§ Mr. Peter AinsworthTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on his plans to develop an inspection and reporting centre for asylum seekers in Horley. [139309]
§ Mrs. RochePlans for the establishment of an immigration office in Horley are currently on hold following difficulties in agreeing the terms of the lease with the landlord of the premises. The Immigration Service is currently pursuing alternatives but no final decisions have yet been made.
§ Mr. BurnsTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the cost in the latest year for which figures are available of asylum seekers awaiting a decision on whether they have a right to remain in the UK; and how many asylum seekers who have been refused permission to remain in the UK have not been removed from the country(a) because they are awaiting removal and (b) because they cannot be traced. [138870]
§ Mrs. RocheIn 1999–2000, the Home Office took over financial responsibility for asylum support costs, although asylum seekers continued to be supported by either the Department of Social Security (DSS) or through local authorities. In 1999–2000, the cost of supporting asylum seekers in the United Kingdom, while they awaited an initial decision, appeal or removal, was £537 million—including £315 million paid to the DSS and £222 million paid to local authorities for single adult and family grant 91W payments. The Department of Health also incurred an additional cost of £52 million for supporting unaccompanied minor asylum seekers in the United Kingdom, bringing the total cost in 1999–2000, for supporting asylum seekers to £590 million. Cost figures for supporting asylum seekers, which exclude cases awaiting removal, are not currently available.
I regret that current information on the number of asylum seekers who have been refused permission to remain in the United Kingdom and have not yet been removed from the country is not available.
All cost figures are rounded to the nearest £1 million.
§ Mr. LidingtonTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many applications for asylum from people who came to the United Kingdom from Kosovo under the United Nations Humanitarian Evacuation Programme and medical evacuation programmes have been determined; in how many cases the claim was(a) accepted and (b) refused; in how many such cases the applicant was granted exceptional leave to remain; how many such cases now await (i) an initial decision and (ii) an appeal; and if he will make a statement. [139383]
§ Mrs. RocheThe information is not available in the precise format requested. A total of 514 principal applicants have submitted applications for asylum which, because they also encompass general humanitarian reasons for wanting to stay here, are being considered as dual applications for asylum and further exceptional leave. Of these, 103 principal applicants have been decided with two being granted asylum along with five dependants, and 101 have been refused. No applicant who had applied for asylum has yet been granted exceptional leave. A total of 411 principal applicants are awaiting an initial decision on their cases.
Information on asylum appeals is not separately available but 93 principal Kosovan Humanitarian Evacuation Programme applicants have outstanding appeals against various refusal decisions.
§ Mr. LidingtonTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department in how many and what percentage of appealed asylum and in-country immigration applications in(a) 1999–2000 and (b) 2000–01 to date the decision of his Department was upheld. [139363]
§ Mrs. RocheThe available information is given in the table.
IND decisions upheld by Adjudicators at the Immigration Appellate Authority Asylum appeals Non-asylum appeals Determined Upheld Determined1 Upheld1 1999–2000 Number 15,635 8,455 8,805 n/a Percentage 100 63 — — April to September 2000–01 Number 8,455 6,950 3,455 1,990 Percentage 100 82 100 58 1In-country and entry clearance cases are not separately identifiable in the statistics Note:
Figures exclude any subsequent appeals
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§ Mr. LidingtonTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many non-asylum offenders have been removed from this country during 2000–01 to date. [139386]
§ Mrs. RocheBetween 1 April and 30 September 2000, 2,440 immigration offenders who had not made an asylum application at any stage were removed from the United Kingdom. This figure is provisional.
§ Mr. LidingtonTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what his current target date is to clear the backlog of asylum cases awaiting an initial decision; what plans he has to review that target date; and if he will make a statement. [139365]
§ Mrs. RocheWe have no present plans to review our current objective of reducing the backlog of these cases to frictional levels by April 2001.
§ Mr. LidingtonTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what his estimate is of the cost to his Department of asylum seeker support in(a) 2000–01 to date and (b) the financial year 2000–01 in total; what the cost to public funds was of asylum seeker support in 1999–2000; and if he will make a statement. [139368]
§ Mrs. RocheExpenditure by the Immigration and Nationality Directorate for asylum support from 1 April 2000 to 30 September 2000 was £317.4 million. For the financial year 2000–01, the Home Office has a provisional allocation of £604 million for supporting asylum seekers, excluding provision for supporting unaccompanied asylum seeking children.
The comparable cost in 1999–2000 to the Home Office budget of supporting asylum seekers in the United Kingdom was £537 million. The Department of Health incurred an additional cost of £52 million for supporting unaccompanied asylum seeking children, bringing the total cost in 1999–2000 for supporting asylum seekers to £590 million.
