§ Lord Hyltonasked Her Majesty's Government:
How many persons are held in detention under the immigration Acts; of these how many are held pending deportation; whether as many as 6,000 persons have been detained during any recent 12-month period; how many current detainees are held in HM prisons; and how many of those in prison were asylum-seekers with undecided cases. [HL1027]
§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Home Office (Lord Bassam of Brighton)I expect to be in a position to send the noble Lord a substantive reply by 14 March.