§ Ms Oona KingTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will set out the principles determining which local authority an asylum seeker will be referred to for housing assistance if they are recognised as a refugee or granted exceptional leave to remain. [22452]
§ Angela EagleFormer asylum seekers who have received a positive decision on their application for asylum or who have been granted exceptional leave to remain are free to live where they choose within the United Kingdom. They can apply for housing assistance to any local authority.
§ Mr. CoxTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many asylum seekers living in the UK first entered the country in(a) 1990, (b) 1992, (c) 1994, (d) 1996, (e) 1998 and (f) 2000 and made application for asylum, and have yet to have their cases resolved. [22479]
§ Angela EagleI regret that the information requested is not readily available, and could be obtained only by examination of individual case records and is, therefore, available only at disproportionate cost.
The number of applications for asylum in the United Kingdom lodged in the years above are shown in the table. However, it is not possible to determine in what year these applicants first entered the United Kingdom, or whether they are currently living in the United Kingdom.
Applications for asylum in the UK, principal applicants Year Asylum Applications 1 1990 26,205 19922 24,605 1994 32,830 1996 29,640 1998 46,015 20003,4 80,315 1 Figures rounded to the nearest 5 2 Figures do not include overseas applications 3 May exclude some cases lodged at Local Enforcement Offices between January and March 2000 4 Provisional figures The number of asylum cases awaiting initial decision as at 30 September was 43,000 (provisional, to the nearest 100). However, it is not possible to determine in what year these applicants were made. Information on asylum applications, initial decisions and applications awaiting initial decision is published regularly in the annual statistical bulletin Asylum Statistics United Kingdom, a copy of which is available in the Library, and from the RDS website http: //www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/immigration 1.html.