All cost figures are rounded to the nearest £ million.
§ Mr. LidingtonTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many decisions case workers at the Immigration and Nationality Directorate made on average per week in(a) asylum and (b) immigration cases, in each quarter of (i) 1997, (ii) 1998, (iii) 1999 and (iv) 2000 to the end of the third quarter. [139369]
§ Mrs. RocheThe information requested is given in the table.
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Average weekly decisions Period Asylum cases1 Immigration cases2 1997 1st quarter 750 5,320 2nd quarter 785 5,030 3rd quarter 715 4,910 4th quarter 645 4,240 1998 1st quarter 705 4,580 2nd quarter 580 5,040 3rd quarter 615 5,660 4th quarter 525 5,190 1999 1st quarter 380 4,070 2nd quarter 1,040 4,990 3rd quarter 600 5,680
Average weekly decisions Period Asylum cases1 Immigration cases1 4th quarter 575 7,040 2000 1st quarter 1,790 7,720 2nd quarter 2,375 8,300 3rd quarter 2,060 8,600 1Including pre-1996 applications decided since 1999 under the backlog clearance exercise 2Covering after-entry extensions of stay (including cases dealt with by the Public Caller Unit which did not involve a decision), European cases, travel documents, citizenship and right of abode
§ Mr. LidingtonTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how may asylum applications from nationals of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia are awaiting(a) an initial decision and (b) an appeal. [139378]
§ Mrs. RocheThe specific information required is not available. However, as at the end of 1999, 15,720 nationals of the Former Yugoslavia, which includes the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, were awaiting an initial decision.
The number of applications received from Federal Republic of Yugoslavia nationals between January and September 2000 was 5,065.
§ Mr. LidingtonTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the average unit cost in 1999–2000 was and what the average unit cost is for 2000–01 of(a) asylum after-entry casework, (b) nationality casework and (c) enforcement casework, expressed in (i) cash and (ii) real terms. [139371]
§ Mrs. RocheFor the purposes of monitoring the performance of the Immigration and Nationality Directorate under the terms of the Casework Programme contract with Siemens Business Services, the unit cost of a basic casework decision is determined each month. The unit cost excludes some overheads. The costs of more complex decisions may be estimated by combining the cost of the basic decision was £38.66 for the period April 1999 to March 2000 and £34.75 for the period April 2000 to September 2000. The costs of more complex decisions may, therefore, be expressed as given in the table.
£ 1998–2000 2000–01 2000–01 Real terms Type of output Cash Cash Real terms (1999–2000 prices) After Entry Casework 49.19 44.13 43.69 Asylum Casework 350.26 314.84 311.72 Nationality Casework 58.76 52.82 52.30 Deportation Casework 1,382.10 1,242.31 1,230.01 Illegal Entry Casework 636.73 572.33 566.66 These costs exclude any productivity-related payments that may subsequently be due to Siemens Business Services.
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§ Mr. LidingtonTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many failed asylum seekers have been removed by(a) the Ports Directorate and (b) the Enforcement Directorate during 2000–01 to date; how many failed asylum seekers were removed by each Directorate in 1999–2000; and if he will make a statement. [139362]
§ Mrs. RocheThe information available on the number of failed asylum seekers removed from the United Kingdom, in the financial year 1999–2000, and from 1 April to 30 September in the current year is given in the table.
The Government have made clear their determination to increase substantially the number of such removals and significant additional resources are being allocated to achieving this. We have set a target of 12,000 removals in the current financial year and 30,000 for the financial year 2001–02.
Asylum seekers removed1 from the United Kingdom 1 April 1999 to 31 March 20001,2 1 April to 30 September 20001,2,3 Port asylum removals 5,080 3,020 Enforcement asylum removals 2,830 1,850 Total 7,910 4,870 1Includes voluntary departures 2Excludes dependants 3Figures are provisional and subject to revision 4Includes Port and Enforcement departures under the Voluntary Assisted Returns programme
§ Mr. LidingtonTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department in what percentage of initial asylum decisions taken since 1 April 2000 the decision was taken within eight weeks of the application being lodged; in how many of those cases the decision to reject the application was on non-compliance grounds; and if he will make a statement. [139370]
§ Mrs. RocheOf all applications lodged between 1 April 2000 and 30 September 2000, 32 per cent. had an initial decision within two months, of which 57 per cent. were refused on non-compliance grounds. This is on course to meet the target of making initial decisions in 70 per cent. of cases by March 2001.
