HC Deb 15 March 2001 vol 364 cc694-5W
Mr. Corbett

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what estimate he has made of the time it takes an asylum applicant to secure conditions to receive(a) an initial decision on an asylum application and (b) to complete all appeals if the initial application is refused; [153826]

(2) how many asylum applicants are held in secure conditions. [153825]

Mrs. Roche

Current information on persons detained who have claimed asylum and the time taken for an applicant in detention to receive an initial decision or complete all appeals is not available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

The most recent information relates to the number of persons detained under the Immigration Act 1971 as at 31 January 2001. At that date a total of 1,334 persons, including those who had claimed asylum, were recorded as detained.

Mr. Corbett

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to increase the existing immigration detention estate; and by how many places. [153827]

Mrs. Roche

The Home Secretary announced in May 2000 a policy to deliver new detention places to enable the Immigration Service to achieve its removals targets.

Our plans to increase the Immigration Detention estate from its current capacity are as follows

Places
Yarl's Wood Detention Centre (Bedford) 900
Harmondsworth Detention Centre (Heathrow) 440
Dungavel Detention Centre (Scotland) 150
Aldington Detention Centre (Kent) 300

Mr. Corbett

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many sites his officials considered as potential places to build immigration detention centres in the last three years. [153828]

Mrs. Roche

Over the past three years my officials have considered about 120 sites throughout the country as potential candidates to build new immigration detention centres.

The majority of sites did not meet our requirements for a variety of reasons, including location, nature of the site, availability for a quick development and cost.

Mr. Corbett

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the average annual cost of holding an asylum applicant in secure conditions was in each of the last three years. [153831]

Mrs. Roche

Secure detention facilities are routinely provided on the Immigration and Nationality Directorate's detention estate, supplemented by places in Prison Service accommodation. Police services also provide some detention on a limited, ad hoc basis. Information specifically on the cost of asylum detainees is not separately available. Assuming full occupancy, the average annual cost of a place for an immigration detainee is shown in the table:

£
Year Average Annual Cost1
1998–99 26,819
1999–2000 27,433
2000–01 229,424
1 These figures are weighted averages of the cost of Immigration and Nationality Directorate (IND) detention and Prison Service facilities, taking into account an assessment of the usage of detention in the two types of accommodation. The figures cover the running costs of IND detention facilities but exclude expenditure on capital works and major maintenance. The figures for Prison Service detention are based on the average cost per prisoner place. The figures do not include the cost of temporary police accommodation.
2 The figures for 2000–01 are based on estimates of the full-year IND costs and the target cost per prisoner place for Prison Service detention.