HC Deb 15 March 1995 vol 256 cc573-5W
Mr. Corbyn

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what establishments are currently being used for detention of asylum seekers; how many are held in each one; and what is their country of origin;

(2) how many asylum seekers are currently held in custody; and what is the comparative figure for each month of the past year.

Mr. Nicholas Baker

As at 8 March 1995, a total of 587 persons who had sought asylum were detained. This figure includes people awaiting the setting of directions for removal following refusal of the application, as well as those whose applications were under consideration or subject to appeal. Information on the nationality of those detained is given in the table.

I refer the hon. Member to the reply given to a question from the hon. Member for Stoke-on-Trent, Central (Mr. Fisher) on 2 March, column 660, which gave the available information on the location of those persons who had sought asylum detained as at 23 February 1995.

Information on the numbers detained over the last year, by month, is not available.

Table 1
Number of people detained on 8 March 1995 who had sought asylum, by nationality
Country Number detained
Angola 13
Albania 9
Algeria 58
Armenia 1
Bangladesh 18
Benin 1
Brazil 6
Bulgaria 2
Burma 3
Cameroon 3
China 19
Colombia 7
Dominica 1
Ecuador 3
Eritrea 1
Gambia 3
Georgia 5

Table 1
Number of people detained on 8 March 1995 who had sought asylum, by nationality
Country Number detained
Ghana 65
India 69
Iran 4
Ivory Coast 6
Jamaica 5
Kenya 4
Lebanon 4
Liberia 3
Libya 6
Sri Lanka 22
Moldavia 1
Morocco 8
Mozambique 1
Nigeria 109
Pakistan 26
Philippines 1
Poland 1
Romania 9
Russia 3
Sudan 2
Sierra Leone 8
Somalia 2
Slovakia
South Africa 3
Sudan 2
Thailand 1
Togo 1
Tunisia 1
Turkey 25
Uganda 1
Former Yugoslavia 14
Zaire 11
Zambia 1
Total 587

Mrs. Roche

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) if he will provide a breakdown of the number of asylum seekers currently detained under Immigration Act powers by(a) nationality, (b) gender, (c) length of detention, (d) place of detention and (e) immigration status at the time of application;

(2) how many asylum seekers were detained under Immigration Act powers in each month in 1993 and 1994.

Mr. Nicholas Baker

As at 8 March 1995, a total of 587 persons who had sought asylum were detained. This figure includes people awaiting the setting of directions for removal following refusal of the application, as well as those whose applications were under consideration or subject to appeal. Of this figure, 153 had been in detention less than one month, 104 between one and two months, 230 between two and six months, and 100 had been in detention longer than six months.

Information on the gender, immigration status and nationality of those detained is given in tables 1 and 2.

I refer the hon. Member to the reply given to a question from the hon. Member for Stoke-on-Trent, Central (Mr. Fisher) on 2 March, column 660, which gave the available information on the location of those persons who had sought asylum detained as at 23 February 1995.

Information on the numbers detained during 1993 and 1994, by month, is not available.

Table 1: Number of people detained on 8 March 1995 who had sought asylym, by immigration status and gender
Immigration Status Male Female Total
Port case 247 26 273
Illegal entrant case 240 9 249
Deportation case 57 8 65
Total 544 4. 587

Table 2: Number of people detained on 8 March 1995 who had sought asylym, by nationality
Country Number detained
Angola 13
Albania 9
Algeria 58
Armenia 1
Bangladesh 18
Benin 1
Brazil 6
Bulgaria 2
Burma 3
Cameroon 3
China 19
Columbia 7
Domincia 1
Ecuador 3
Eritrea 1
Gambia 3
Georgia 5
Ghana 65
India 69
Iran 4
Ivory Coast 6
Jamaica 5
Kenya 4
Lebanon 4
Liberia 3
Libya 6
Sri Lanka 22
Moldavia 1
Morocco 8
Mozambique 1
Nigeria 109
Pakistan 26
Philippines 1
Poland 1
Romania 9
Russia 3
Sudan 2
Sierra Leone 8
Somalia 2
Slovakia 1
South Africa 3
Sudan 2
Thailand 1
Togo 1
Tunisia 1
Turkey 25
Uganda 1
Former Yugoslavia 14
Zaire 11
Zambia 1
Total 587

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