§ The Earl of Sandwichasked Her Majesty's Government:
To what factors they attribute the rise of genuine asylum seekers in the United Kingdom in proportion to the total number of decisions made in each of the years 1994, 1995 and 1996.
§ Lord Williams of MostynThe number of people recognised as refugees and granted asylum in the United Kingdom in 1994, 1995 and 1996, and the corresponding figures for grants of asylum as a proportion of total decisions taken in each year, are shown in the table below:
Year Number of asylum grants Asylum grants as a percentage of all decisions (per cent.) 1994 825 4 1995 1,295 5 1996 2,240 6 The increase year on year in the proportion of persons granted asylum is attributable almost entirely to the increase during the period in the number of grants of asylum to persons from the Former Yugoslavia, which for each of the years 1994–1996 was as shown in the table below.
Year Number of grants of asylum to persons from Former Yugoslavia 1994 25 1995 285 1996 1,155