HC Deb 09 February 2001 vol 362 cc734-5W
Mr. Duncan Smith

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the amount(a) spent, (b) claimed and (c) allocated to the London borough of Waltham Forest and the London borough of Redbridge in respect of expenditure on asylum seekers in (i) 1998–99 and (ii) 1999–2000.[149828]

Mrs. Roche

Prior to 1 April 1999, the Department of Health administered all grants for supporting asylum seekers. On 1 April 1999, the Home Office took over responsibility for administering the support grant for asylum-seeking adults and families. The Department of Health retained responsibility for the payment of the grant for unaccompanied asylum-seeking children (UASC) until 1 April 2000, when responsibility transferred to the Home Office.

The amounts spent, claimed and paid to date for the London borough of Waltham Forest and the London borough of Redbridge in (i) 1998–99 and (ii) 1999–2000 are shown in the table.

£
Waltham Forest Redbridge
Grants 1998–991 1999–20002 1998–991 1999–20002
(a)Spent 3,297,458 8,594,864 4,591,053 8,091,301
(b)Claimed 3,297,458 8,594,864 4,591,053 8,091,301
(c)Paid to date 3,297,458 8,594,864 4,591,053 8,091,301
1 Figures provided by the Department of Health relate to three grants administered by that Department. These grants are (a) Families with children asylum seekers grant, (b) Adult asylum seekers grant and (c) unaccompanied asylum-seeking children grant (UASC). All of these figures remain subject to adjustment following the receipt of audited claims.
2 Figures include amounts for the Adult and Families grant administered by the Home Office and the UASC grant administered by the Department of Health. All figures are net of Housing Benefit. These figures relate to the initial claims made by these authorities. Some audit certificates have yet to be received for this period and adjustments may be required once all of these certificates are submitted.

Mr. Duncan Smith

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many asylum seekers were residing in the(a) London borough of Waltham Forest and (b) London borough of Redbridge (i) in May 1997 and (ii) on the most recent date for which figures are available. [149827]

Mrs. Roche

Central Government do not collect information in the form requested.

The Association of London Government has provided figures, which show the number of asylum seekers being supported by the London boroughs of Waltham Forest and Redbridge.

Waltham Forest1 Redbridge2
May 1997
Families3 85 110
Singles4 100 130
UASCs5 5 10
January 2001
Families3 425 390
Singles4 620 980
UASCs5 155 220
1 January 2001 figures as at 19 January 2001
2 January 2001 figures as at 26 January 2001
3 Families include cases with only adult dependants
4 Some single adults may live in other areas of the country but the accommodation is provided by the London borough
5 UASC—Unaccompanied Asylum-Seeking Children under 18

Note:

These figures have been rounded to the nearest five

Information is not available on the number of asylum seekers not being supported by the London boroughs but residing in Waltham Forest and Redbridge.