§ Mr. WigleyTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people have sought asylum in Britain during the past 12 months; how many have been granted, how many refused and how many are pending; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Peter LloydA fully reliable estimate of the number of applications for asylum in the United Kingdom in 1990 cannot yet be made, but provisional indications are that it 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.
Comprehensive information on decisions in 1990 on asylum applications is not yet available. Decisions recorded to date are shown in the following table, but these understate because of delays in recording.
Decisions1 on applications2 for asylum in the United Kingdom made in 1990 Numbers Granted asylum 1,600 Granted exceptional leave 3,700 Refused asylum or exceptional leave 650 1 Including associated dependants. 2 Decisions do not necessarily relate to applications made in 1990. Provisional indications are that about 38,000 asylum applications, including associated dependants, were 202W awaiting a decision in the United Kingdom at 31 December 1990. However, this estimate overstates the position because of under-recording of decisions made earlier.
Fuller and more reliable estimates of applications, decisions and applications outstanding in 1990 will be published as usual in the annual Home Office statistical bulletin "Refugee Statistics, United Kingdom" later this year.