HC Deb 19 July 2001 vol 372 cc338-41W
Mrs. Fitzsimons

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when the asylum support adjudicators will publish their annual report and accounts for 2000–01. [6027]

Angela Eagle

The asylum support adjudicators annual report and accounts for 2000–01 will be published on Wednesday 25 July. A cop) will be placed in the Library.

Mr. Gummer

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many asylum seekers have arrived in(a) the county of Suffolk, excluding Felixstowe and (b) the Port of Felixstowe since 1 January. [4119]

Angela Eagle

Information on the number of asylum applications made in the county of Suffolk is unavailable. Asylum applications data are not available at regional level except by port of application. The requested information could be obtained only at disproportionate cost by examination of individual case records.

The number of asylum applications made at the Port of Felixstowe in the period of 1 January 2001 to 30 June 2001 was 30 (excluding dependants). This information was taken from manual counts of asylum applications taken at port, which do not reconcile with the provisional monthly asylum statistics published on http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/immigrationl.html.

Dr. Evan Harris

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what his policy is on the shackling of asylum detainees attending hospitals for medical treatment. [5382]

Angela Eagle

Immigration detainees may be handcuffed, if this is assessed in a particular case to be necessary for reasons of security and control, while being escorted from their place of detention to another location. This could include attendance at a medical appointment. Handcuffs would in all cases be used for the minimum period necessary for the purposes of security and control and, in the context of medical appointments, would not be applied during any medical examination.

Miss Widdecombe

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the backlog of asylum appeals was on(a) 30 May and (b) 30 May 1997; and if he will make a statement. [2940]

Angela Eagle

[holding answer 9 July 2001]Provisional data indicate that on 30 May 2001 there were approximately 52,000 asylum appeals lodged with the Immigration and Nationality Directorate which has not reached the end of the appeals process.

Data from the manual records kept in 1997 indicate that on 30 May 1997 the comparable figure was approximately 26,000.

Between 1997 and 2001 there was a 244 per cent. increase in decision making, from 38,895 initial decisions in 1996–97 to 133,695 in 2000–01. Over the same period the number of appeals within the process increased by 100 per cent.

Simon Hughes

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department by what date he expects(a) to have completed his assessment of the fieldwork on the asylum vouchers review and (b) to make an announcement of his conclusions from the review; and if he will make a statement. [5115]

Angela Eagle

The review of the operation of the asylum voucher scheme remains on-going. We have not set a specific date for completion of our consideration of the evidence from the review, but we will not be making any announcements before the summer.

Simon Hughes

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what measures he is taking to ensure that asylum seekers who have been victims of torture are not detained in prisons; and if he will make a statement. [5116]

Angela Eagle

The detention under Immigration Act powers of any individual, whether an asylum seeker or not, has to be justified on the basis of the particular circumstances of the individual concerned and there is a general presumption in favour of granting temporary admission or temporary release. In any case where detention is considered necessary a range of factors must be taken into account before the detention is authorised.

One of these factors is whether the individual concerned has a history of torture. Evidence of such a history would weigh heavily against detention and, in any case where there is independent evidence of torture, the person concerned would not normally be considered suitable for detention.

Where information on a possible history of torture comes to light after a person has been detained this information would be taken into account in deciding whether detention of that person should continue.

Simon Hughes

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) when he intends to implement Part III of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 relating to routine hearings to review the detention of asylum seekers; and if he will make a statement; [5119]

(2) what the timetable is for bringing into force Part III of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 relating to routine hearings to review the detention of asylum seekers; and if he will make a statement. [5206]

Angela Eagle

The Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 does not specify a date by which part III is required to be implemented. While it was not proposed to implement part III before October 2001, the actual implementation date is currently under review and a final decision has yet to be taken.

Simon Hughes

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to increase the regional structure of the National Asylum Support Service; and if he will make a statement. [5207]

Angela Eagle

The structure of National Asylum Support Service (NASS) is kept under review. Any decision to increase the number of NASS staff in the regions much take into account the broader requirements of Immigration and Nationality Directorate (IND) as a whole.

Simon Hughes

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if guidance notes accompanying statement of evidence forms are distributed to asylum seekers in their own language; how many translated guidance notes have been published, and in what languages; and if he will make a statement. [5205]

Angela Eagle

The guidance notes that accompany the statement of evidence form (SEF) have been translated into 33 main languages spoken by asylum applicants. Other languages may be added if a need is identified. When a SEF is issued to an asylum applicant, it is accompanied by a copy of the explanatory notes in English and a language which the applicant can understand.

The explanatory notes have been translated into the following languages:

  • Amharic
  • Arabic
  • Albanian
  • Bengali
  • Chinese
  • Croat
  • Czech
  • Dari
  • Farsi
  • French
  • Gujerati
  • Hindi
  • Kurmanji
  • Lithuanian
  • Lingala
  • Ndebele
  • Nepali
  • Pashtu
  • Polish
  • Portuguese
  • Punjabi
  • Romanian
  • Russian
  • Serbian
  • Shona
  • Sorani
  • Spanish
  • Somali
  • Swahili
  • Tamil
  • Turkish
  • Ukrainian
  • Urdu.

Sir Teddy Taylor

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many asylum seekers are located in Southend; and how many have been sent to Southend from other areas. [2309]

Angela Eagle

[holding answer 5 July 2001]: The information requested is not available.

Southend is not currently a cluster area used by the National Asylum Support Service (NASS) and so asylum seekers are not dispersed there by NASS. Information on the location of asylum seekers receiving voucher-only support from NASS is collated only by region, not by town.

Statistics for asylum seekers dispersed by local authorities are not held centrally.