§ Mr. DarlingTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) if he will indicate the basis for his estimate of 50,000 applications for asylum expected in 1991; and if he will make a statement;
(2) if he will list the number of applications by individuals for asylum received in each month in 1990 end 1991 to the latest available date.
§ Mr. Peter LloydInformation on asylum applications in 1990 and 1991 is given in the table. Some of the 1990 figures are likely to understate because of delays in recording. The 1991 figures are based on a new recording system, introduced in January 1991, which counts new asylum applications immediately on their receipt in the asylum and special cases division, and so provides fuller and improved information.
In the first six months of 1991 applications totalled around 24,000. In the period January to September as a whole, around 34,000 applications have been received. All these figures exclude dependants.
Applications received1 2 for asylum in the United Kingdom, by quarter and month, 1990–91 19903 Number Quarter 1 3,360 Quarter 2 3,615 Quarter 3 6,800 Quarter 4 7,545 1991 January 4,370 February 3,450 March 3,880 April 5,280 May 3,805 June 3,000 July 3,720 August 3,350 September 3,525 1Excluding dependants. 2Provisional figures, rounded to the nearest 5. 31990 figures are estimates which may understate because of delays in recording, particularly for the fourth quarter. In total applications in 1990, excluding dependants, are estimated at over 22,000 (over 30,000 including dependants). Reliable monthly estimates for 1990 are not yet available.