§ Mr. MitchellTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many asylum seekers have been dispersed through local authorities; and if his Department plans to use local authorities for this purpose in respect of new asylum seekers. [160855]
§ Mrs. RocheThere is no information held centrally on the number of asylum seekers dispersed by local authorities under the interim dispersal scheme.
The National Asylum Support Service (NASS) has entered into contracts with a number of local authorities by which they supply accommodation for asylum seekers supported by NASS and the aim is to continue to do so.
§ Mr. MitchellTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department on what date and for what reasons private accommodation providers were brought in to the process of dispersing asylum seekers to cluster areas. [160854]
§ Mrs. RochePrivate sector accommodation providers have been part of the process since the beginning of the new arrangements. Their inclusion was necessary in order to meet demand and provide sufficient accommodation throughout the country.
§ Mr. MitchellTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what his estimate is of the total number of asylum seekers to be dispersed over the next six months, broken down by region. [161070]
§ Mrs. RocheNo firm estimate is available on likely number of dispersals as this is dependant upon a number of factors including the number of applications for asylum and the number of those requesting accommodation as part of an application for support. The National Asylum Support Service has established a National Consultation Group of which every consortium is a member.
§ Mr. MitchellTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what are the costs per asylum seeker of dispersal through(a) local authorities and (b) private accommodation providers. [160856]
§ Mrs. RocheContracts with local authorities and private accommodation providers for the provision of accommodation for asylum seekers supported by the National Asylum Support Service (NASS) are negotiated by the NASS based on the current market rates and to achieve value for money.
Details of individual contracts cannot be given as they are commercially sensitive.
§ Ms OsborneTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many asylum seekers have been dispersed to Scotland in the last 12 months; and at what cost. [161018]
420W
§ Mrs. RocheAs at the end of March 2001, 2,8601 asylum seekers (including dependants) were allocated accommodation in Scotland by the National Asylum Support Service (NASS).
NASS operates as a national system and does not have detailed records of costs involved in dispersal to individual areas.
1Figure rounded to the nearest 10.
§ Mr. StinchcombeTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what information he publishes on where asylum seekers live. [161025]
§ Mrs. RocheThe National Asylum Support Service has a duty of confidentiality to the asylum seekers it supports. Therefore it would be inappropriate to publish information about where asylum seekers live.
§ Mr. MitchellTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many asylum seekers entered at each port of entry in the latest available year. [159753]
§ Mrs. RocheThe following table details the breakdown of applications for asylum by port of entry. All data were 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
Total asylum claims at ports of entry, 2000–011 Number Heathrow 7,765 Dover East 4,835 Waterloo 4,810 Gatwick 2,870 Cheriton 1,300 Stansted 865 Harwich 240 Manchester 210 Hull 160 London City 155 Ashford 145 Portsmouth 130 Felixstowe 110 Tees Ports 95 Birmingham 70 Luton 65 Newcastle/North Shields 25 Dover Hoverport 15 Edinburgh 15 Poole 10 Aberdeen 10 Belfast 5 Bristol 5 Plymouth 5 Liverpool 5 Southampton 5 Swansea 5 Folkestone 5 Leeds Bradford ⋆ Norwich ⋆ Newhaven ⋆ East Midlands ⋆ Cardiff ⋆ 1Data rounded to multiple of five, (⋆) = 1 or 2
§ Mr. MitchellTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many asylum seekers he intends to disperse to clusters in England. [160851]
421W
§ Mrs. RocheNo firm estimate is available on likely number of dispersals as this is dependant upon a number of factors including the number of applications for asylum and the number of those requesting accommodation as part of an application for support. The National Asylum Support Service has established a National Consultation Group of which every consortium is a member.