§ Mr. SinghTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make it his policy that asylum seekers should have a right to legal representation at appeal hearings. [28185]
§ Mr. Mike O'BrienAsylum appellants already have the right, under section 23(3) of the Immigration Act 1971 and Rule 26 of the Asylum Appeals (Procedure) Rules 1996, to be legally represented at appeal hearings.
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§ Mr. SinghTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what financial provision he is making to ensure that asylum appellants may receive legal representation for their appeals. [28186]
§ Mr. Mike O'BrienIn the current year, a total of £6,737 million has been made available to the Refugee Legal Centre (RLC) and the Immigration Advisory Service (IAS) under section 23 of the Immigration Act 1971, as follows:
£ million RLC IAS Core Funding 3.082 2.592 Spend to Save 0.563 0.500
§ Mr. SinghTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the effect on asylum appellants of his withdrawal of special funding from(a) the Immigration Advisory Service and (b) the Refugee Legal Centre. [28187]
§ Mr. Mike O'BrienI refer my hon. Friend to the reply I gave to a question from the hon Member for Sheffield, Hallam (Mr. Allan) on 9 February 1998,Official Report, columns 24–25.
§ Mr. SinghTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people have successfully appealed against the refusal of asylum since 1992. [28184]
§ Mr. Mike O'BrienDuring the period 1 January 1994 to 31 December 1997, a total of 44,360 appeals against the refusal of asylum were determined by Adjudicators of the Immigration Appellate Authority. Of these, a total of 2,030 were allowed. I regret that equivalent information for years prior to 1994 is not available.