HC Deb 13 March 1991 vol 187 cc510-1W
Mr. Darling

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the number of applications for asylum in the United Kingdom made in each month of 1990, showing the number of applications by country.

Mr. Peter Lloyd

[holding answer 12 March 1991]: Reliable monthly estimates of the number of applications for asylum in the United Kingdom in 1990 cannot yet be made, but provisional indications are that the total in 1990 was of the order of 30,000, including associated dependants. This figure does not include applications for upgrading to refugee status by those previously granted exceptional leave.

Estimates for 1990 will be published as usual in the annual Home Office statistical bulletin "Refugee Statistics, United Kingdom" later this year.

Mr. Corbyn

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the total number of people who applied for political asylum in 1990; what was the number from each country; what was the number who were new arrivals in the United Kingdom; and what was the number who had already entered the United Kingdom in previous years.

Mr. Peter Lloyd

[holding answer 12 March 1991]: Reliable estimates of the number of applications for asylum in the United Kingdom in 1990 by nationality are not yet fully available. However, provisional indications are that the total number was of the order of 30,000, including associated dependants, comprising about 12.000 applications made on entry at ports and an estimated 18,000 applications made after their arrival in the United Kingdom. These figures do not include applications for upgrading to refugee status by those previously granted exceptional leave.

Estimates for 1990 by nationality will be published as usual in the annual Home Office statistical bulletin "Refugee Statistics, United Kingdom" later this year.