§ Mr. ClappisonTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is his estimate of the current total number of persons living in the UK who have no legal right to do so; and, of these, how many(a) have had enforcement action initiated against them but not completed, (b) have not yet had enforcement action initiated against them and (c) have absconded. [78665]
§ Mr. Mike O'BrienThere is no estimate of the total number of persons living in the United Kingdom who have no legal right to do so. There is no figure for the number of persons in the United Kingdom who have no right to be here but against whom enforcement action has not been initiated.
As at January 1999, the number of persons against whom enforcement action has been initiated but not completed (including absconders) stood at 67,000. But some of these may still have outstanding legal appeals which means they cannot be removed yet.
As at the end of November 1998 the number of known absconders was 31,500. This covers persons subject to port or enforcement action who had breached conditions of temporary admission, temporary release or restriction order, or were otherwise known to be out of contact with the Immigration and Nationality Directorate (IND). Some persons recorded as absconders may have departed from the United Kingdom without the knowledge of IND.
§ Mr. ClappisonTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate he has made of the proportion of lorry drivers who report clandestine entrants to(a) the police and (b) other authorities on discovery of such persons in their vehicles in the UK. [78698]
§ Mr. Mike O'BrienWithout having some idea of the number of drivers who actually discover clandestine entrants in their vehicle, any estimate of the proportion who report the matter can only be speculation. Many clandestine illegal entrants already report to the authorities of their own accord. Our aim should be to prevent them arriving in the first place.
§ Mr. ClappisonTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many persons were granted leave to enter the United Kingdom in(a) 1997 and (b) 1998 after being removed from the United Kingdom as a result of a breach of immigration law in the preceding three years. [78601]
§ Mr. Mike O'BrienI regret that the information requested is not available.
§ Mr. ClappisonTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what research he has(a) commissioned or (b) evaluated into the carrying out of checks by lorry drivers for the presence of clandestine entrants in their vehicles. [78699]
§ Mr. Mike O'BrienI have had a number of meetings with representatives of the road haulage industry, in the course of which we have discussed possible precautionary measures; and I have made it clear that I am happy to have further discussions if this would be helpful. However, the Home Office has not commissioned any independent research into this subject and has not yet participated in the evaluation of research by others, but officials have advised on the work they have done in this area.
546W
§ Mr. ClappisonTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the proportion of road haulage operators and lorry drivers who have experienced incidents involving clandestine entrants. [78701]
§ Mr. Mike O'BrienOver 9,000 cases of clandestine illegal entry were detected or otherwise came to light during 1998. It is not possible to make an assessment of the proportion of road haulage operators and drivers who were responsible for bringing them into the country. It is not possible either to assess the proportion who were involved in unsuccessful attempts to gain entry to their vehicles.
§ Mr. ClappisonTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the proportion of road haulage operators with procedures in place for the prevention of clandestine entrants. [78700]
§ Mr. Mike O'BrienI am aware that the Road Haulage Association (RHA) has issued guidance to its members on this subject. It is not possible to judge how many will have acted on that advice or obtained advice from elsewhere and, of course, not all operators entering the United Kingdom will be members of the RHA.
§ Mr. ClappisonTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many persons were arrested under the provisions of Schedule 2 of the Immigration Act 1971 in the last year for which figures are available. [78655]
§ Mr. Mike O'BrienInformation on the number of people arrested under the provisions of Schedule 2 is not collected centrally.
Provisional figures for 1998 indicate that 27,600 passengers were refused leave to enter and removed, 16,460 illegal entrants were detected and 3,920 people were served with a notice of intention to deport for overstaying or breaching conditions. However, by no means all of these would have been arrested under Schedule 2. Some would have come to light as the result of an application for leave to enter or remain, others may have come to light after being arrested in connection with other matters.
§ Mr. ClappisonTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many clandestine entrants were discovered concealed in a vehicle by (i) immigration officials, (ii) port authorities and (iii) the police(a) at a port of entry and (b) subsequently in the last five years for which figures are available. [78618]
§ Mr. Mike O'BrienDetails of the total number of clandestine illegal entrants who were detected or who brought themselves came to notice during each of the past five years are given in the following table. We do not distinguish between cases detected at port of entry and those who come to light subsequently, neither do we distinguish according to who detected them.
547W
Year Number of clandestine illegal entrants 1994 1,810 1995 3,360 1996 4,110 1997 4,040 19981 9,320 1Provisional estimate
§ Mr. ClappisonTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the prevalence of clandestine entrants in vehicles gaining access to the vehicle through its roof. [78617]
§ Mr. Mike O'BrienI am aware that in some cases there is evidence that entry was gained by this route but we have made no comparative assessment of method of access.
Persons convicted and persons sentenced to immediate custody at all courts for offences1 under sections 24 and 25 of Immigration Act 1971 by type of offence, England and Wales, 1997 Section Offence 1 description Total convicted Sentenced to immediate custody 24(1)(a) Entering UK in breach of a deportation order 2 1 24(1)(a) Entering UK without leave 16 10 24(1)(aa)2 By means of deception obtains or seeks leave to enter or remain in UK — — 24(l)(b)(i), 24(1)(c) Overstaying time limit of leave 11 6 24(l)(b)(ii),24(1)(d) Failure to observe conditions of leave 5 — 24(1)(e) Failure to observe restrictions under Schedule 2 or 3 as to reporting to police or an Immigration Officer as to residence 2 — 24(1)(f) Disembarks in the UK from ship or aircraft after being placed on board with a view to removal from UK 1 — 24(1)(g) Embarks in contravention of a restriction imposed by Order in Council — — 25(1)(a)3 Knowingly facilitating the entry of an illegal entrant 130 101 25(1)(b)3 Knowingly facilitating the entry of an asylum claimant — — 25(1)((c)3 Knowingly facilitating leave to remain of persons by means of deception 1 — 25(2) Knowingly harbouring an illegal entrant or person who is in breach of the conditions of his leave 3 — 1 Principal immigration offence 2 As added by section 4 of the Asylum and Immigration Act 1996 3 As added by section 5 of the Asylum and Immigration Act 1996