§ Mr. LoveTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many applications for asylum have been received from Sri Lanka in each of the last 10 years; how many have been refused; how many applicants have returned to Sri Lanka during that time; and if he will make a statement. [139433]
§ Mrs. RocheThe available information is given in the table.
I regret that the requested information on the number of applicants who have returned to Sri Lanka is not available.
All applications from Sri Lankan nationals are considered on their individual merits in accordance with the United Kingdom's obligations under the 1951 convention.
Sri Lankan asylum applications 1991 to September 2000 Applications received1,2 Refusals of asylum and exceptional leave4,5 1991 3,765 620 1992 2,085 215 1993 1,965 260 1994 2,350 955 1995 2,070 1,225 1996 1,340 2,115 1997 1,830 1,710 1998 3,505 1,950 19997 35,130 1,980 2000 (to September)7 34,250 3,095 1 Figures do not include overseas applications. 2 Figures rounded to the nearest five. 3 Application figures may exclude some cases lodged at Local Enforcement Offices. 4 Information is of initial decisions excluding the outcome of appeals or the other subsequent decisions. 5 Includes refusals on the grounds that the applicant had arrived from a safe third country, non-compliance refusals, for failure to provide evidence to support the asylum claim within a reasonable period, and refusals under the backlog clearance exercise. 6 Decision figures for 1991 may understate. 7 Provisional figures.