§ Miss WiddecombeTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many asylum seekers whose claims were made(a) prior to 1 July 1993 and (b) between 1 July 1993 and 31 December 1995 have been granted leave to remain, and for what periods, under the backlog clearance exercise; how many granted leave to remain had their asylum applications considered under normal procedures and refused; how many did not receive an initial determination of their asylum application; and if he will make a statement. [134877]
§ Mrs. Roche[holding answer 26 October 2000]: The information requested is given in the table.
Under the backlog clearance measures announced in the White Paper, applications lodged prior to July 1993 where granted indefinite leave to enter or remain without the asylum application being considered, provided they met specified criteria. Asylum applications lodged between 1 July 1993 and 31 December 1995 (6,135) were considered substantively against the normal criteria; however in the event that they failed, consideration was given to granting exceptional leave under extended criteria set out in the White Paper. The number of applications still not determined (15,400) under the backlog clearance exercise is now negligible.
Decisions 1 made under backlog clearance exercise 2 Applications lodged prior to July 1993 Applications lodged between July 1993 and 31 December 1995 Granted exceptional leave with immediate settlement 6,135 — Granted asylum and indefinite leave — 1,290 Granted exceptional leave to remain for four years — 14.110 Refused under backlog criteria3 445 2,165 1 Figures rounded to the nearest five. 2 Cases decided under measures aimed at reducing the pre-1996 asylum application backlog. 3 Includes some cases where the application has been refused on substantive grounds.
§ Mr. GapesTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many(a) Kosovans and (b) Albanians were legally admitted to the United Kingdom in each month in (i) 1997, (ii) 1998, (iii) 1999 and (iv) 2000. [136935]
§ Mrs. RocheI regret that the available information on passengers given leave to enter the United Kingdom does not separately identify Kosovans (other than the 4,346 Kosovans, including dependants, who were evacuated to the United Kingdom under the Humanitarian Evacuation Programme in 1999). The information that is available for Albania is given in the table.
426W
Albania: controlled landings 1,2 Controlled landing 1,2 1997 January 60 February 40 March 50 April 60 May 30 June 40
Albania: controlled landings 1,2 Controlled landings 1,2 July 40 August 70 September 60 October 30 November 30 December 40 Total 540 1998 January 30 February 20 March 60 April 30 May 30 June 50 July 50 August 50 September 80 October 60 November 30 December 30 Total 500 1999 January 20 February 20 March 10 April 40 May 50 June 50 July 60 August 60 September 100 October 80 November 50 December 70 Total 610 2000 January 40 February 50 March 60 April 50 May 50 June 40 Total to date 280 1 Mainly passengers admitted for more than six months (excludes passengers returning). 2 Figures rounded to the nearest 10. Note:
Figures may not add up due to rounding.
§ Mr. GapesTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many Albanians(a) voluntarily returned and (b) were removed from the UK in each month since June 1999. [136804]
§ Mrs. RocheThe requested information is not available.
§ Mr. GapesTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many(a) Kosovans and (b) Albanians were (i) given asylum, (ii) given exceptional leave to remain and (iii) given temporary admission to the United Kingdom in each month in (1) 1997, (2) 1998, (3) 1999 and (4) 2000. [136936]
427W
§ Mrs. RocheThe available information is given in the table. I regret it is not possible separately to identify Kosovans within the available statistics for the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.
Nationals of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and Albania granted asylum, exceptional leave to remain and temporary admission FRY Albania Grants of asylum Grants of ELR Temporary admission 1 Grants of asylum Grants of ELR Temporary admission 1 1997 January 75 * 50 — — 5 February 150 * 70 — — 5 March 160 * 65 — — 20 April 140 * 125 — — 30 May 95 * 105 — — 25 June 90 40 90 — — 20 July 100 35 110 — — 20 August 100 45 175 * — 25 September 120 40 230 — * 30 October 145 40 185 — — 40 November 85 * 250 — — 30 December 95 5 345 — — 20 Total 1,355 210 1,800 * * 285 1998 January 120 * 300 — — 20 February 95 * 280 — — 40 March 100 15 535 — — 55 April 100 20 400 — — 45 May 120 10 250 — — 60 June 110 5 350 — — 40 July 50 20 335 * — 55 August 50 — 375 — — 75 September 40 — 430 — — 90 October 55 — 360 — — 40 November 80 — 245 — — 25 December 10 — 280 — — 55 Total 935 75 4,140 * — 600 1999 January n/a n/a 270 n/a n/a 60 February n/a n/a 245 n/a n/a 90 March n/a n/a 240 n/a n/a 75 April n/a n/a 220 n/a n/a 155 May n/a n/a 355 n/a n/a 265 June n/a n/a 505 n/a n/a 425 July n/a n/a 490 n/a n/a 305 August n/a n/a 130 n/a n/a 80 September n/a n/a 165 n/a n/a 95 October n/a n/a 120 n/a n/a 80 November n/a n/a 100 n/a n/a 40 December n/a n/a 70 n/a n/a 45 Total 6,290 85 2,910 25 * 1,715 2000 January n/a n/a 80 n/a n/a 30 February n/a n/a 60 n/a n/a 20 March n/a n/a 60 n/a n/a 40 April 10 165 80 * * 35 May 20 50 120 — — 20 June 25 20 50 5 5 15 July 30 35 45 * — 20 August 45 40 60 * 5 30 September 30 70 60 5 10 35 Total to date 160 385 615 15 15 245 1 Data relate to the largest 12 ports and include non-asylum cases Note:
Figures rounded to the nearest 5, with '*' = 1 or 2
428WSeparate records were kept however of the Kosovans who arrived in the United Kingdom under the Humanitarian Evacuation Programme (HEP) between 25 April and 25 June 1999. 4,346 were evacuated and they were all granted 12 months leave to enter.
429W
§ Mr. GapesTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many Kosovans(a) voluntarily returned to Kosovo and (b) were removed from the UK in each month since June 1999. [136790]
§ Mrs. RocheOf the 4,346 Kosovan Albanians who were evacuated to the United Kingdom on the Humanitarian Evacuation Programme (HEP) between 25 April and 25 June 1999, 2,396 returned on the Kosovan voluntary assisted programme which ran from 26 July 1999 to 25 June 2000. In addition, records show that 113 Kosovans have returned to Kosovo on the general voluntary assisted returns programme which is open to all nationalities. Individual records are not kept of Kosovans or any other nationality choosing to make their own arrangements to leave the United Kingdom.
Figures are not available on a monthly basis but 25 Kosovans have been returned to Kosovo since June 1999.
§ Mr. GapesTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the success of the dispersal policy for asylum seekers; and if he will make a statement. [136789]
§ Mrs. RocheThe National Asylum Support Service (NASS) has now been in operation for seven months. Applications for support and therefore dispersals were lower than predicted. We have revised down the number of bed spaces required from 65,000 to 44,000 for this financial year. However, NASS has been able to extend the new support arrangements to all new destitute asylum seekers earlier than anticipated. The scheme has also been extended to those asylum seekers who prior to 3 April were in receipt of social security benefits but who on or after 25 September receive a first negative decision but who continue to be eligible for support. At the outset the accommodation requirements for NASS were supplied by the private sector and one housing association but NASS has now secured contracts with four local authority consortia and negotiations are at an advanced stage with three more. The dispersal process is bedding down as NASS, the Voluntary Sector and the Accommodation Providers settle into their new roles.