HC Deb 23 November 2000 vol 357 cc291-2W
Mr. Lidington

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department for each month since 1 April 2000,(a) how many initial asylum decisions resulted in a refusal on the grounds that the applicant had failed to complete his statement of evidence form correctly or had failed to complete it within the 14 days allowed and (b) what proportion (i) of all refusals and (ii) of all refusals excluding those made as part of the backlog-clearance exercise, was accounted for by the decisions listed in (a); and if he will make a statement. [139800]

Mrs. Roche

The available information relates to total refusals of asylum on non-compliance grounds; comprising failure to provide further evidence as required and failure to respond to invitations to interview to establish identity as well as failure to complete a statement of evidence form correctly and within the time allowed. The information that is available is given in the table.

Refusals of asylum on non-compliance grounds in the United Kingdom, excluding dependants, April-September 20001,2
Cases considered under normal procedures
Month Total refused Refused on non-compliance grounds Percentage of total refusals
April 4,205 1,165 28
May 5,520 1,655 30
June 6,360 2,135 34
July 6,345 2,015 32
August 7,510 3,125 42
September 6,710 2,885 43

Cases considered under normal procedures and backlog criteria3
Month Total refused Refused on non-compliance grounds4 Percentage of total refusals
April 4,205 1,165 28
May 5,780 1,910 33
June 6,740 2,515 37
July 6,575 2,245 34
August 7,680 3,295 43
September 6,785 2,950 44
1Provisional figures (other than percentages) rounded to the nearest 5
2Information is of initial decision, excluding the outcome of appeals or other subsequent decisions
3Includes cases decided under measures aimed at reducing the pre-1996 asylum application backlog
4Includes some cases where the application has been refused on substantive grounds

Mr. Lidington

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what his Department spent on support for asylum seekers and their dependants in the financial years(a) 1997–98, (b) 1998–99 and (c) 1999–2000; and what his estimate is of such spending (i) for the year 2000–01 to date and (ii) over the whole of the current financial year. [139809]

Mrs. Roche

The Home Department assumed responsibility for asylum support costs on 1 April 1999 as a result of the comprehensive spending review. These costs were previously the responsibility of the Department of Social Security and Department of Health. Their combined direct expenditure for supporting asylum seekers in 1997–98 was £375 million and in 1998–99 was £475 million. These figures include costs for supporting unaccompanied asylum seeking children.

Expenditure by the Immigration and Nationality Directorate for asylum support from 1 April 2000 to 30 September 2000 was £317.4 million. For the financial year 2000–01, the Home Office has a provisional allocation of £604 million for supporting asylum seekers, excluding provision for supporting unaccompanied asylum seeking children.

The comparable cost in 1999–2000 to the Home Office budget of supporting asylum seekers in the United Kingdom was £537 million. The Department of Health incurred an additional cost of £52 million for supporting unaccompanied asylum seeking children, bringing the total cost in 1999–2000 for supporting asylum seekers to £590 million.