§ Mr. CoxTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many(a) men and (b) women are being held in detention in England and Wales pending the hearing of their asylum appeal; and if he will make a statement. [2525]
§ Angela EagleThe latest available information on the number of asylum seekers detained under Immigration Act powers relates to 30 June 2001. As of that date, 1,205 males and 30 females (to the nearest five) were being held in detention in England and Wales under Immigration Act powers who are recorded as having claimed asylum at some point. These figures include persons held in immigration detention centres and Prison Service establishments, some of whom are detained under dual immigration and other powers, and exclude the Oakington reception centre, for which gender information is not available.
Information on which of these are pending the hearing of their asylum appeal is not available and could be obtained only by examining individual case files at disproportionate cost.