§ Ms RyanTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will give further details about the operation of the asylum seeker support arrangements for which provision is made in Part VI of the Immigration and Asylum Bill. [72145]
§ Mr. StrawOn 17 February, I will place in the Library a draft Process Manual which describes the way the Home Office proposes to discharge its responsibilities for supporting asylum seekers, and what they may expect. The draft Manual will be revised and may be expanded as more detailed elements of the scheme are designed and settled. Once its policy is in final form, it will be sub-edited into clearer English.
§ Sir Norman FowlerTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the towns and cities where accommodation will be provided for asylum seekers under the terms of the Immigration and Asylum Bill; what estimate he has made of the cost of such accommodation; how many places will be made available; what kind of accommodation will be provided; what standards will be required; and if he will make a statement. [71670]
§ Mr. Mike O'BrienNo towns or cities have been identified at this stage. Asylum seekers will be dispersed to cluster areas. No cluster areas have yet been designated, but the intention is that such areas would have available accommodation (without resorting to sink estates) and placements would take account of the value of linking to existing communities and the support of voluntary and community groups.
No estimate has been made of the cost of the accommodation alone. As a result of the comprehensive spending review provision of £350 million in 1999–2000, £300 million in 2000–01 and £250 million in 2001–02 was added to the Home Office baseline to cover the overall asylum support costs. The project team which has been set up to take forward the asylum support provisions in the Immigration and Asylum Bill are currently considering the development of cluster areas, the amount and type of accommodation which will be needed, and associated standards.
§ Sir Norman FowlerTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on progress in considering the cases of those applicants for political asylum who entered the country prior to July 1993 indicating how many cases had been(a) considered, (b) granted indefinite leave to remain and (c) personally interviewed; what checks are made on whether an applicant is a genuine refugee; and if he will make a statement. [71671]
651W
§ Mr. Mike O'BrienThe available information on the outcome of asylum applications made before 1 July 1993 was given in a reply to my hon. Friend the Member for Hammersmith and Fulham (Mr. Coleman) on 1 February 1999,Official Report, column 422.
Where these cases are dealt with under the measures announced in July 1998 the substantive asylum claim is not considered. However, the cases of applicants who do not qualify to be considered under the backlog clearance measures, or who claim that they have been disadvantaged by the grant of indefinite leave rather than asylum, will be considered in the normal way against the criteria in the 1951 United Nations Convention.
§ Sir Norman FowlerTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what progress his Department has made in considering the cases of those applicants for political asylum who made applications between 1 July 1993 and 31 December 1995. [71669]
§ Mr. Mike O'BrienAbout 88,0001 applications for asylum were made between 1 July 1993 and 31 December 1995. The status of those cases which had been decided at 31 December 1998 is set out in the table.
An estimated 20,000 cases remained undecided, but this estimate is likely to be reduced following a recent count of Immigration and Nationality Directorate's outstanding work.
1Excluding dependents.
Percentage of total decisions1 Granted Asylum 6 Granted Exceptional Leave 13 Refused after full consideration 69 Refused on 3rd country grounds 4 Paragraph 340 refusal2 8 1Percentages are estimates rounded to the nearest whole number. 2Paragraph 340 of the Immigration Rules. For failure to provide evidence to support an asylum claim within a reasonable period, including failure to respond to invitation to interview.
§ Sir Norman FowlerTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assumptions he has made as to when his proposed new system for supporting asylum seekers as set out in the Immigration and Asylum Bill will come into operation; how many staff will be recruited to operate the system and from where they will be drawn; what will the likely cost of the new system; what will be its budget; and if he will make a statement. [71726]
§ Mr. Mike O'BrienOur current plans are that the new asylum support system will come into effect on 1 April 2000. But much depends on the progress of the Immigration and Asylum Bill through Parliament, the necessary planning arrangements, and the provision of support services.
The Home Office is currently considering the number of staff required in the Asylum Support Directorate, which will be the new body set up to administer the new asylum support arrangements.
Information on the source of those staff, likely costs and the budget is not known at this stage because it is to some extent dependent on Parliamentary progress.
652W
§ Sir Norman FowlerTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will conduct checks at(a) Heathrow and (b) Dover, to determine how many political asylum seekers are now arriving in Britain without documents; and if he will make a statement. [71727]
§ Mr. Mike O'BrienComprehensive immigration checks are already in place at Heathrow and Dover. All arriving passengers are examined by an Immigration Officer and are required to hold valid travel documents including visas where necessary. In addition to normal immigration controls there are regular surveillance operations at Heathrow and Dover.
The Immigration (Carriers' Liability) Act 1987 is also applied and financial charges under that Act are levied on carriers who bring inadequately documented passengers to the United Kingdom. Statistics on these passengers are recorded by the Immigration Service.