§ Mr. KirkwoodTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will list the amounts paid out on benefit claims from political refugees and asylum seekers 473W in the United Kingdom over the last five years for which figures are available. [14010]
§ Mr. Roger EvansInformation about benefit expenditure in relation to political refugees is not available because they are not identified separately in departmental records. Information about asylum seekers has been recorded only for income support purposes from May 1993. Estimated annual expenditure is set out in the table.
Asylum seekers claiming income support: estimated annual expenditure Enquiry data Estimated annual expenditure (£ millions) May 1993 105 May 1994 124 February 1995 125 Notes:
1. Expenditure has been rounded to the nearest million.
2. Estimated annual expenditure has been calculated by multiplying the number of cases by the average weekly income support paid, then by multiplying the resulting figure by 52.
3. Figures given relate to Great Britain. No data are available in this format for Northern Ireland.
4. Data was not collected prior to 1993.
Source:
Income Support Quarterly Enquiries May 1994 and February 1995.
Income Support Annual Enquiry 1993.