§ Mr. ClappisonTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, (1) pursuant to his oral statement of 27 July 1998,Official Report, columns 35–38, what estimate he has made of the cost of establishing new national machinery to plan and co-ordinate provision for asylum seekers; [54388]
(2) pursuant to his oral statement of 21 July 1998, Official Report, column 918, if he will give a breakdown of the funding transferred to his Department from other departments for the support of asylum seekers; and what assumptions he has made about the number of asylum seekers who will be in receipt of such support in that period. [54386]
§ Mr. Mike O'BrienThe provisional level of funding for asylum seeker support allocated to the Home Office is £350 million in 1999–2000, £300 million in 2000/01 and £250 million in 2001/02. Detailed plans have yet to be developed and the cost of establishing new national machinery to plan and co-ordinate this provision has not yet been assessed.
The funding assumes that the numbers of asylum decisions and appeals disposals will be in line with the provisional plans set out in the White Paper published on 27 July. We aim that, by April 2001, most initial asylum decisions will be made within two months of receipt and most appeals to an adjudicator will be heard within a further four months.
§ Mr. ClappisonTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to his oral statement of 27 July 1998,Official Report, columns 35–38, what estimate he has made of the number of asylum seekers who will receive leave to enter or remain and who applied for asylum (a) before 1 July 1993 and (b) between 1 July 1994 and 31 December 1995. [54389]
§ Mr. Mike O'BrienThe proportion of the estimated 10,000 asylum claims made before 1 July 1993 awaiting an initial decision and the estimated 20,000 claims awaiting an initial decision made between 1 July 1993 and 31 December 1995 which will qualify for leave to enter or remain will depend upon the numbers to whom the special considerations set out in paragraphs 8.29 and 8.30 of the White Paper "Fairer, Faster and Firmer—A Modem Approach to Immigration and Asylum" (Cm 4018) are found to apply. Some of these people will not be granted either indefinite leave to remain or exceptional leave to remain under our proposal.
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§ Sir Norman FowlerTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if staff will be transferred from the Department of Social Security to his Department to run the new benefit in kind support system for political asylum seekers; and if he will make a statement. [54046]
§ Mr. Mike O'BrienNo decision has yet been taken on the kinds of staff needed to operate such a scheme, or how they might be recruited.
§ Sir Norman FowlerTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to disperse political asylum seekers around the country; what kind of accommodation will be provided; and if he will make a statement. [54049]
§ Mr. Mike O'BrienThe Government's proposals for new support arrangements for asylum seekers are set out in paragraphs 8.17–8.26 of the White Paper "Fairer, Faster and Firmer—A Modern Approach to Immigration and Asylum" (Cm 4018). The aim is that, where asylum seekers are in genuine need of accommodation, this should be provided at a wider range of locations than under present arrangements, which have resulted in a heavy concentration in London and certain other areas. The type of accommodation offered to any particular asylum seeker is likely to vary: it will depend on what is available and at what cost, and on such factors as the presence or otherwise of dependants.
§ Sir Norman FowlerTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department by what date he expects that the 30,000 applications for political asylum made prior to December 1995 will be determined; and if he will make a statement. [54048]
§ Mr. Mike O'BrienAs indicated in the White Paper "Fairer, Faster and Firmer—A Modem Approach to Immigration and Asylum" (Cm 4018), we are aiming to clear the backlog of undecided asylum claims before April 2001.
§ Sir Norman FowlerTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department by what date he expects that his proposed system of benefits in kind for asylum seekers will be operational; what benefits in kind will be available; and if he will make a statement. [54044]
§ Mr. Mike O'BrienThe date on which such a system becomes operational will depend on when the necessary legislation is enacted. The type of provision envisaged is explained in paragraph 8.21 of the White Paper "Fairer, Faster and Firmer—A Modern Approach to Immigration and Asylum" (Cm 4018).
§ Sir Norman FowlerTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if all those who made an application for political asylum prior to July 1993 and whose applications are still outstanding will be individually interviewed before any decision is taken on their application; and if he will make a statement. [54043]
§ Mr. Mike O'BrienNo. It is unlikely that very many of these applicants will need to be interviewed. Some applicants will already have been interviewed and others will have provided full details of their asylum claim by way of a self-completion questionnaire commonly in use at the time these applications were made. The decision whether to interview will be taken individually as each case is examined.