§ Mr. Wigleyasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what further consideration has been given by Her Majesty's Government to the position of Tamil refugees from Sri Lanka; what is being done to allow such people to remain in the United Kingdom pending an improvement of the situation in Sri Lanka; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. WaddingtonWe are keeping a close watch on developments in Sri Lanka. Since April 1984, no Sri Lankan Tamil who has expressed a fear of return to Sri Lanka has been returned there.
§ Mr. Wigleyasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what are the latest figures for the number of (a) Sri Lankan Tamils and (b) Sri Lankan citizens who since July 1983 have applied for asylum in the United Kingdom; of these applications how many have so far been determined; and of these how many have (i) been granted asylum or refugee status, (ii) been granted exceptional leave to remain in the United Kingdom, (iii) been granted leave to remain under other provisions of the regulations and (iv) been deported or removed to Sri Lanka during the period July to December 1983 and since 1 January 1984.
§ Mr. WaddingtonI regret that this information is not available in the form requested; immigration statistics are kept by nationality, not according to ethnic group.
During the period 1 July 1983 to 31 December 1984, about 700 applications for asylum or refugee status were received from Sri Lankan nationals, of which 450 remained outstanding at 31 December 1984. Decisions were reached on 200 applications (others were withdrawn): two were granted refugee status, 28 were granted exceptional leave to remain in the United Kingdom and the remainder were refused. Information on the numbers of those refused who may have been removed to Sri Lanka is not available. However, since the end of April 1984, no Sri Lankan Tamil who has expressed a fear of return to Sri Lanka has been returned there.