§ Mr. MalinsTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he expects the French and the United Kingdom Governments will conclude a formal legal agreement to enable United Kingdom immigration officers at Calais to operate full United Kingdom border controls; what arrangements are being made for asylum seekers to claim asylum in the United Kingdom at Calais; and how they will have access to legal advice. [88214]
§ Beverley Hughes[holding answer 19 December 2002]: The United Kingdom (UK) and French Governments are currently engaged in detailed negotiation on the agreement, which we hope will be concluded early in the new year. I am unable to provide information about the specific content of the agreement at this stage, but I can confirm that UK officials operating the current juxtaposed controls at Coquelles and the Gare du Nord in Paris do not accept asylum claims. Where such applications are made they remain the responsibility of the French authorities to consider. There are no plans to adopt different procedures at Calais. The current procedure operated at Coquelles and the Gare du Nord is in accordance with the requirements of the 1951 United Nations Refugee Convention and the Dublin Convention. We will be consulting relevant organisations, including the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR), in finalising these arrangements.