§ Mr. IrvingTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what representations he has received concerning the procedures for dealing with asylum applications at a port of entry, proposed by the British Refugee Council in January; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. RentonThe British Refugee Council produced a code of practice for port asylum applications last November. This was discussed at a meeting I held with a delegation from the BRC on 7 December 1987. Much of the code is consistent with our existing practice, but the Government cannot accept its proposal of an appeal system in port cases.
§ Mr. IrvingTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the breakdown of the nationalities of the 23,000 people refused leave to enter the United Kingdom at ports in 1986; in what capacity they sought leave to enter the United Kingdom; and how many subsequently applied for asylum.
§ Mr. RentonA total of 23,100 passengers (excluding European Community nationals) were refused leave to enter and removed from the United Kingdom during 1986. Their nationalities are given in table 1 of "Control of Immigration: Statistics, United Kingdom 1986" (Cm 166) copies of which are in the Library. No information is available centrally about the basis on which these passengers sought leave to enter, or of the numbers who subsequently applied for asylum, and such information could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.