§ Mrs. GillanTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many asylum applications have been lodged by Kosovars since 1 January; how many have been processed; and what were the outcomes. [89623]
§ Mr. Mike O'BrienThe available information is that in the period between January and May 1999 3,455 applications for asylum in the United Kingdom were made by nationals of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, excluding dependants. 2,835 initial decisions were made, of which 2,165 were granted asylum and 165 were refused. 505 decisions were made under the pragmatic measures aimed at reducing the pre-1996 asylum backlog with the large majority being granted asylum and a small number exception leave to remain.
I regret that it is not possible to separately identify Kosovars within the available statistics for the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.
§ Mrs. GillanTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many Kosovar refugees received in the United Kingdom have(a) been returned to Kosovo and (b) requested a return passage to Kosovo. [89619]
§ Mr. Mike O'BrienNone of the refugees who have arrived under the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Humanitarian Evacuation Programme have yet been returned to Kosovo. We have asked the International Organisation for Migration to begin taking registrations from those who want to return; so far there have been over 100 inquiries.
§ Mrs. GillanTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many Kosovar refugees have been received in the United Kingdom; if he will list the centres receiving Kosovar refugees; and how many Kosovar refugees have left the accommodation where they were originally housed on entering the United Kingdom. [89616]
310W
§ Mr. Mike O'Brien4,346 evacuees have been airlifted to the United Kingdom under the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Humanitarian Evacuation Programme from Macedonia. Most have been housed in reception centres in the Midlands, the North of England and Scotland. Reception centres have been established in Ashton-under-Lyme, Barnsley, Blackburn, Bolton, Bradford, Bury, Cheadle, Clitheroe, Derby, Doncaster, Glasgow, Grimsby, Halifax, Harrogate, Hornsea, Leeds, Leicester, Liverpool, Manchester, Northwich, North Berwick, Oldham, Renfrew, Ripon, Rotherham, Runcorn, Sheffield, Southport, Stockport, Trafford, Ulverston, Wakefield and York.
424 refugees arriving under the Humanitarian Evacuation Programme are not currently resident in reception centres.