HC Deb 29 March 1999 vol 328 cc547-8W
Mr. Clappison

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to change the time limit for further representations following interviews in the case of unaccompanied child asylum applicants. [78597]

Mr. Mike O'Brien

Children are an extremely vulnerable group and therefore, unaccompanied children will not normally be interviewed about the substance of their claim if it is possible to obtain sufficient information to decide the claim from written representations or other sources.

Mr. Clappison

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many persons were(a) convicted of an offence under (i) section 24 and (ii) section 25 of the Immigration Act 1971 and (b) sentenced to imprisonment as a result of such a conviction in the last year for which figures are available. [78605]

Mr. Mike O'Brien

Information for 1997 held on the Home Office Court Proceedings Database is given in the table.

In the event that an interview was necessary in a particular case, normal time limits would apply, but as in all other cases an extension would normally be granted if there was a good reason for the delay, and full account would be taken of the applicant's vulnerability. Obviously, any undue delay in deciding an application once the circumstances are known would not be in the child's interest.