§ Lord Dubsasked Her Majesty's Government:
How many asylum seekers in detention have been (a) charged with a criminal offence; and (b) convicted of a criminal offence, during the most recent period for which figures are available.
§ Baroness BlatchAs at 31 January 19971, the latest date for which information is available, 324 persons who had sought asylum were detained in Prison Service establishments solely under Immigration Act powers. In addition to these, a further 120 asylum seekers were detained in prisons under powers other than, or in conjunction with, those contained in the Immigration Act 1971. Information on the number of these persons who are being held on criminal charges, as opposed to those serving a court imposed sentence, is only available at disproportionate cost.
1 In-country cases are as at 31 January and Port cases are as at 3 February 1997.