§ Mr. WebbTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will estimate the cost, including the administrative costs, of restoring pre-1997 social security entitlements to asylum seekers instead of the vouchers system,(a) per asylum seeker and (b) in total annually; if he will set out the assumptions underlying the calculations and the basis for these assumptions; and if he will make a statement.[125701]
§ Mr. BayleyIt is not possible to provide a reliable estimate of the costs of restoring pre-1996 social security entitlements to asylum seekers. This is because it is not possible reliably to determine what effect the changes made to the support arrangements for asylum seekers in 1996 and those introduced in April 2000 have had in deterring asylum applications.