Asylum Seekers (Hansard, 12 July 2002)

§ Mr. Malins
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the average time has been between initial decisions in asylum cases and the hearing of appeals arising from them in the last 12 months. [68637]

§ Beverley Hughes
The requested information is not available and could only be obtained by examination of individual cases files thereby incurring a disproportionate cost.

§ Dr. Evan Harris
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many asylum seekers from Zimbabwe have been turned back at point of entry since 15 January. [49967]

§ Beverley Hughes
The Government are committed to ensuring that this country adheres to its obligations under the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, and that those who are fleeing persecution are given the protection they need. It is not Home Office policy to turn asylum seekers back at ports of entry to the United Kingdom at any time before their claims are fully considered, unless there is an alternative safe country which should he responsible for considering the claim.
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On 15 January 2002, we announced a temporary suspension of returns of unsuccessful asylum applicants to Zimbabwe. We will resume returns only when we are satisfied that it is safe to do so. We are monitoring events in the aftermath of the Zimbabwe presidential election before making a decision on the resumption of returns.

§ Mr. Malins
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the average time taken was from first application to initial decison in asylum cases in each of the last six months. [68647]

§ Beverley Hughes
The data requested are given in the table.

Average time from date of application to initial decision for initial decisions made between October 2001 and March 2002^1,2,3,4

Month of initial decision Average time (months) to initial decision

October 2001 12

November 2001 11

December 2001 8

January 2002 8

February 2002 7

March 2002 7

¹Excluding dependants.

²Figures are estimates based on cases for which information is recorded.

³The average length of time (in months) is calculated from date application is lodged to the date of initial decision, and relates to the month in which the decisions were made.

⁴Provisional data. These data are still subject to revision following quality checking.

The corresponding figure for April 1997 was 20 months.
The latest provisional data indicate that 53 per cent. of applications' received in the period April to December 2001, inclusive, had initial decisions reached and served within two months'. The data are subject to revision following the results of further data cleansing. Data for 2001–2002 will be published on the Home Office RDS website on 30 August, subject to data quality.
⁵The Immigration and Nationality Directorate's (IND's) target for 2001–02 is to reach and serve initial decisions on 60 per cent of applications. These exclude 3rd country cases which may be the responsibility of other European Union member states under the terms of the Dublin Convention,. Details of government targets relating to the proportion of decisions served within two months are provided in the 2000 Spending Review Public Service Agreements White Paper available from http://www.treasury.gov.uk/
"Two months" is defined as 61 days.

Average time from date of application to initial decision for initial decisions made between October 2001 and March 2002^1,2,3,4
Month of initial decision	Average time (months) to initial decision
October 2001	12
November 2001	11
December 2001	8
January 2002	8
February 2002	7
March 2002	7
¹Excluding dependants.
²Figures are estimates based on cases for which information is recorded.
³The average length of time (in months) is calculated from date application is lodged to the date of initial decision, and relates to the month in which the decisions were made.
⁴Provisional data. These data are still subject to revision following quality checking.