§ Mr. RandallTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many asylum seekers have undergone prolonged detention for each year since 1986; and what were their nationalities.
§ Mr. Renton[holding answer 4 June 1988]: The information readily available and shown in table A gives the numbers of asylum applicants at the ports who, on the first day of each month since January 1987, had been detained for more than one month. They are listed by the principal nationalities involved. Monthly numbers include detainees carried forward from previous months. On 1 June 1988, 66 persons who had sought asylum at ports were in detention. Their nationalities are shown in table B and the periods they had been detained in table C.
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Nationality 1987 1988 January February March April May June July August September October November December January February March April May June Pakistanis 3 3 1 1 2 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 Indians 3 4 3 3 3 5 6 5 6 6 2 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 Seychelloises 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 Others 5 6 5 4 13 15 16 14 17 15 15 9 8 12 12 12 25 11 Total 46 78 92 127 126 114 119 110 102 99 30 36 43 50 51 41 55 40
Table B Nationality Number Sri Lankans 17 Iranians 9 Ethiopians 1 Ghanaians 2 Iraqis 1 Ugandans 16 Indians 3 Seychelloises 1 Turks 5 Stateless 2 Botswanans 1 South Africans 1 Somalians 2 Surinamese 1 Sierra Leonians 1 Afghanis 1 Zairians 1 Colombians 1
Table C Period Number Not more than 1 month 26 Over 1 month but not more than 2 9 Over 2 months but not more than 3 9 Over 3 months but not more than 4 0 Over 4 months but not more than 5 6 Over 5 months but not more than 6 2 Over 6 months 14