§ Mr. ClappisonTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to his oral statement of
Initial decisions made on applications received, October to December 19991,2,3 October November December Total decisions 2,630 2,650 2,320 Cases considered under normal procedures Recognised as a refugee and granted asylum 175 230 170 Not recognised as a refugee but granted exceptional leave 175 215 120 Refusals: Total refused 1,250 1,410 1,045 Refused asylum and exceptional leave after full consideration 975 1,005 665 Refused on safe third country grounds 145 200 100 Refused on non-compliance grounds4 130 210 280 Backlog clearance exercise Granted exceptional leave under backlog criteria5, 6 790 715 920 Refused on non-compliance grounds under backlog criteria5,7 240 80 65 1 Figures are rounded to the nearest five. 2 Information is of initial determination decisions, excluding the outcome of appeals or other subsequent decisions. 3 Provisional figures. 4 Paragraph 340 (paragraph 180F prior to 1 October 1994) of the Immigration Rules, for failure to provide evidence to support the asylum claim within a reasonable period, including failure to respond to invitation to interview to establish identity. 5 Cases decided under pragmatic measures aimed at reducing the pre 1996 asylum application backlog. 6 Includes a small number of cases where asylum has been granted. 7 Includes a small number of cases where the application has been refused on substantive grounds.
§ Mr. LidingtonTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many asylum decisions were made by his Department in each week of January. [111344]
§ Mrs. RocheStatistics on asylum decisions are not available on a weekly basis. Statistics showing how many decisions were made in January will be published via the internet at http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/index.htm on 25 February 2000.
§ Mr. LidingtonTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to alter the target of clearing all current asylum cases by October. [111345]
§ Mrs. RocheWe remain committed to the White Paper target of reducing the backlog of initial asylum decisions to frictional levels by April 2001. Over 250 new asylum decision-makers have already been recruited and more are planned. We are close to achieving 4,000 asylum decisions a month and we are aiming to make 8,000 a month by the late spring. At current intake levels, we expect to make major inroads into the backlog by the end of the year.
§ Mr. LidingtonTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the statistical source for his oral statement of 2 February 2000,Official Report, column 1064, that his Department is "close to achieving 4,000 asylum decisions a month". [111355]
816W2 February 2000, Official Report, columns 1057–67, concerning the number of asylum decisions made each month, how many asylum decisions were made in each of the last three months for which figures are available; and if he will give full particulars of dates and types of decision. [110670]
§ Mrs. RocheThe available information is given in the table. The January figures will be published via the internet at http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/index.htm. It would not be possible to give full details of the dates of each decision without the examination of individual case records.
§ Mrs. RocheProvisional information from management sources indicated that the number of asylum decisions in January would be close to 4,000. The actual figure will be published on 25 February.
§ Mr. LoughtonTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many applications for asylum were received from applicants travelling from Pakistan in each of the last five years. [111057]
§ Mrs. RocheThe information requested is given in the table.
Asylum applications 1 received in the United Kingdom, excluding dependents, 1995 to 1999, nationals of Pakistan Year Number 1995 2,915 1996 1,915 1997 1,615 1998 1,975 1999 2,615 1 Figures rounded to nearest five
§ Mr. TynanTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department by what method the number of asylum seekers for dispersal to Scotland has been calculated. [111041]
§ Mrs. RocheWe have made no such calculations.
817WWe have given indications to local authority consortiums of the total amount of accommodation we are likely to need in 2000–01. We are now in the process of acquiring accommodation both from the public sector and the private sector in order to be able to accommodate the anticipated demand.
§ Mr. TynanTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to use the powers under the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 to direct local authorities in Scotland to take asylum seekers. [111042]
§ Mrs. RocheI have no plans at this stage to exercise the powers in the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 to direct any local authorities to take asylum seekers.
§ Mr. TynanTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many asylum seekers have been subject to dispersal from the South East of England; and how many have been dispersed to each local authority area in(a) England, (b) Wales and (c) Scotland. [111054]
§ Mrs. RocheUnder the interim arrangements, which came into force on 6 December, a total of 1,124 asylum seekers were dispersed from London and Kent up to 2 February 2000. They were all dispersed to local authorities across England. The table reflects how many have been subject to dispersal in each region/local authority:
818W
Dispersal by region/local authority Number North West Liverpool 210 Bolton 34 Blackburn 24 Manchester 28 Oldham 22 Blackpool 7 Salford 33 Wigan 34 Bury 34 Rochdale 35 Trafford 13 Tameside 13 Stockport 13 Wales 0 North East Calderdale 7 Newcastle 34 Sunderland 14 Redcar 11 North Tyneside 8 Gateshead 8 Middlesbrough 4 South Tyneside 4 West Midlands Wolverhampton 23 Birmingham 10 Dudley 5 Warwick 2 Coventry 1 South Central Basingstoke 16 Portsmouth 41 Bournemouth 9
Dispersal by region/local authority Number Yorkshire/Humberside Wakefield 83 Kirklees 52 Sheffield 38 Barnsley 35 Leeds 22 Grimsby 58 Rotherham 11 Bradford 9 East 0 East Midlands Derby 48 Nottingham 6 South West 0 The interim arrangements do not apply in Scotland where existing arrangements for the support continue to have effect until the new scheme under Part VI of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 comes into force.