§ Mr. Gerald HowarthTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many Kosovar refugees are currently in the UK; and, of those, how many(a) are seeking and (b) have been granted asylum. [101961]
§ Mrs. RocheIt is estimated that as at the end of March 1999, the latest date for which detailed figures are available, the number of asylum applications awaiting an initial decision for nationals of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia was 9,540.
In the period January 1997 to May 1999 a total of 5,190 nationals of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia were recognised as refugees and granted asylum. A further 905 were not recognised as refugees but granted exceptional leave to enter or remain.
I regret that it is not possible to identify Kosovars separately within the available statistics for the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.
4,346 Kosovars arrived in the United Kingdom under the United Nations High Commission for Refugees Humanitarian Evacuation Programme (HEP) between 25 April and 25 June with a further 68 arrivals on subsequent medical flights. As at 2 December 1999, 1,319 Kosovars (including 25 per cent. of those evacuated under the HEP) had returned voluntarily.