§ Mr. MalinsTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list each site which he is considering as a possible accommodation centre for asylum seekers. [75410]
§ Beverley HughesOn 14 May, we announced a shortlist of the following six sites:
- Defence Storage & Distribution Centre (DSDC) Bicester, Oxfordshire
- RAF Newton, Nottinghamshire
- Throckmorton Airfield, Worcestershire
- AirWest, Edinburgh
- Sully Hospital, Cardiff
- Hemswell Cliff, Lincolnshire
Initial decisions1,2,3 made on applications for asylum in the UK, lodged at port and in-country, excluding dependants Total Initial Decisions Grants of asylum Grants of ELR Total refusals Granted asylum or exceptional leave under backlog criteria4,5 Refused under backlog criteria4,6 Total Port In Country Total Port In Country Total Port In Country Total Port In Country Total Port In Country Total Port In Country 1997 36,045 14,845 21,200 3,985 1,475 2,510 3,115 1,525 1,590 28,945 11,845 17,100 — — — — — — 1998 31,570 14,650 16,920 5,345 2,100 3,245 3,910 2,505 1,405 22,315 10,045 12,270 — — — — — — 1999 33,720 17,335 16,385 7,815 3,565 4,250 2,465 1,950 515 11,025 7,420 3,605 11,140 3,830 7,310 1,275 570 705 2000 109,205 52,775 56,435 10,375 5,475 4,900 11,495 6,410 5,085 75,680 36,990 38,690 10,325 3,530 6,795 1,335 370 965 2000p 119,015 38,755 80,260 11,180 3,685 7,495 19,845 7,230 12,610 87,990 27,840 60,150 — — — — — Notes:
1 Decisions do not necessarily relate to applications received in the same period.
2 Figures rounded to the nearest 5.
3 Information is of initial decisions, excluding the outcome of appeals or other subsequent decisions.
4 Cases decided under measures aimed at reducing the pre 1996 asylum application backlog.
5 Includes cases where asylum or exceptional leave has been granted under the backlog criteria.
6 Includes some cases where the application has been refused on substantive grounds. P Provisional figures.
§ Mr. GerrardTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if children with special educational needs who are living in accommodation centres will receive full-time education in(a) a local school or (b) the accommodation centre. [76146]
§ Beverley HughesThere will be an initial assessment of learning needs when children enter an accommodation centre. If any children are identified as having needs that can only be meet outside the centre, then the Local Education Authorities (LEA) will be able to arrange for suitable education to be provided. However, we believe there will be very few such children. Most children with Special Educational Needs (SEN) should be educated with their peers within the centre, just as other children with SEN are mostly taught in mainstream schools.
§ Mr. GerrardTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the categories of children who will be considered as special cases for the purpose of education provision in accommodation centres. [76145]
94WSite searching has continued since we made our initial announcement, as we said it would. We shall not be putting into the public domain details of such sites unless and until they are considered to be serious prospect for the siting of an accommodation centre.
§ Mr. GerrardTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list for each of the last five years for which statistics are available the number of asylum applicants(a) granted refugee status, (b) granted exceptional leave to remain and (c) refused, classified in each case as (i) post or (ii) in-country applications. [75484]
§ Beverley HughesThe information available is shown in the table.
The initial decision outcome data shown may reflect the different mix of nationalities who apply at port and in-country as well as any difference between port and in-country applications in the type of cases. In-country applications constitute a mix between those who apply at the Asylum Screening Unit in Croydon, postal applications, and those who apply through Local Enforcement Offices (including efforts by South East Ports Surveillance Team and as a result of operations against illegal working).
§ Beverley HughesIt is important to take account of those children whose individual needs cannot be met in the centres and that is why the Government has made provision for flexibility in the Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Bill. Having said that, those who are gifted but lack good English are likely to benefit from the intensive language support they will get in the centre, and those with good English should also be catered for in that the centre will be providing a wide curriculum at all levels.
Parents, and the Centres themselves, will be able to ask Local Education Authorities (LEA) to carry out a Special Educational Needs (SEN) assessment, which will help determine whether a centre can make suitable provision for particular pupils with SEN or whether additional support from LEA services is required on a continuing (rather than occasional) basis by way of a statement. If a statement is made, the child may continue to be taught in the Centre with additional support from the LEA. Alternatively, if this is not possible, placement in a special school may be arranged. LEAs will also be able to conclude that a mainstream 95W school placement is necessary, for example in circumstances where local specialist provision is made wholly in units in such schools.
Most children with SEN should be educated with their peers within the centre, just as other children with SEN are mostly taught in mainstream schools.