§ Mr. JannerTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people have applied for admission to the United Kingdom as refugees or otherwise seeking asylum, by national origin, in each of the two years subsequent to and prior to the coming into force of the Immigration (Carriers' Liability) Act) 1987; how many and what percentage of applicants were granted admission to the United Kingdom during each such period; and what was their national origin.
§ Mr. RentonThe Immigration (Carriers' Liability) Act) 1987 came into force in March 1987. Information on applications for refugee status, and on grants and other decisions in the years 1985 to 1987, by nationality, is published in the 1986 and 1987 volumes of the annual Home Office statistical bulletin "Refugee Statistics, United Kingdom" (table 6 of bulletin issue 13/87 and tables 6 and 7 of bulletin issue 16/88), copies of which are in the Library. These figures include applications for refugee status made by persons after their admission to the United 339W Kingdom in another capacity, as well as those seeking admission as a refugee. Corresponding information for 1988 is not yet available but will be published in the 1988 volume of this bulletin in the summer of 1989.
These figures do not include South-East Asian refugees who are dealt with under separate arrangements and are granted settlement on their arrival in the United Kingdom. The number granted settlement in the years 1985 to 1988 is published in table 18 of "Control of Immigration: Statistics United Kingdom 1987" (Cm 415) and table 3 of Home Office statistical bulletin, issue 10/89 "Control of Immigration: Statistics—Fourth Quarter and Year 1988", copies of which are in the Library.
§ Mr. JannerTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the average length of time taken to reach a decision on an application for admission to the United Kingdom as a refugee or otherwise by way of asylum excluding time accounted for by appeals against his decisions in each of the two years prior to and subsequent to the coming into force of the Immigration (Carriers' Liability) Act 1987.
§ Mr. RentonThe available information is given in the following table. Information for 1988 is not yet available.
Estimated average length of time1 taken to reach a decision on an application for refugee status in the United Kingdom, for cases decided during the year. Average time in months Months12 1985 12 1986 14 1987 14 1 Excluding the time accounted for by an appeal where practicable, although this cannot be done in all cases.