§ Sir Teddy TaylorTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what powers he has to return asylum seekers to France who have already applied for asylum in that country. [69274]
§ Beverley Hughes[holding answer 15 July 2002]Section 11 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 provides for the removal of asylum claimants under standing arrangements agreed between member states. Such standing arrangements are currently provided by the Dublin Convention.
The Dublin Convention provides an agreed framework to determine which member state is responsible for consideration of asylum claims made in the European Union (EU) where applicants have travelled between
220Wstates. This includes provision for the return of an applicant to the member state where a claim for asylum has already been made.
Section 12 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 provides for the removal of asylum claimants in circumstances other than those set out in section 11, including the return to the appropriate member state of any identified individual already recognised as a refugee by that state.
§ Miss McIntoshTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the total value is of the civil penalties issued under the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 to the(a) UK and (b) foreign-based transport industry since April 2000. [68807]
§ Beverley HughesSince 3 April 2000 when the penalty provisions of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 were introduced, and as at 31 March 2002, a total of 1,429 penalty notices have been issued in respect of 7,516 clandestine entrants detected concealed in road vehicles arriving in the United Kingdom. The combined value of these penalties is £15,032,000.
No records are held centrally distinguishing where transport companies that have received penalties are based, and reviewing each of the 1,429 individual cases to obtain this information would involve disproportionate costs. Records are kept centrally of the nationality of drivers who have been penalised. These show that a total of £3,314,000, or approximately 22 per cent., of penalties have been imposed on United Kingdom drivers and £11,492,000, or approximately 76 per cent., on foreign nationals. 'The remaining approximately 1.5 per cent. of penalties were imposed in respect of clandestine entrants who arrived in unaccompanied detached trailers.
§ Mr. BercowTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions about the possibility of a public inquiry into plans for an accommodation centre for asylum seekers near Bicester. [57967]
§ Beverley HughesNone.