2 Applications lodged pre-July 1993 Applications lodged post-July 1993 1984 3 3 n/a 1985 9 9 n/a 1986 13 13 n/a 1987 14 14 n/a 1988 18 18 n/a 1989 13 13 n/a 1990 13 13 n/a 1991 16 16 n/a 1992 20 20 n/a 1993 20 20 2 1994 17 28 6 1995 18 42 9 1996 17 53 12 1997 22 65 15 1998 17 79 12 1 The average length of time (in months) relates to the year in which the decisions were made. 2 Excluding dependants
§ Mr. ColemanTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the lowest Civil Service grade at which a decision to refuse asylum may be made. [67113]
§ Mr. Mike O'BrienAsylum decisions are taken by trained officers at the appropriate grade depending on the complexity of the issues raised. For the majority of decisions, a decision to refuse would not be taken below the level of executive officer, but in some less complex cases a decision to refuse would be taken by an administrative officer.
§ Mr. ColemanTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if an individual who has been granted exceptional leave to remain will be entitled to apply for reunion with family members abroad within four years. [67093]
§ Mr. Mike O'BrienUnder the family reunion concession, those who have been granted exceptional leave to remain in the United Kingdom may be joined by their pre-existing spouse and minor dependant children after they have spent four years in the United Kingdom provided that they can meet the maintenance and accommodation requirements of the Immigration Rules. Consideration is also given to allowing other family members to join a sponsor in the United Kingdom if there are compelling compassionate reasons for doing so.
§ Mr. ColemanTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many asylum applications made between 1 July 1993 and 31 December 1995 have been disposed of to date; and with what result. [67111]
§ Mr. Mike O'BrienThe information is given in the table.
199W
Asylum applications made between 1 July 1993 and 31 December 1995 by status as at the end of 1998 1 Case status as at 31 December 1998 Granted asylum (%) 6 Granted exceptional leave (%) 13 Refused after full consideration (%) 69 Refused on 3rd Country grounds (%) 4 Para 340 refusal2 (%) 8
Asylum applications made between 1 July 1993 and 31 December 1995 by status as at the end of 1998 1 Case status as at 31 December 1998 Total with decisions3 62,000 Undecided3 25,800 Total applications3 87,700 1 Percentages are estimates, rounded to the nearest whole number, based on cases for which information is recorded. 2 Paragraph 340 of Immigration Rules. For failure to provide evidence to support the asylum claim within a reasonable period, including failure to respond to invitation to interview. 3 Rounded to the nearest 100, excluding dependants.