§ Mr. ColemanTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many asylum seekers from Somalia have been deported in each of the last 12 months; and if he will make a statement. [85681]
§ Beverley HughesThe latest available data for removals of Somali nationals who have sought asylum at some stage are for the 12 months to June 2002 and are given in the table.
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Removal of Somali nationals1,2 Month Number July 2001 5 August 2001 0 September 2001 1— October 2001 1— November 2001 1— December 2001 1— January 2002 5 February 2002 1— March 2002 5 April 2002 10 May 2002 5 June 2002 1— 1 Figures are rounded to nearest five with—denoting 1 or 2. Notes:
1. Estimates of asylum removals by nationality—principal applicants removed only. Includes persons departing 'voluntarily' after the initiation of enforcement action against them, and persons leaving under Assisted Voluntary Returns Programmes run by the International Organization for Migration.
Removal is not necessarily to country of origin.
Data on removals by nationality in the period July to September 2002 are due to be published at the end of February 2003 on the Home Office web-site:www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/whatsnew 1.html.
§ Mrs. Anne CampbellTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how long it has taken on average since 1997 for the successful asylum seeker to receive his or her official status letter, once indefinite leave to remain has been granted; what is the longest time any successful asylum seeker has had to wait for his or her official status letter since 1997; what the target time is for official status letters to be sent out; and if the average wait for such documents is decreasing. [86135]
§ Beverley HughesInformation on the processing times for individual types of application is not recorded centrally and could only be obtained by scrutiny of individual case files, at disproportionate cost. Official status letters are normally sent out without delay following the decision to grant asylum, except where the asylum claimant is no longer in contact with the Home Office.
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§ Mr. CoxTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if the prison service is holding asylum seekers in prisons in England and Wales; and if he will make a statement. [86827]
§ Beverley HughesOur policy on the detention of asylum seekers in prison accommodation was set out in our White Paper "Secure Borders, Safe Haven—Integration with Diversity in Modern Britain". We made it clear that, although the routine use of prison accommodation for immigration detainees had ended, there would remain a need to hold small numbers of individuals, including individuals who may have sought asylum at some stage, in prison for reasons of security and control. There has been no change in that policy.