HC Deb 22 November 1995 vol 267 cc218-20W
Mr. Henderson

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people are currently seeking asylum from an address in(a) Scotland, (b) Wales, (c) Northern Ireland and (d) by region, within England. [564]

Mr. Kirkhope

Information on the places or residence of people currently seeking asylum is not held centrally.

Mr. Henderson

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what is the average time currently taken to resolve fully an asylum application, including determination of any appeal to the Immigration Appellate Authority; [562]

(2) what is the average time taken by his Department's asylum division to process and despatch to the Immigration Appellate Authority an appeal against a refusal of admission; and what is the average number of working days between the date of the appeal being despatched to the IAA by his Department and the date of its determination; [560]

(3) what is the average time currently taken by his Department to reach an initial decision on (a) asylum applications submitted prior to implementation of the Asylum and Immigration Appeals Act 1993, (b) asylum applications submitted since the implementation of the Act and (c) all asylum applications. [561]

Mr. Kirkhope

Information on the times taken at the various stages of the asylum process are given in the table.

Average times involved in deciding applications for asylum April—September 1995
Months
Time taken for an initial decision to be made (Pre-Act applications) 34.1
Time taken for an initial decision to be made (Post-Act applications) 8.7
Time taken by the Home Office to process an appeal 4.1
Time taken by the IAA to determine an appeal 5.6

Mr. Henderson

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many asylum applications are currently awaiting an initial decision by the Home Office asylum division; how many appeals against a refusal of asylum are currently being processed by the Home Office; and how many appeals against a refusal of asylum, having been processed by the Home Office and despatched to the Immigration Appellate Authority, are awaiting determination by the IAA. [558]

Mr. Kirkhope

As at 30 September 1995, 64,415 asylum applications were awaiting initial decisions by the Home Office, 2,705 appeals were being processed by the Home Office from people seeking asylum and 8,925 such appeals were awaiting hearings by the Immigration Appellate Authority.

Mr. Henderson

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to implement paragraphs 17, 22 and 31 of the resolution on minimum guarantees for asylum procedures, signed at the European Union Justice and Home Affairs Council at Luxembourg on 20 and 21 June. [556]

Mr. Kirkhope

Asylum procedures in the United Kingdom are consistent with those paragraphs and this will remain the case after implementation of the asylum proposals announced by my right hon. and learned Friend on 20 November.

Mr. Henderson

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the European countries which operate accelerated asylum procedures which derogate from the general principle that an individual appealing against a refusal of asylum may remain in the country until such time as the appeal is determined. [551]

Mr. Kirkhope

Comprehensive information is not available but our understanding is that France, Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden and Switzerland are all countries where, depending on the circumstances, appeals against removal on safe third country grounds may have no automatic suspensive effect; and that Denmark, Finland, Germany, the Netherlands and Switzerland operate procedures based on identification of countries of origin in which there is considered to be no serious risk of persecution.

Mr. Henderson

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department on what date a copy of the resolution on minimum guarantees for asylum procedures, signed at the Justice and Home Affairs Council in June 1995, was placed in the Library. [555]

Miss Widdecombe

A copy is being placed in the Library.

Mr. Henderson

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to implement paragraphs 8 and 12 of the resolution on manifestly unfounded applications for asylum and the conclusions on countries in which there is generally no serious risk of persecution, signed at the Justice and Home Affairs Council in London on 30 November and 1 December 1992. [557]

Mr. Kirkhope

Asylum procedures in the United Kingdom are consistent with these paragraphs and this will remain the case after the implementation of the asylum proposals announced by my right hon. and learned Friend on 20 November.

Mr. Timms

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what guidance his Department gives to failed asylum applicants from Sri Lanka before their return there; what steps are taken to ensure that such applicants are returned to safe areas of Sri Lanka; and which areas of Sri Lanka are considered to be safe for such a purpose. [14]

Mr. Kirkhope

No specific guidance is given to unsuccessful asylum seekers from Sri Lanka before their return there. It is considered safe to return Sri Lankan nationals who have no claim to remain here to Colombo and the south of the country.

Ms Janet Anderson

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list, for each year since 1990, the number of applicants who have been refused asylum in the UK and have subsequently suffered(a) persecution, (b) imprisonment and (c) the death penalty in the country to which they have been returned. [148]

Mr. Kirkhope

We have no means of monitoring what happens to people who have been returned to their country of origin. However, no person who has demonstrated that he or she has a well-founded fear of persecution in a particular country for one of the reasons set out in the 1951 United Nations convention relating to the status of refugees would be returned to that country.

Mr. Keen

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many applications for political asylum were(a) granted and (b) refused from applicants in (i) India, (ii) Pakistan and (iii) Nigeria in (1) 1993 and (2) 1994. [1094]

Mr. Kirkhope

Information on decisions relating to asylum applications from nationals of India, Pakistan and Nigeria is published in tables 3.1 and 3.3 of the Home Office statistical bulletin "Asylum Statistics United Kingdom 1994", issue 15–95. A copy of this publication is available in the Library.