§ Mr. LidingtonTo ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department how many adjudicators are available to her Department to deal with asylum appeals; and how many she plans to have available by 1 April(a) 2001, (b) 2002, (c) 2003 and (d) 2004. [154846]
§ Jane KennedyThere are currently 76 full-time and 226 part-time adjudicators available to hear asylum appeals. It is planned to have the following number of adjudicators available to hear asylum appeals by
(c) April 2001—76 full-time and 323 part-time.(d) April 2002—80 full-time adjudicators and 383 part-time.There are currently no plans to extend recruitment beyond the 2002 level. The number of adjudicators is, however, under constant review to ensure that sufficient are available to meet incoming appeals. The Immigration Appellate Authority is working closely with the Home Office to ensure that any changes in workloads are identified at an early stage.
§ Mr. LidingtonTo ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what the average(a) cost and (b) duration is of training someone to serve as an adjudicator for immigration and asylum appeals. [154843]
§ Jane KennedyThe average cost to the Immigration Appellate Authority of training an adjudicator to serve on both immigration and asylum appeals, excluding travel costs, is currently £2,248 per adjudicator. The average time taken by the authority to train an adjudicator is currently five and a half days.
This answer excludes any subsequent training offered to adjudicators by the Judicial Studies Board.
§ Mr. LidingtonTo ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what qualifications are required of a person recruited to serve as an adjudicator for asylum and immigration appeals. [154844]
§ Mr. LockImmigration adjudicators may be appointed by the Lord Chancellor on a full or part-time basis.
Schedule 3(2) of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999, stipulates that an adjudicator must hold a seven-year general qualification within the meaning of section 71 of the Courts and Legal Services Act 1990 (i.e. a right of audience qualification in relation to all proceedings in any part of the Supreme Court or all proceedings in the county or magistrates courts); or be an advocate or solicitor in Scotland, or a barrister or solicitor in Northern Ireland, of at least seven years' standing; or have such legal and other experience as appears to the Lord Chancellor to make him or her suited for appointment as an adjudicator.
§ Mr. LidingtonTo ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what the average unit cost to her Department is of an asylum appeal. [154845]
§ Jane KennedyThe average cost of an asylum appeal to the Lord Chancellor's Department at the end of February 2001, including accommodation and overheads, was £1,289.