§ Mrs. EllmanTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the answer of 29 January 2002,Official Report, column 302W, if he will place in the Library the two recent letters received from Merseyside police in relation to the use of Landmark and Inn on the Park to house asylum seekers. [33598]
§ Angela Eagle[holding answer 5 February 2002]: I am making arrangements for copies of these letters to be placed in the Library.
§ Mr. LuffTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what consultations he has had with groups representing the interests of asylum seekers about the location of the proposed asylum accommodation centres; and if he will make a statement. [34482]
§ Angela EagleWe have not had any consultation specifically about the location of accommodation centres with groups representing the interests of asylum seekers. My officials have had general discussions about accommodation centres with a number of groups representing the interests of asylum seekers. In addition, the White Paper "Secure Borders, Safe Haven: Integration With Diversity in Modern Britain" sets out our proposals for accommodation centres and we would welcome comments in response to that. Officials are discussing with relevant planning authorities the best way of consulting the public and other interested parties in the areas identified as having potential accommodation centre sites.
§ Mr. Andrew TurnerTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what information he collates on the(a) number,(b) source,(c) destination and(d) place of residence in the United Kingdom of (i) asylum seekers and (ii) other immigrants without leave to remain. [34677]
§ Angela Eagle[holding answer 8 February 2002]: The Home Office Research, Development and Statistics Directorate (RDS) collates information on the number of asylum applications in the United Kingdom lodged both at port and in country, as well as information on the nationality of the principal applicants, and the numbers of asylum seekers removed. These data are published quarterly on the RDS website at http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/immigrationl.html.
Figures detailing the number of persons against whom enforcement action has been initiated—illegal entrants detected and persons issued with a notice of intention to deport, recommended for deportation by a court or proceeded against under Section 10 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999—are published annually in the Command Paper "Control of Immigration: Statistics United Kingdom", a copy of which is also available in the Libraries and on the RDS website.
1232WReliable information is not available on the number of illegal entrants resident in the United Kingdom. However, the Home Office has commissioned a study which will consider methods of estimating the size and characteristics of the illegal population.
Information on the entry routes of asylum seekers from their country of origin to the United Kingdom and the destination of persons ho are removed from the United Kingdom is not recorded centrally and could be obtained only by examining individual case files at disproportionate cost.
§ Shona McIsaacTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proportion of the cost of building and running asylum seeker accommodation centres will be met by local authorities in the localities proposed for such centres. [34581]
§ Angela EagleNone
The costs of building and running the trial accommodation centres will be met by the Home Office.
§ Shona McIsaacTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of asylum seeker accommodation centres in the Netherlands. [34586]
§ Angela EagleHome Office officials are having regard to information about accommodation centres in the Netherlands as they develop policy. In addition, the Home Office has recently commissioned research on the reception policies and practice of four European countries including the Netherlands. The research has two main objectives
(i) to examine in detail the reception policies and practices of the European countries chosen as case studies (the Netherlands, Germany, Denmark and Sweden); and,(ii) to investigate the intended and unintended impacts (both long and short term) of different reception policies and practices within the European countries chosen as case studies.This research will provide valuable primary data on asylum and reception processes in other European countries and analyse alternative models of reception and accommodation systems for asylum seekers.
§ Mr. SoamesTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the application of human rights legislation to illegal immigrants and asylum seekers. [34149]
§ Angela Eagle[holding answer 7 February 2002]: There has been no formal assessment of the application of the Human Rights Act 1998 to illegal immigrants and asylum seekers.
Any individual subject to immigration control who makes an application to remain in the United Kingdom on human rights grounds will have those grounds considered. There is no opportunity to appeal to the Immigration Appellate Authority against an adverse decision.
§ Mr. LuffTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) if the reference to a 3,000 total capacity in asylum accommodation centres in paragraph 4.30 of "Secure Borders, Safe Haven" refers to the total capacity the Government intends to provide; and if he will make a statement; [36708]
1233W(2) over what period the effectiveness of the proposed asylum accommodation centres will be assessed; if the effectiveness of every trial centre will be assessed before conclusions are reached; and if the establishment of additional centres will be considered. [36709]
§ Angela EagleWe intend to provide 3,000 accommodation centre places on a trial basis. Decisions on any expansion of accommodation centres beyond those 3,000 places will be taken in the light of emerging evidence, here and abroad, about what works. Subject to that, our aim is to phase out the current system of support and dispersal.
We are still considering the details of the evaluation process for accommodation centres.
§ Mr. LuffTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if sites under consideration for an asylum accommodation centre which are not selected for one of the trial centres will be considered for later asylum accommodation centres. [36711]
§ Angela EagleIt is possible that we may wish to consider sites identified as potential locations for trial centres for any future expansion of the accommodation centre programme.