§ Mr. LidingtonTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the present cost of a weighted unit of output for asylum, after-entry, enforcement and nationality casework. [92785]
§ Mr. Mike O'BrienFor the purposes of monitoring the performance of the Immigration and Nationality Directorate under the terms of the Casework Programme contract with Siemens Business Services, the unit cost of a basic casework decision is determined each month. The costs of more complex decisions may be estimated by combining the cost of the basic decision with the weighting attached to a unit output. The unit cost of a basic decision in May was £34.73. The costs of more complex decisions may, therefore, be expressed as is given in the table:
£ Type of output Cost After Entry Casework 44.10 Asylum Casework 314.65 Nationality Casework 52.85 Deportation Casework 1,241.45 Illegal Entry Casework 572.60 These costs exclude any productivity-related payments that may subsequently be due to Siemens.
§ Mr. LidingtonTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what his policy is towards the proposed conveyance of(a) residence conditions and (b) financial support payments for asylum seekers and refugees in member states of the European Union. [92782]
§ Mr. Mike O'BrienThe Government provide information on British immigration and asylum matters to member states of the European Union through the normal channels associated with the European Union at both ministerial and official level.
§ Mr. LidingtonTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many failed asylum seekers were removed from the United Kingdom between(a) 1 January and 30 June 1997, (b) 1 January and 30 June 1998 and (c) 1 January and 30 June 1999. [92789]
§ Mr. Mike O'BrienData on removals and voluntary departures of asylum applicants, excluding dependants, are given in the table.
743W
Removals and voluntary departures1 of asylum applicants, excluding dependants, First Half 1997, First Half 1998, First Half 19992 Dates Number of persons 1 January to 30 June 1997 3,370 1 January to 30 June 1998 3,105 1 January to 30 June 19992 3,650 1 For port applicants, the data include any voluntary departure up to and including notification of the decision on the asylum application but excludes any subsequent departure. For in-country applicants the data include 'voluntary' departures following enforcement action but exclude voluntary departures where enforcement action had not been initiated. Some persons may leave voluntarily without the knowledge of the Immigration and Nationality Directorate 2 1999 data are provisional
§ Mr. LidingtonTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate he has made of the backlog in dealing with failed asylum seekers liable for removal at the latest date for which information is available. [92781]
§ Mr. Mike O'BrienAs at November 1998, the latest date for which a figure is available, the estimated backlog of failed asylum seekers liable for removal was 24,000. That figure represents a snapshot, taken from Immigration and Nationality Directorate (IND) port and enforcement databases, of failed asylum seekers, excluding dependants, who have exhausted their rights of appeal (including any who did not submit an appeal against the refusal of asylum) and who are liable for removal. The figure does not include any failed in-country asylum applicants against whom enforcement action has not commenced. Some persons included in the backlog figure may have actually departed from the United Kingdom without IND' s knowledge.
The backlog includes a large number of cases where there are one or more barriers to removal such as absconding, judicial review, representations from hon. Members, or lack of necessary documentation.
§ Mr. LidingtonTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many failed asylum seekers departed voluntarily in each month since January 1997. [92780]
§ Mr. Mike O'BrienThe available information is given in the table. The data do not include voluntary departures of in-country asylum applicants against whom enforcement action had not been initiated; the number of such departures cannot be quantified directly from Immigration and Nationality Directorate databases. Some persons may leave voluntarily without the knowledge of the Immigration and Nationality Directorate and, by definition, we have no record of the number of such departures.
744W
Voluntary departures1 of asylum applicants, excluding dependants, 1 January 1997 to 31 December 19982 Number of persons 1997 1998 January 170 150 February 150 140 March 180 140 April 160 140 May 150 120 June 150 120 July 140 2120 August 130 2150
Voluntary departures1 of asylum applicants, excluding dependants, 1 January 1997 to 31 December 19982 Number of persons 1997 1998 September 130 2130 October 180 2190 November 150 2200 December 120 2200 1 For port applicants the data cover voluntary departures up to and including notification of the decision on the asylum application but exclude any subsequent departure. For in-country applicants the data cover 'voluntary' departures following enforcement action but exclude voluntary departures where enforcement action has not been initiated. Some persons may leave voluntarily without the knowledge of the Immigration and Nationality Directorate. 2 Data for July to December 1998 are provisional estimates.