§ Mr. ClappisonTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will estimate the cost of providing each £1 worth of support for asylum applicants(a) in receipt of income support following an application for asylum at a port of entry and (b) in receipt of support from a local authority following an in-country asylum application. [83961]
§ Mr. Mike O'BrienThe information is not available in the form requested.
However, with regard to Income Support, the available information is given in the table:
Income Support processing costs 1998–991 Costs £ Unit cost of processing asylum seeker income support claim 17.90 Annual cost of maintaining an average income support Claim 3.66 Total2 21.56 1The information provided is for Income Support processing cost only, and does not include the processing costs for Housing Benefit or Council Tax Benefit.
262W2This is the total annual cost in the year that the claim is processed; the total annual cost for a claim in the years after it has been processed will be £3.66.
Note:
In 1998–99, central Government paid grants of up to £165 per adult asylum seeker per week; up to £230 per family (or £240 for families accommodated in inner London prior to 23 November 1998) and up to £400 per unaccompanied child aged under 16 or £200 per unaccompanied child aged 16 or 17. Local authorities could include administration costs within these weekly unit costs, but no information is held centrally on the extent of those administration costs.