§ Mr. AllanTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many whole-time equivalent staff were committed to the processing of asylum applications at the Immigration and Nationality Directorate on 1 April(a) 1994, (b) 1995, (c) 1996, (d) 1997, (e) 1998 and (f) 1999. [83620]
§ Mr. Mike O'Brien[holding answer 10 May 1999]The Home Office Annual Report 1997 gives the following numbers for asylum determination staff in AA-SEO grades, excluding travel documents, appeals support management and policy staff in the years up to April 1997:
Number Calendar year 1994 outturn 412 1995 outturn 426 Financial year 1996–97 estimated outturn 514 More recent comparisons are very difficult because of the re-organisation of the Immigration and Nationality Directorate (IND) since December 1998. Asylum applications were previously handled in a dedicated Asylum Directorate; they are not dealt with in integrated teams which also deal with a variety of other immigration casework.
Figures for 1997–98 have not yet been published, but the figures relating to the former Asylum Directorate show 451 staff in the AA to SEO grades. The new Integrated Casework Directorate currently has 236 members of staff who are trained to deal with asylum applications; they are supported by a further 239 staff members, who also provide support on other immigration casework.
§ Mr. ClappisonTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the average number of(a) callers, (b) calls and (c) calls answered per day to the telephone caller unit in the Immigration and Nationality Directorate in (i) March and (ii) April. [83951]
261W
§ Mr. Mike O'BrienFigures for calls made during normal working hours in March and April were as follows:
Number March (a) Average number of callers per day 5,000 (b) Average number of calls per day 42,627 (c) Average number of calls answered per day 1,637 April (a) Average number of callers per day 4,380 (b) Average number of calls per day 30,151 (c) Average number of calls answered per day 1,883 Note:
Many calls are repeat calls and, therefore, these statistics must be approached with caution
§ Mr. ClappisonTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the unit cost of caseworking in the Immigration and Nationality Directorate in(a) each of the last six months for which figures are available and (b) May 1997. [83950]
§ Mr. Mike O'BrienThe direct cost of a standard unit of caseworking is routinely monitored under the terms of the contract with Siemens Business Services. Those costs, which exclude some overheads, were:
Month Unit cost (£) May 1997 45.16 October 1998 33.19 November 1998 40.44 December 1998 78.00 January 1999 71.57 February 1999 62.58 March 1999 50.57