§ Mr. John GreenwayTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans the Government have to increase resources for dealing with claims for asylum in the United Kingdom.
§ Mr. Kenneth BakerIn view of the growth in the number of asylum claims which have been made in the course of the past two years, I intend to increase over the next 12 months the number of staff in the asylum and special cases division of the Home Office from 120 to over 500. This will allow for the quicker recognition of genuine refugees and the refusal of applications from those with no valid claim. Additional resources are also being made available for interviewing and for removing rejected applicants who fail to leave voluntarily. In addition, the Government plan substantially to increase their contribution to the refugee unit of the United Kingdom Immigrants Advisory Service, which provides advice and counselling to asylum seekers.