§ Mr. BercowTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on measures under discussion on standardisation of arrival procedures for asylum seekers throughout the EU; and what discussions are currently on-going concerning the definition of a refugee. [128236]
§ Mrs. RocheThe Government's approach to minimum standards on asylum procedures was set out in the Explanatory Memorandum dated 26 March 1999, which was a response to the Commission working document dated 3 March 1999, entitled "Towards common standards on asylum procedures". A copy of the Explanatory Memorandum was deposited in the Library.
Discussions on minimum standards for qualification as a refugee have not yet begun.
§ Mr. CoxTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many asylum seekers were sent from the Greater London area to other areas of the United Kingdom in the last three months; and if he will list the areas. [129509]
§ Mrs. RocheThe National Asylum Support Service is not yet responsible for providing support to destitute asylum seekers who were living in London at the time of their application for asylum. Some of those applying for asylum at ports of entry may have been placed in emergency accommodation in the Greater London area while their application for support was being considered. From 3 April until 30 June, a total of 3,212 asylum seekers, including dependants, had been dispersed under the national asylum support scheme. I am afraid that we do not hold information on how many of these were dispersed from emergency accommodation in the Greater London area. The areas to which they were dispersed are the East Midlands, North East, North West, Scotland, South West, Sussex, West Midlands and Yorkshire.
§ Mr. BrookeTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many units of accommodation currently being paid for by the National Asylum Support Service are standing empty; and what percentage of the total numbers being paid for this represents. [130697]
§ Mrs. RocheOn Friday 14 July, 4,126 bed spaces which represent 42 per cent. of all property available to the National Asylum Support Service (NASS) were being paid for but not used. The exact number of units available
60W
Financial year Applications made Applications resolved Awards made Compensation paid (£ million) Administration costs (£ million) 1990–91 50,820 53,384 35,190 109.3 10.3 1991–92 61,400 60,113 39,249 143.7 13.1 1992–93 65,977 58,688 36,638 152.2 14.2 1993–94 73,473 65,293 40,635 165.1 17.3 1994–95 71,734 64,549 37,365 175.4 17.8 1995–96 75,667 76,225 44,036 179.0 19.3 1996–97 75,414 79,219 46,942 210.6 20.3 changes day by day as providers notify NASS of properties. Equally, the number of asylum seekers provided with accommodation by NASS changes daily. In order to ensure that adequate numbers of accommodation units are available to satisfy current demand, and make provision for the forthcoming roll-out of the scheme, NASS has to maintain a stock of available property. The total stock currently standing empty represents approximately three weeks of accommodation needed when the NASS scheme has been fully rolled out.