§ Mr. ColemanTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the monitoring arrangements and assessment standards he plans for the support arrangements set out in Part VI of the Immigration and Asylum Bill. [78883]
§ Mr. Mike O'BrienThe support arrangements are likely to be provided under contract either to local authorities, housing associations, private sector or voluntary sector organisations. Responsibility for monitoring all aspects of the contractual arrangements will fall to the Asylum Support Directorate which will be set up as new body within the Immigration and Nationality Directorate at the Home Office.
533W
§ Mr. ColemanTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what cash payment he proposes to meet the cost of sanitary protection for female asylum seekers. [78790]
§ Mr. Mike O'BrienThe proposals for non-accommodation support provisions are set out in paragraphs 4.18–4.21 of the Information Document "Asylum Seekers Support" which I published on 22 March. It will be for asylum seekers to use this provision to meet all their essential living needs. In circumstances where support is provided wholly in kind, we would expect contractors to make suitable provision for essential living needs.
§ Mr. ColemanTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which retail and supermarket chains have been consulted over the generic voucher scheme proposed in paragraph 4.17 of the document "Asylum Seekers Support", published by his Department on 23 March. [78947]
§ Mr. Mike O'BrienInquiries have been made of a number of potential suppliers and local authorities who use voucher schemes. The Information Document itself continues that consultation process and is intended to identify potential providers with an interest in supplying a voucher scheme.
§ Mr. ColemanTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to paragraph 5.18 of the document "Asylum Seekers Support", published on 23 March by his Department, under what circumstances families with children will not continue to receive support while they lawfully remain in the country. [78949]
§ Mr. Mike O'BrienFamilies with children who are recognised as refugees or granted exceptional leave to remain will, if they are eligible, be transferred to the main benefits system. Those whose application for asylum is rejected will normally continue to be supported while they lawfully remain in the country. Support would be withdrawn only in exceptional circumstances, for example, if the families were to leave the accommodation provided or were seriously to abuse it.
§ Mr. ColemanTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proposals he has for support arrangements for asylum seekers whose cases are not dealt with in the six month time scale set down in the Asylum and Immigration Bill. [78798]
§ Mr. Mike O'BrienThere is no such time scale set out in the Bill. The White Paper "Fairer, Faster and Firmer—A Modem Approach to Immigration and Asylum", indicated in paragraph 8.9, that the Government were aiming to ensure that by April 2001 most initial asylum decisions will be made within two months of receipt and that most appeals to adjudicators will be heard within a further four months.
The support arrangements will be introduced before those targets are met, but are considered to be suitable for cases which take longer than six months overall, provided that such a support arrangement does not continue for several years.
534W
§ Mr. ColemanTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he intends to make an announcement' concerning the level of cash payment available to asylum seekers under the Asylum and Immigration Bill. [78795]
§ Mr. Mike O'BrienThis information is set out in paragraph 4.20–4.21 of the Information Document "Asylum Seekers Support" which I published on 22 March. The Government have concluded that adult asylum seekers should receive £7 per week; children aged 3–18 should receive £3.50 per week; and children aged under 3 years should receive £7 per week in cash.
§ Mr. ColemanTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many staff will be employed in the new Asylum Support Directorate. [78948]
§ Mr. Mike O'BrienThe Home Office commissioned KPMG to conduct a study of the structure and size of the Directorate required to manage the proposed new asylum seeker support arrangements. We are currently assessing the recommendations in that report, but initial indications suggest that approximately 300 staff will be required.
§ Mr. ColemanTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to paragraph 4.12 of the document published on 23 March entitled, "Asylum Seekers Support", if he will list the component elements of essential living needs. [78950]
§ Mr. Mike O'BrienIt is not my intention to specify the individual elements of essential living needs. These will vary for different asylum seekers according to circumstances. The non-accommodation provision listed in paragraphs 4.18–4.21 of the Information Document are intended to cover essential living needs, but it is for asylum seekers to determine how they use the resources available to them.