§ Mr. LidingtonTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what his target for April 2001 is for the percentage of initial asylum decisions to be decided within eight weeks of the application being lodged. [139367]
§ Mrs. RocheThe target, published in the Immigration and Nationality Directorate Business Plan for 2000–01, is to decide 70 per cent. of new substantive asylum applications within two months by March 2001.
§ Mr. LidingtonTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many nationals of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia have been granted(a) refugee status and (b) exceptional leave to (i) enter and (ii) remain since 1 May 1997. [139377]
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§ Mrs. RocheThe information requested on grants of asylum and exceptional leave to remain is given in the table.
Nationals of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia granted asylum and exceptional leave to remain Grants of asylum Grants of ELR 1997 January 75 * February 150 * March 160 * April 140 * May 95 * June 90 40 July 100 35 August 100 45 September 120 40 October 145 40 November 85 * December 95 5 Total 1,355 210 1998 January 120 * February 95 * March 100 15 April 100 20 May 120 10 June 110 5 July 50 20 August 50 — September 40 — November 80 — December 10 — Total 935 75 1999 January n/a n/a February n/a n/a March n/a n/a April n/a n/a May n/a n/a June n/a n/a July n/a n/a August n/a n/a September n/a n/a October n/a n/a November n/a n/a December n/a n/a Total 6,290 85 2000 January n/a n/a February n/a n/a March n/a n/a April 10 165 May 20 50 June 25 20 July 30 35 August 45 40 September 30 70 Total to date 160 385 Notes:
1. Figures rounded to the nearest 5, with '*' = 1 or 2
2. Includes some who arrived in the UK under the Humanitarian Evacuation Programme
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§ Mr. LidingtonTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many non-asylum after-entry decisions were made(a) in 1999–2000 and (b) in 2000–01 to date. [139364]
§ Mrs. RocheThe numbers of non-asylum after-entry decisions, excluding those in respect of European Economic Area cases, were 230,000 in 1999–2000 and 140,000 in the period April to September 2000. These figures include cases dealt with by the Public Caller Unit which did not involve a decision, such as the return of a passport following a withdrawn application and the transfer of conditions from an old to a new passport.
§ Mr. LidingtonTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many and what percentage of detailed non-asylum immigration examinations have culminated in refusal during 2000–01 to date. [139360]
§ Mrs. RocheAs at 31 October, 20,972 cases of detailed non-asylum immigration examinations have resulted in refusal since 1 April 2000. This is 64 per cent. of the total number of cases where detailed examinations have occurred.
§ Mr. LidingtonTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many nationality decisions were taken in 1999–2000, how many have been taken in 2000–01 to date; and if he will make a statement. [139381]
§ Mrs. RocheThe number of decisions taken in nationality cases in the period April 1999 to March 2000 was 66,499. As at 31 October 2000, 53,480 decisions have been taken in the period April to October 2000.
§ Mr. LidingtonTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what his latest estimate is of the gross expenditure, receipts and net expenditure of the Immigration and Nationality Directorate(a) during the financial year 2000–01 to date and (b) for the entire financial year 2000–01; what were the equivalent figures for the financial year 1999–2000; and if he will make a statement. [139385]
§ Mrs. RocheGross expenditure for the Immigration and Nationality Directorate for the period 1 April to 31 October 2000 was £355.5 million, receipts were £14.2 million and net expenditure was £341.3 million. For the full financial year 2000£01, the Immigration and Nationality Directorate is provisionally forecasting gross expenditure of £1,292 million, receipts of £33.5 million and net expenditure of £1,258.5 million.
For the period 1 April to 31 October 1999, gross expenditure was £128.8 million, receipts were £5.5 million and net expenditure was £123.3 million. For the financial year 1999–2000, gross expenditure was £804.6 million, receipts were £10.5 million and net expenditure was £794.1 million.
Information for the financial year 2000–01 is not directly comparable with that for 1999–2000. There has been a substantial increase in the Immigration and Nationality Directorate"s budget for processing asylum 97W applications, expanding the detention estate and for supporting asylum seekers, including some costs that fell elsewhere in 1999–2000.
§ Mr. LidingtonTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the backlog in the Immigration and Nationality Directorate is for(a) general and settlement cases, (b) European cases, (c) deportation and illegal entry cases and (d) nationality cases. [139375]
§ Mrs. RocheThe information requested is given in the table.
Cases awaiting initial consideration at 1 October 2000 Type of case Number General and settlement 400 European 10 Deportation and illegal entry 19,700 Nationality1 276,000 1Total cases awaiting a decision 2Provisional figure
§ Mr. LidingtonTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many airline liaison officers are in post. [139358]
§ Mrs. RocheOn 1 November 2000, 21 airline liaison officers were in post at 20 different locations around the world.