§ Mr. Alex CarlileTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many applicants for political asylum in 1988 to date have been refused permission to enter or remain in the United Kingdom; to what countries they have been sent upon refusal; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. RentonThe information is not available in the form requested and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Recent press reports have referred to information gathered weekly from Heathrow and Gatwick airports and Dover, for guidance of management. These describe the number of asylum applications made by passengers arriving at those ports, and the initial action taken. The returns do not trace further action, for example, to grant temporary admission or to remove a passenger who was initially detained.
The latest available refugee statistics are for 1987 and were published earlier this month in Home Office statistical bulletin 16/88, copies of which are in the Library.