§ Mr. ColemanTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to introduce for asylum seekers wishing to make inquiries to the Immigration and Nationality Directorate offices at Croydon(a) a freephone service, (b) a free post service and (c) methods by which they can be reimbursed for the cost of telephone and postage for such inquiries; and if he will make a statement. [78799]
§ Mr. Mike O'BrienThe provision in paragraphs 4.18–4.21 of the Information Document "Asylum Seekers Support" which I published on 22 March set out the non-accommodation support provision. This provision is intended to cover any telephone and postage costs incurred by the asylum seeker. Where support is provided mainly in kind, providers will need to provide these services at no cost to the asylum seeker.
§ Mr. ClappisonTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what assessment he has made of the number of asylum seekers who claimed asylum in England and subsequently moved to Scotland in each of the last five years; [78645]
(2) what proportion of asylum seekers applied for asylum in (a) England and Wales, (b) Scotland and (c) Northern Ireland in each of the last 10 years for which figures are available. [78646]
535W
§ Mr. Mike O'BrienI regret that the information requested is not available.
§ Mr. ClappisonTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the average cost in staff-hours of effecting the removal of a failed asylum applicant in each of the last five years for which figures are available. [78658]
§ Mr. Mike O'BrienThe amount of staff time spent on removals is extremely difficult to quantify. Cases may, depending on their type and complexity take only a few hours to conclude, or many months. Cases might be completed and removal effected, at the port of entry, but many cases will involve appeals, judicial reviews of periods of detention. All incur costs in staff time. An attempt to quantify the staff cost of effecting an asylum removal could, therefore, be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
§ Mr. ClappisonTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many asylum claimants were removed to a safe third country as a result of him issuing a certificate under section (2)(1)(a) of the Asylum and Immigration Act 1996 in the last year for which figures are available. [78619]
§ Mr. Mike O'BrienIn 1998, 750 asylum seekers were removed to a safe third country following the issue of a certificate under section 2 of Asylum and Immigration Act 1996. Numbers have risen over recent months. In the first two months of this year, over 180 asylum seekers were removed to safe third countries.
§ Mr. ClappisonTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is his estimate of the current annual cost of supporting an asylum seeker. [78637]
§ Mr. Mike O'BrienI refer the hon. Member to the reply given by my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary to my hon. Friend the Member for Dover (Mr. Prosser) on 22 March 1999,Official Report, column 30, which gives the available information on costs of supporting asylum seekers.
§ Mr. ClappisonTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many claims for asylum were made by persons who had previously made unsuccessful appeals against a refusal of leave to enter or remain in the United Kingdom in the last year for which figures are available; [78674]
(2) how many persons in possession of a visa or other form of entry clearance applied for asylum following entry to the UK in each of the last five years for which figures are available; and in how many such cases (a) asylum and (b) exceptional leave to remain was granted. [78643]
§ Mr. Mike O'BrienI regret that the information requested is not available.
§ Mr. ClappisonTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many refusals of(a) a claim for asylum and (b) an appeal against a refusal of a claim for asylum have been followed by an application for judicial review in each of the last five years for which figures are available. [78673]
536W
§ Mr. Mike O'BrienThe available information is given in the table:
1996 1997 Application for leave to move for Judicial Review1,2,3 1,225 1,350 Decisions3 915 1,250 Of which granted leave to move3 190 320 1Figures rounded to the nearest 5 2Excludes appeals lodged by the Secretary of State 3Estimates based on Crown Office data
§ Mr. ClappisonTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department in how many cases penalties paid by(a) airlines and (b) other carriers were refunded as a result of applications for asylum being granted in each of the last five years. [78688]
§ Mr. Mike O'BrienCharges amounting to £937,000, relating to 566 individual cases have been refunded over the last five years. A breakdown is as follows:
Year £ 1994 72,000 1995 38,000 1996 86,000 1997 380,000 1998 361,000 All of the refunds related to payments made by airlines. Some of the cases arose prior to the increase in the charge from £1,000 to £2,000 per passenger (i.e. July 1991).