HC Deb 08 May 2001 vol 368 cc79-81W
Mr. Mitchell

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many asylum seekers and refugees have been allocated for dispersal to(a) the Grimsby cluster, (b) North Lincolnshire, (c) Lincolnshire and (d) East Riding; and on what basis the numbers going to each was decided. [158916]

The projects we will be supporting range from those that have been successful elsewhere, such as the establishment of an arson task force comprising the fire, police and social services. Other projects are concentrating upon particular issues, such as arson in schools, vehicle arson or the development of community based solutions. The focus of all these projects has been partnership, either with the police, social services, the local authorities, schools and a range of others.

There has also been a wide geographical spread. There are projects from Wales to Kent, and from the South West and the Midlands to the North West and East of England. The projects also range widely in terms of their target areas, from the inner-cities to rural areas, where the arson problem is often greater than people realise.

The following projects have been supported.

Mrs. Roche

As at the end of April 2001, 201 asylum seekers (including dependants) were allocated accommodation in Grimsby by the National Asylum Support Service (NASS). No asylum seekers were allocated NASS accommodation in north Lincolnshire, Lincolnshire or East Riding.

There are a number of factors that decide allocation including availability of accommodation, the individual merits of the case and local circumstances.

1Figure rounded to the nearest 10
Mr. Coleman

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many asylum applications(a) are awaiting a decision by his Department and (b) have been appealed against a refusal of asylum on non-compliance grounds, which were made by nationals of (a) Somalia, (b) Sierra Leone, (c) Afghanistan, (d) Iraq, (e) Sri Lanka and (f) Congo. [159579]

Mrs. Roche

Information on the total number of applications awaiting an initial decision is published monthly on the web page:

http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/immigration1.html

The latest information on the number of applications outstanding at the end of 1999 by nationality is published in table 4.2 of the Asylum Bulletin.

Information on the number of appeals against refusals on non-compliance grounds is not readily available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost by examination of the individual case files.

Mr. Mitchell

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many asylum seekers have been dispersed under the voluntary scheme from(a) North East Lincolnshire, (b) North Lincolnshire, (c) Lincolnshire, (d) North Yorkshire and (e) Cumbria. [159734]

Mrs. Roche

The information requested is not available. Statistics are not held centrally on the location of asylum seekers dispersed by local authorities under the voluntary dispersal scheme, as this scheme was the responsibility of local government.