HC Deb 14 November 1996 vol 285 cc296-8W
Mr. Nigel Griffiths

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many asylum seekers(a) were placed in detention at Saughton or Cornton Vale in 1996 and (b) were in detention in each month of 1996, broken down by (i) country of origin, (ii) length of detention and (iii) place of application. [3789]

Mr. Kirkhope

Information on the number of asylum seekers placed to detention at Her Majesty's prison Saughton or the Cornton Vale institute during 1996 is not available.

The requested breakdown of all detained asylum seekers, for selected dates during 1996, is given in the tables.

Table 1: Number of people recorded as being detained1 who had sought asylum at some stage, by nationality
Nationality As at 31 January As at 29 February As at 29 March As at 30 April As at 31 May/7 June2
Nigeria 109 108 114 114 105
India 91 84 79 93 96
Algeria 71 66 62 67 72
Sri Lanka 31 29 34 37 38
Ghana 30 31 38 38 52
Pakistan 26 32 27 23 29
Zaire 23 27 30 32 34
Peoples Republic of China 38 32 23 22 26
Turkey 29 23 26 33 39
Angola 13 10 11 11 12
Romania 12 20 17 21 23
Cyprus 3 5 2 4 2
Israel — — — — —
Yugoslavia 10 10 5 4 19
Columbia 3 6 4 4 11
Gambia 58 57 51 44 29
Bangladesh 22 14 12 22 17
Liberia 3 2 3 3 5
Poland 6 7 6 6 5
Ethiopia 3 4 2 3 5
Iran 8 8 11 7 13
Jamaica 6 7 4 4 5
Russia 3 2 4 6 5
Ivory Coast 4 3 3 6 6
Sierra Leone 6 5 3 5 5
Tanzania 4 3 9 6 4
Kenya 19 17 11 7 4
Lithuania 8 6 5 8 11
Morocco 3 — — — —
Slovakia — — — — —
Sudan 5 3 3 2 2
Uganda 5 7 3 3 5
Ecuador 10 8 5 5 8
Eritrea 2 — — — —
Somalia 7 5 5 6 8
South Africa 2 — — 3 —
Table 1: Number of people recorded as being detained1 who had sought asylum at some stage, by nationality
Nationality As at 31 January As at 29 February As at 29 March As at 30 April As at 31 May/7 June2
Afghanistan 6 11 6 7 7
Albania 5 4 7 7 5
Bulgaria 2 2 3 3 2
Congo 2 — — — —
Nationality Doubtful 4 2 4 6 4
Others3 41 42 53 53 38
Total 733 702 685 725 751
1 These figures include people who have been in detention for less than a month. Because of the delay in recording receptions into, and releases from, detention and the large number of persons detained for a short period, the figures should be used with caution.
2 Port cases are as at 7 June and in-country cases are as at 31 May.
3 The 'Others' category may include nationalities of detainees already listed.
Nationality As at 27 June As at 30 July/2 August1 As at 4 September As at 1 October As at 5 November
Nigeria 106 106 110 112 114
India 101 96 91 95 70
Algeria 75 70 65 63 68
Sri Lanka 43 45 47 48 55
Ghana 52 56 60 58 46
Pakistan 25 35 35 34 44
Zaire 38 43 48 44 43
Peoples Republic of China 32 35 39 44 42
Turkey 35 39 47 42 38
Angola 16 16 18 23 19
Romania 23 33 20 18 19
Cyprus 7 6 12 17 17
Israel — — — 15 15
Yugoslavia 9 6 12 9 15
Columbia 15 11 10 35 14
Gambia 27 16 16 16 14
Bangladesh 18 17 16 18 13
Liberia 4 5 9 7 10
Poland 6 8 6 5 10
Ethiopia 6 8 9 9 9
Iran 11 9 11 13 9
Jamaica 5 8 8 10 9
Russia 6 5 6 8 9
Ivory Coast 6 7 7 6 7
Sierra Leone 6 4 7 8 6
Tanzania 4 4 3 4 6
Kenya 6 4 9 7 5
Lithuania 5 4 4 7 5
Morocco 2 — — 3 5
Slovakia — — — — 5
Sudan 3 — 4 4 5
Uganda 4 3 4 8 5
Ecuador 8 6 3 4 4
Eritrea — 2 2 — 3
Somalia 9 6 6 5 3
South Africa 2 2 — — 3
Afghanistan 5 6 2 — 2
Albania 3 2 3 2 2
Bulgaria — — 2 3 2
Congo — 2 — — 2
Nationality Doubtful 6 10 8 11 7
Others2 43 41 50 49 29
Total 772 776 809 864 808
1Port cases are as at 2 August and in-country cases are as at 30 July.
2The "Others" category may include nationalities of detainees already listed.
Table 2: Number of people recorded as being detained who had sought asylum at some stage, by length of detention
Detained as at 0 to 1 Month1 1 to 2 Months 2 to 6 Months 12 Months [...]12 Months Total
31 January 194 133 296 97 13 733
29 February 150 119 311 109 13 702
29 March 188 109 284 93 11 685
30 April 181 143 280 106 15 725
31 May/7 June2 201 133 287 112 18 751
27 June 214 139 282 113 24 772
30 July/2 August3 192 148 311 100 25 776
4 September 211 141 312 115 30 809
1 October 244 154 311 121 34 864
5 November 198 138 314 123 35 808
1 These figures include people who have been in detention for less than a month. Because of the delay in recording receptions into, and releases from, detention and the large number of persons detained for a short period, the figures should be used with caution.
2 Port cases are as at 7 June and in-country cases are as at 31 May.
3 Port cases are as at 21 August and In-country cases are as at 30 July.
Table 3: Number of people recorded as being detained1 who had sought asylum at some stage, by location of application
Detained as at Port In-country Total
31 January 418 315 733
29 February 406 296 702
29 March 416 269 685
30 April 436 289 725
31 May/7 June2 462 289 751
27 June 472 300 772
30 July/2 August3 483 293 776
4 September 503 306 809
1 October 543 321 864
5 November 482 326 808
1 These figures include people who have been in detention for less than a month. Because of the delay in recording receptions into, and releases from, detention and the large number of persons detained for a short period, the figures should be used with caution.
2 Port cases are as at 7 June and in-country cases are as at 31 May.
3 Port cases are as at 2 August and in-country cases are as at 30 July.

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