§ Mr. SayeedTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to ensure that illegal immigrants and bogus asylum seekers do not remain in the UK. [97891]
§ Mrs. RocheThe Government have made clear their commitment to remove from the United Kingdom those persons who have entered illegally and those whose asylum claims have been refused and who do not otherwise qualify to remain.
The Immigration Service has instituted a range of measures to achieve our commitment including the establishment of a specialist documentation unit to liaise with issuing authorities and the deployment of a dedicated absconder tracing team.
The Immigration and Asylum Bill currently before Parliament contains further measures aimed at ensuring that those who have no lawful basis to remain here do not do so.
§ Mr. SayeedTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the total cost in each of the last 10 years of(a) welfare benefits, (b) medical and (c) education for illegal immigrants and asylum seekers in the UK. [97890]
§ Mrs. RocheThis information is not available. For information about the amount paid in social security benefits to asylum seekers in the last six years, I refer to the reply given by the Under-Secretary of State for Social Security, my hon. Friend the Member for City of York (Mr. Bayley) to the hon. Member for Aylesbury (Mr. Liddington) on 2 November 1999,Official Report, columns 154-55.
§ Mr. SayeedTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proposals he has for the speedy clearing of the backlog of asylum applications. [97888]
§ Mrs. RocheI refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave to the hon. Member for Woking (Mr. Malins) on 1 November 1999,Official Report, column 58.