§ Lord Eltonasked Her Majesty's Government:
Further to the debate on asylum seekers on 1 March, how many asylum seekers are known to have been removed or to have departed voluntarily in each of the months recorded in Asylum Statistics: December 1999 United Kingdom, published by the Research Development Section. [HL1380]
§ Lord Bassam of BrightonProvisional information relating to removals and voluntary departures for December 1998 to December 1999, under port and enforcement procedures of persons who have applied for asylum at some stage, is given in the table. Failed asylum seekers are only removed once all their rights of appeal in the United Kingdom have been exhausted. It should be noted that the figures may include some persons who withdrew their asylum application or appeal before a decision or determination had been reached.
Removals and voluntary departures of asylum applicants, excluding dependants, by month December 1998 to December 1999 Month Removals and Voluntary Departures1.2.P December 1998 720 January 1999 650 February 1999 585 March 1999 615 April 1999 600 May 1999 625 June 1999 610 July 1999 660 August 1999 630 September 1999 685 October 1999 710 November 1999 635 December 1999 640 1 For port asylum applicants, voluntary departures are included up to and including the point of notification of the decision on the asylum application and those persons who have had their asylum application refused and leave the country before they have exhausted their rights of appeal. 2 For in-country applicants, the figures include voluntary departures following enforcement action but exclude all other voluntary departures. P Figures are provisional, revised and rounded to the nearest five.