HC Deb 26 June 2000 vol 352 cc378-80W
19. Dr. Palmer

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what progress is being made in speeding up decisions on applications from asylum seekers. [126137]

Mrs. Roche

We are committing substantial new resources to speed up the asylum system. We have recently recruited 270 extra asylum decision-makers and a further 350 are due to be recruited this year. We are thoroughly overhauling processes across the system from end-to-end and across directorate and departmental boundaries. Decisions are currently well exceeding the number of new applications.

The number of decisions has significantly increased since the beginning of the year reaching over 11,000 in March, the highest monthly total ever recorded.

21. Sir Teddy Taylor

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many persons are registered as asylum seekers in the United Kingdom; and how many were registered(a) five and (b) 10 years ago; and if he will make a statement. [126139]

Mrs. Roche

The number of asylum applicants awaiting an initial decision at the end of April was 94,540. The comparable figure for the end of December 1994 was 55,255 and at the end of December 1989 was 12,240. The backlog of asylum cases is being progressively reduced and we are on course to make a substantial reduction by April 2001.

28. Ms Glenda Jackson

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many asylum seekers, while in detention,(a) attempted suicide and (b) committed suicide in (i) 1996–97, (ii) 1997–98 and (iii) 1998–99. [126147]

Mrs. Roche

While the overwhelming majority of immigration detainees have claimed asylum at some point, it would be possible to distinguish them from non-asylum seeking detainees only at a disproportionate cost by examination of individual case records.

The number of recorded attempts at self-harm by immigration detainees are as follows:

  1. (i) April 1996-March 1997: 14 attempts
  2. (ii) April 1997-March 1998: 20 attempts
  3. (iii) April 1998-March 1999: 23 attempts.

There were no incidents of suicide by immigration detainees between 1996 and 1999.

30. Maria Eagle

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what checks are made on private landlords seeking to house asylum seekers. [126149]

37. Miss Geraldine Smith

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what checks are made on private landlords seeking to house asylum seekers. [126156]

Mrs. Roche

Both private and public housing providers were invited to participate in the tendering process for providing accommodation for asylum seekers. With regard to private sector companies, we conducted thorough reviews which included an assessment of the potential provider's financial standing, suitability and quality of accommodation and support service infrastructure. In addition, we consulted the relevant regional consortia to ensure that local circumstances were taken into account and that the provider was suitable.

Mr. Sanders

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what priority will be given to cluster areas with(a) less than 1 per cent. ethnic minority populations and (b) low levels of public housing in the dispersal of asylum seekers. [127235]

Mrs. Roche

In researching cluster areas and deciding where asylum seekers might best be dispersed, the National Asylum Support Service has drawn on a number of sources for information about towns and cities across the United Kingdom. This includes census information and population data. Ethnic minority population and communities are taken into account in decisions on cluster areas, although there is no requirement to take account of a population of less than 1 per cent. specifically. The availability of accommodation is clearly a prime factor in the development of cluster areas. This may be either public housing or private housing.

Mr. Sanders

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what account will be taken of seasonal factors that affect the availability of accommodation in seaside resorts when determining the dispersal of asylum seekers; and if he will make a statement. [127236]

Mrs. Roche

A number of factors in cluster areas affect the availability of accommodation and its suitability. The National Asylum Support Service aims to take all these factors into account when considering cluster areas and dispersal. As regards seaside resorts, the Home Office is in touch with relevant local authorities and with the British Resorts Association to look at the account that needs to be taken of specific characteristics of seaside areas.

Sir John Stanley

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the average number of dependants per asylum seeker included in new asylum applications received in the UK. [126814]

Mrs. Roche

Applications for asylum to the United Kingdom are recorded on behalf of the principal applicant only and totalled 71,160 in 1999. It is estimated that the total was 91,200, including dependants.