HC Deb 17 December 2002 vol 396 c750W
Harry Cohen

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many Iraqi asylum seekers he estimates had their applications refused during the 1997 to 2001 Parliament. [86908]

Beverley Hughes

There were 12,550 initial decisions on Iraqi asylum applications during the period 1 May 1997 and 31 May 2001. Of these 6,175 were refused. There are no reliable data available in this period for the number of Iraqis who subsequently appealed, and the decisions of those appeals.

Information on asylum applications and initial decisions is published quarterly. The next publication will cover the period October to December 2002, and will be available from 28 February 2003 on the Home Office Research Development and Statistics Directorate website at http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/immigrationl .html.