§ Mr. DarlingTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what payments have been made to the new refugee unit, which was formerly part of the United Kingdom Immigrants Advisory Service.
§ Mr. Charles WardleSince becoming independent of UKIAS on 6 May, the new refugee unit has received £100,000 in May and £206,250 in June. The sum of £200,000 was given to UKIAS last year to finance the separation costs and the unit was given an additional £33,420 in March when still part of UKIAS.
§ Mr. DarlingTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what discussions he has had with other EC Ministers with regard to refugees from the former state of Yugoslavia; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Charles WardleDiscussions on the situation of persons displaced by the various conflicts in the region of former Yugoslavia, took place at a meeting of EC Immigration Ministers in Lisbon on 11 and 12 June. Ministers were able to exchange information on how each member state is coping with these problems.
§ Mr. DarlingTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what discussions he has had on the setting up of the new refugee unit; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Charles WardleMy hon. Friend the Member for Fareham (Mr. Lloyd) announced on 12 March, at column 592, that at the joint invitation of my right hon. Friend the Member for Mole Valley (Mr. Baker) and the London representative of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees a planning group was being established to devise a constitution for a new organisation to provide asylum seekers with legal counselling and representation in appeals. My right hon. and learned Friend and I look forward to receiving the group's proposals. In the meantime, the group has assumed responsibility for the general oversight of the refugee unit which was previously part of the United Kingdom Immigrants Advisory Service and is now called the new refugee unit. I met Mrs. Usha Prashar, who chairs the group, on 26 May.