§ Simon HughesTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the average cost of providing(a) cash-only support and (b) full support was per asylum seeker in the last 12 months; and if he will make a statement. [72931]
§ Beverley HughesThe information is not available in the form requested. The average cost of supporting an asylum seeker for one week was:-
£122* for a single person and,
£278* for a family.
Those receiving cash only support receive the following amounts each week.
Levels of support with effect from 8 April 2002
Qualifying couple £59.26 Lone parent aged 18 or over £37.77 Single person aged 25 or over £37.77 Single Person aged at least 18 but under 25 £29.89 Person aged at least 16 but under 18 except a member of a qualifying couple) £32.50 Person aged under 16 £33.50 *Rounded to nearest £1
10W
§ Hilary BennThe available data are given in the table which shows the number of people received into Prison Service custody as untried prisoners every quarter since April 2001.
§ Simon HughesTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate he has made of the extra cost of providing full support to those asylum seekers currently receiving cash-only support; and if he will make a statement. [72932]
§ Beverley HughesThere are currently no plans to restrict the ability for asylum seekers to apply for cash only support. If in the future it is decided to do this a full appraisal of the costs and benefits involved will be undertaken.
§ Mr. LilleyTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many individuals have been detected through the matching of fingerprints as having made two or more applications for asylum in each year since 1993. [73005]
§ Beverley HughesI refer the right hon. Member to the answer I gave on 18 July 2002,Official Report, column 552W, which provided a cumulative total of the number of individuals detected since 1993. I regret that information requested is not available in any other form.
§ Mr. ChopeTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proportion of failed asylum seekers were removed in the last year for which figures are available; and what the benchmark is against which delivery of the improvement, set out in the Public Service Agreement for which he is responsible, is to be measured. [71610]
§ Beverley Hughes[holding answer 19 July 2002]: The proportion of those removed in 2001–02 that were refused in the same period is only available by examination of individual case files at disproportionate costs.
11,500 failed asylum seekers and their dependants were removed in the last financial year.
As part of the Public Service Agreement process, the Treasury and spending departments agree, in the Technical Notes, the definition of the target and how its achievement will be measured. Following the same process as last time, the Spending Review 2002 Technical Notes will be agreed with the Treasury during the summer and published in the autumn. [72732]
§ Mr. ColemanTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many asylum seekers previously placed in Yarl's Wood detention centre are now detained in Her Majesty's prisons; and if he will make a statement. [43240]
11W
§ Beverley HughesImmigration detainees who are assessed to pose a control and security risk may be transferred from Immigration Service removal centres to prison accommodation in line with established policy. This will include a number of detainees who were held at Yarl's Wood at the time of the incident together with individuals held at other removal centres. In this respect, as in all others, detainees who were held at Yarl's Wood are not being treated differently to detainees held elsewhere, nor are they being recorded separately. Exact figures for the number of former Yarl's Wood detainees currently held in prison accommodation could be obtained only by examination of individual records at disproportionate cost.
§ Mr. WrayTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many asylum seekers were dispersed to Glasgow in 2001; and how many applications for asylum since 1997 have been(a) granted and (b) refused. [46982]
Table 1: Applications received for asylum in the United Kingdom, and initial decision(1)(2) 1997—Quarter 1 2002 Cases considered under normal procedures(5) Backlog clearance exercise(6) Applications received(3) Initial Decisions(4) Granted asylum Granted ELR Refused Granted asylum or ELR under backlog criteria Refused under backlog criteria(7) 1997 32,500 36,045 3,985 3,115 28,945 — — 1998 46,015 31,570 5,345 3,910 22,315 — — 1999 71,160 33,720 7,815 2,465 11,025 11,140 1,275 2000(p) 80,315 109,205 10,375 11,495 75,680 10,325 1,335 2001(p) 71,700 118,195 10,960 19,510 87,725 — — 2002(8)(p) 19,520 23,105 2,085 6,060 14,965 — — Total 321,210 351,845 40,565 46,555 240,655 21,470 2,605 (1) Figures rounded to the nearest 5, with * =1 or 2
(2) Decision figures do not necessarily relate to applications received in the same period.
(3) May exclude some cases lodged at Local Enforcement Offices between January and March 2000.
(4) Information is of initial decisions, excluding the outcome of appeals or other subsequent decisions.
(5) Cases considered under normal procedures may include some cases decided under the backlog criteria.
(6) Cases decided under measures aimed at reducing the pre 1996 asylum application backlog.
(7) Include some cases where the application has been refused on substantive grounds.
(8) Data are available only for the period January to March 2002.
(p) Figures for 2000, 2001 and 2002 are provisional and subject to change.
Information on asylum applications and initial decisions is published quarterly. Data for the second quarter of 2002 will be available from 30 August 2002 on the Home Office website at http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/immigration1.htm