§ Mr. MalinsTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prosecutions there were under section 8 of the Asylum and Immigration Act 1996 in(a) 2000 and (b) 2001; and if he will make a statement. [50809]
§ Angela Eagle[holding answer 18 April 2002]: Information from the Home Office Court Proceedings database on a principal offence basis indicates that in 2000, 32 persons were prosecuted under section 8 of the Asylum and Immigration Act 1996. More recent information is not yet available. Information on the number of prosecutions in 2001 is due to be published in the Command Paper "Control of Immigration: Statistics United Kingdom 2001" later this year.
The Government set out its proposals for tackling illegal working in Chapter 5 of the White Paper, "Secure Borders, Safe Haven: Integration with Diversity in Modern Britain" (CM 5387). These proposals included suggested amendments to section 8 of the 1996 Act, which now form part of the Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Bill, introduced in the House of Commons on 12 April 2002.