§ Mr. CoxTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will estimate the number of people from Kosovo who are claiming political asylum in the United Kingdom. [34038]
§ Angela EagleI regret that it is not possible to identify separately Kosovars within the available statistics for the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY). FRY is comprised of Kosovo, Serbia and Montenegro but the majority of FRY applications are thought to be from Kosovars.
Information on the number of applications for asylum lodged by nationals of FRY between January 1996 and September 2001 is shown in the table.
Applications1,2 received for asylum in the United Kingdom (UK) from nationals of Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY), excluding dependants, January 1996 to September 2001 Period Applications 1996 400 1997 1,865 1998 7,395 1999 11,465 20003 6,070 January—September 20013 2,330 1 Figures rounded to the nearest five. 2 May exclude some cases lodged at Local Enforcement Offices between January 1999 and March 2000. 3 Provisional figures. The number of asylum applications from nationals of FRY which are currently awaiting initial decision on their asylum applications, and the number awaiting the outcome of appeal determinations, is not available, and would be available only at disproportionate cost by examination of individual case files. Information on asylum applications and initial decisions is published quarterly. The next publication will present data for the final quarter of 2001, and will be available from 28 February 2002 on the Home Office Research Development and Statistics Directorate website at http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/immigration1.html