§ Mr. LidingtonTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate he has made of the number of asylum seekers whose applications for asylum were refused who(a) were removed from the United Kingdom as a result of enforcement action, (b) left the United Kingdom voluntarily after enforcement action had been initiated, (c) left the United Kingdom voluntarily otherwise than as a result of enforcement action and (d) absconded, in each of the last 10 years for which figures are available. [109213]
§ Mrs. RocheThe available information on asylum removals and voluntary departures is given in the table. As requested, the information provided relates only to enforcement action and therefore excludes removals and voluntary departures of port asylum applicants under port procedures. There are no estimates of the numbers of failed asylum seekers who depart voluntarily before enforcement action has been initiated.
The latest figure for the number of known asylum absconders is 20,000. This is a snapshot, taken from the immigration and nationality directorate (IND) port and enforcement databases at the end of November 1998, of those persons (excluding dependants) who have applied for asylum at some point and who have breached the conditions of their temporary admission, temporary release or restriction order, or are otherwise found to be out of contact with IND. Some persons recorded as absconders may have left the United Kingdom without the knowledge of IND.
Removals and voluntary departures1 of asylum applicants, excluding dependants, as a result of enforcement2 action, 1992–993 Removed Departed voluntarily1 Total 1992 4— 4— 390 1993 4— 4— 580 1994 700 170 870 1995 1,000 290 1,290 1996 1,720 430 2,150 1997 2,340 710 3,060 1998 2,720 720 3,440 19993 4— 4— 2,750 1 Covers only those persons departing 'voluntarily' after enforcement action had been initiated. 2 Deportation and illegal entry action. Does not include removals and voluntary departures of port asylum applicants under port procedures. 3 1999 data are provisional. 4 Data not available. Note:
All figures are rounded to 10.
§ Mr. CorbynTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what his estimate is of the number of asylum seekers held in detention. [108878]
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§ Mrs. RocheA total of 985 persons were detained in immigration detention centres and prison establishments in the United Kingdom solely under Immigration Act powers on 31 December 1999. This figure is not recorded in such a way as to identify those who had applied for asylum at some point.
The latest reliable snapshot of detained asylum seekers relates to those asylum applicants detained in immigration detention centres, prison establishments and police cells solely under Immigration Act powers as at 30 December 1998 for port applicants and 4 January 1999 for in-country applicants. On those dates, 741 such persons were recorded.
§ Mr. TynanTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what funds will be made available to assist in the Asylum Seekers Dispersal Programme with regard to(a) recurring revenue and (b) capital costs to local authorities. [108877]
§ Mrs. RocheIn England and Wales for the period 1 April—5 December 1999, local authorities may recover costs associated with supporting asylum seekers subject to unit cost limits of £140 per week for single adults and £240 per week for families. In addition, local authorities may reclaim a maximum of £10 per week for capital investment to bring accommodation on-stream. Financial arrangements for the period 6 December 1999 to 31 March 2000 are still being discussed with the Local Government Association.
In Scotland, local authorities will be able to reclaim at the rate of £165 per week per person in this financial year.
Where local authorities provide accommodation after 1 April 2000 for the National Asylum Support Service, this will be on the basis of a contract between the Home Office and the local authority or local authority consortia concerned.
§ Mr. LidingtonTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he expects the backlog of unprocessed asylum applications to be cleared. [109210]
§ Mrs. RocheWe remain committed to meeting the White Paper targets of clearing the backlog of asylum applications by April 2001.