Asylum Seekers (Hansard, 14 July 2003)

§ 15. Mrs. Ann Cryer
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when the two-year probationary period to qualify for indefinite leave to remain will come into force. [125068]

§ Beverley Hughes
The two-year probationary period on marriage was introduced as one of a number of changes made to the Immigration Rules on 1 April 2003.
The changes were part of a package of measures to tackle the growing menace of fraudulent or abusive marriages to circumvent immigration control. Other changes were:

introducing a 'no switching' into marriage provision after entry to the United Kingdom for those coming for a short period of six months or less;

removing the probationary period where a marriage or relationship has existed for more than four years and the couple have been living abroad;

preventing someone from acting as a sponsor in a marriage or fiancé application until they are 18 years of age; and

preventing fiancé (e)s under the age of 16 from applying for leave to enter; and removing the 'legally unable to marry requirement' for those seeking to enter or remain as an unmarried partner.

§ Mr. Grieve
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many applicants for asylum were granted permission to work in 2002. [123775]

§ Beverley Hughes
I am afraid that the information is not held centrally and could be obtained only by examination of individual case files. The employment concession for asylum seekers was abolished on 23 July 2002. Prior to its abolition asylum seekers could seek permission to work if their application for asylum remained outstanding for longer than six months without a decision being made on it.

§ Simon Hughes
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many asylum seekers have been refused support by the National Asylum Support Service under sections 55 or 57 of the Nationality Asylum and Immigration Act 2002(a) in total and (b) in each month since January. [124915]

§ Beverley Hughes
The information is not available in the form requested.
Section 55 of the Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002 came into force on 8 January 2003, restricting the availability of National Asylum Support Service (NASS) support to those asylum seekers who make an asylum application as soon as reasonably practical.
Of the total (4,365) cases referred to NASS for a Section 55 decision in the first quarter of 2003:

2,850 were refused NASS support on the grounds that their claims were not made as soon as reasonably practicable.

325 were granted MASS support on the grounds that they were made as soon as reasonably practical.

685 were exempted from consideration under Section 55 on the grounds of being a family application.

505 were exempted from consideration under Section 55 to avoid a breach of ECHR rights.
55W
Following the decisions of the High Court and Court of Appeal, a number of decisions made early in the quarter are now being reviewed to ensure compliance with the current decision making process.
Information on Section 57 cases is not available.

§ Jeremy Corbyn
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will estimate the number of asylum seekers living below poverty levels. [125054]

§ Beverley Hughes
We are committed to meeting our international obligations with regard to asylum seekers. This includes providing support to eligible asylum seekers and their dependants who would otherwise be destitute. Levels of support are app roved by Parliament.

§ Mr. Cameron
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department under what conditions an asylum seeker might continue to receive benefits after his or her case has been refused; which benefits are available; and how many such cases arose in each of the last five years. [125340]

§ Beverley Hughes
[holding answer 11 July 2003]: For single asylum seekers and childless couples the legislation allows for support to be provided to asylum seekers until a final decision is made on their claim and, in the case of unsuccessful applicants, for 21 days after the receipt of the final decision on the claim. In the case of families including children under the age of 18, support is provided unless and until the family fails to comply with removal directions or until the youngest child reaches 18.
In the majority of cases there is nothing to prevent the failed asylum seeker from leaving the country once their asylum claim has been finally determined. Letters sent at this stage to failed asylum seekers provide details of the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), who will assist the person to make a voluntary return, and also the Immigration Service who will arrange for them to return to their home country.
Failed asylum seekers may be provided with accommodation under section 4 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 (the 1999 Act). As a matter of policy accommodation is only provided to those unable to leave immediately through no fault of their own e.g. because they are suffering from a temporary physical incapacity or need a travel document to enable them to go. Accommodation provided is full board and will usually be outside London. The legislation does not allow for payment of cash support.
Section 4 of the 1999 Act came into force on 11 November 1999. There are no published statistics on the number of failed asylum seekers who have been provided with accommodation under section 4. This information could only be obtained by examination of individual case records.

§ 22. John Robertson
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what support he is giving to asylum seekers in Glasgow. [125076]

§ Beverley Hughes
The support available to asylum seekers is consistent across the United Kingdom. Eligible asylum seekers and their dependants may be provided with support if they would otherwise be destitute. The provision of support may be subject to56W conditions. Generally speaking, support is provided until a final decision is made on the claim, but can be terminated early if the asylum seeker fails to comply with the conditions on which support is offered.