HC Deb 18 December 1995 vol 268 cc952-5W
Mr. Alton

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what practical and financial arrangements he intends to make to facilitate the return to the United Kingdom of asylum seekers whose appeals against removal to a third country are allowed. [6169]

Miss Widdecombe

It is not our practice to provide financial assistance to enable successful appellants from abroad to travel to this country. Other practical issues such as documentation are under consideration.

Mr. Alton

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proposals he has for(a) arranging for legal advice and (b) allowing instructions to be given to legal representatives in respect of asylum seekers removed to a third country who are appealing against the decision. [6173]

Miss Wisddecombe

Asylum seekers will be advised of their appeal rights before they are removed and how to seek assistance. Arrangements for instructing legal representatives after removal will be a matter for appellants, as is already the case in relation to appeals from abroad under the Immigration Act 1971.

Mr. Alton

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on his Department's assessment of the German Government's procedures in respect of a white list of countries in relation to asylum and immigration. [6177]

Miss Widdecombe

Our understanding is that under asylum legislation in Germany selected countries have been designated as "safe states of origin". Designation leads to a presumption that there is in general no risk of persecution and claims by nationals of designated countries may be treated as manifestly unfounded unless the facts presented in individual cases outweigh the presumption. Claims are examined under a shortened procedure with restricted appeal opportunities. Countries which are currently designated as "safe states of origin" are Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Ghana, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Senegal and the Slovak Republic.

Mr. Alton

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list those third countries which his Department regards as safe for the purposes of clause 2 of the Asylum and Immigration Bill; and to what extent the decision on the safety of third countries will be left to immigration officials. [6191]

Miss Widdecombe

We treat each case on its merits in the light of our information about the asylum procedures of the third country concerned. Over 80 per cent. of removals are to France, Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands. Decisions are taken by a unit within the asylum division specialising in safe third country cases.

Mr. Alton

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what measures he has proposed to comply with United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees recommendations of August 1994 on readmission agreements covering refugees sent to third countries. [6193]

Miss Widdecombe

There is no obligation to consult the authorities of a third country before removing someone there on safe third country grounds. The Government support the early implementation of the Dublin convention, which they ratified in 1992, which sets out criteria for determining which European Union member state has responsibility for considering a particular asylum application.

Mr. Alton

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what special procedures will apply in respect of applicants for asylum who have immediate family resident in the United Kingdom. [6170]

Miss Widdecombe

An asylum applicant is not normally returned to a safe third country if his spouse or minor dependent children are already lawfully present here. In such a case, the asylum claim is considered substantively. We have no plans to change this arrangement.

Mr. Alton

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has for ensuring that asylum seekers removed to a third country under his certificate will have access to legal advice prior to their removal. [6175]

Miss Widdecombe

Asylum seekers refused leave to enter at a port are advised how to contact the refugee legal centre.

Mr. Alton

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what measures he intends to take in cases where asylum seekers sent to a third country are(a) refused admission by that country and (b) returned by the third country to Britain. [6171]

Miss Widdecombe

In such cases the asylum claim will, as now, normally be considered substantively by my right hon. and learned Friend.

Mr. Alton

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if a person appealing from a third country against a decision by him to send him to that country will he eligible for legal aid for legal advice and for assistance in the preparation and conduct of the appeal. [6174]

Miss Widdecombe

He will be eligible for assistance and representation from the refugee legal centre, which is grant aided by the Home Office, and, subject to a means test, for advice and assistance under the legal aid green form scheme.

Mr. Alton

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps he will take to ensure the safety of those asylum seekers who are removed to third countries. [6192]

Miss Widdecombe

We will return asylum seekers to a safe third country only in cases where the proposed requirements in clause 2(1) of the Asylum and Immigration Bill are met. Our practice already complies with those requirements.

Mr. Alton

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department by what means he expects an asylum seeker removed to a third country to lodge an appeal against the certificate issued by the Home Secretary under clause 2 of the Asylum and Immigration Bill. [6194]

Miss Widdecombe

The same arrangements will apply as apply now for appeals from abroad under the Immigration Act 1971. The asylum applicant will be provided with an appeal form prior to removal. It will be open to him to send the form by post from abroad or to have notice of appeal lodged on his behalf after removal by a person in this country.

Mr. Alton

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which categories of appellants bringing appeals under section 8 of the Asylum and Immigration Appeals Act 1993 will be affected by changes in respect of giving and calling oral evidence at their appeals; and how. [6168]

Miss Widdecombe

No such proposals have been made, but my right hon. and learned Friend the Lord Chancellor intends to bring forward shortly proposals for amending the Asylum Appeals (Procedure) Rules 1993 in a number of respects.

Mr. Alton

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proposals he has in respect of the appeals procedure for asylum seekers removed to third countries in relation to certificates issued by him under the terms of clause 3 of the Asylum and Immigration Bill. [6172]

Miss Widdecombe

We will indicate during the passage of the Bill what adjustments to appeal procedures will be proposed for appeals under clause 3.

Mr. Alton

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what account was taken of the provisions of article 3 of the 1951 United Nations convention on refugees in drawing up measures contained in the Asylum and Immigration Bill. [6176]

Miss Widdecombe

We are satisfied that our proposals are compatible with article 3.

Mr. Corbyn

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what views were sought from representatives of local government bodies on the implications for them of the Immigration and Asylum Bill. [6478]

Miss Widdecombe

I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave him on 14 December,Official Report column 733.

Mr. Madden

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will place in the Library a copy of the consultancy report into asylum appeals commissioned by the Home Office last year to which he referred in his oral statement of 20 November,Official Report, column 337. [6332]

Mr. Kirkhope

A copy of the report by KPMG Peat Marwick on the operation of the asylum appeals procedures was placed in the Library on 8 February this year.

Mr. Tony Banks

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many applicants seeking political asylum arrived(a) on direct flights from their home countries and (b) on flights that landed beforehand in safe third countries in each of the last three years. [5897]

Mr. Kirkhope

The information requested is not available.