§ Miss WiddecombeTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many asylum seekers were supported by local authorities under the previous support and dispersal system in the last 12 months of the system; and if he will make a statement. [153606]
§ Mrs. RocheInformation is not available in the form requested.
The numbers of asylum seekers being supported by local authorities in London when the previous support arrangements began to be phased out (end of March 2000) is available from the Association of London Government (ALG). Information for the week ending 31 March 2000 shows that 20,5501 single adult asylum seekers, 11,7451 asylum seeker families and 3,5201 unaccompanied asylum seeking children were being supported by local authorities in London.
Information on asylum seekers supported by local authorities outside London is not available.
1 Rounded to the nearest five
§ Miss WiddecombeTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many asylum seekers have been housed in each local authority area under the new support and dispersal arrangements; and if he will make a statement. [153607]
§ Mrs. RocheThe information requested is not currently available.
§ Ms Oona KingTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many applications for asylum from claimants originating from Afghanistan have been determined in each of the last 12 months; and if he will make a statement. [152881]
515W
§ Mrs. RocheThe available information on the number of asylum applications from nationals of Afghanistan that have had an initial decision is provided in the table.
Month Number of initial decisions1,2,3 February 2000 n/a March 2000 n/a April 2000 135 May 2000 135 June 2000 130 July 2000 135 August 2000 220 September 2000 220 October 20004,5 365 November 20055 510 December 20055 545 January 20015 1,020 1 Figures rounded to the nearest five 2 Information is for initial determination decisions, excluding the outcome of appeals or other subsequent decision 3 Provisional figures 4 From October 2000, the source data on decision changed. The nationality breakdown is therefore not directly comparable with previous months 5 Decisions may include some cases decided under the backlog criteria This information is published monthly on the Department's website at www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds.index.
§ Mr. CoxTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what his Department's long-term plans are for the detention of asylum seekers in England and Wales. [152819]
§ Mrs. RocheThe 1998 White Paper "Fairer, Faster, Firmer—A Modern Approach to Immigration and Asylum" identified the need to increase the immigration detention estate in order to meet the challenge of increased removal targets of both immigration offenders and failed asylum applicants.
In order to meet these commitments, a new, 900-bed, dedicated immigration detention centre is under construction at Yarl's Wood in Bedfordshire with a 550-bed centre at Harmondsworth near Heathrow similarly well advanced. Both should become available by the end of this year. A further facility in Kent is currently at the planning stage.
The Government remain committed to decreasing the use of Prison Service accommodation for immigration detainees while recognising that there will always be a need to utilise such facilities in the minority of cases where a higher level of security is required.
§ Miss WiddecombeTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many contracts have been entered into by NASS to provide housing for asylum seekers; how many bed spaces have been provided; and in which areas of the country. [152880]
§ Mrs. RocheThe number of contracts entered into by the National Asylum Support Service is 17 of which seven (including Northern Ireland) are with local authorities and 10 in the private sector.
516WThe numbers of bedspaces provided by region are:
Region Number of bedspaces provided East Midlands 1,631 East of England 280 Greater London 586 Kent and Sussex 305 North East 6,118 North West 6,551 Northern Ireland 113 Scotland 6,103 South Central 67 South West 604 Wales 290 West Midlands 4,026 Yorkshire and Humberside 7,616
§ Miss WiddecombeTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many asylum seekers are held in prisons; and if he will make a statement. [152877]
§ Mrs. RocheThe most recent information relates to persons detained under Immigration Act 1988 powers as at 31 January 2001. At this date 920 persons were recorded as being detained in Prison Service establishments.
Currently, it is not possible to identify those persons detained in prison who have claimed asylum at some point.