§ Mr. WoodwardTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate his Department has made of the number of unaccompanied asylum-seeking minors who went missing in the UK in(a) 1999,(b) 2000 and (c) 2001, broken down by (i) nationality, (ii) age at disappearance and (iii) gender. [29677]
§ Angela Eagle[holding answer 24 January 2002]: The Home Office does not centrally record information on the number of unaccompanied asylum-seeking minors who have gone missing in the United Kingdom, and no estimate has been made on this number.
Information on the number of unaccompanied asylum-seeking minors in 1999 and 2000, broken down by nationality, is published in the annual statistical bulletin "Asylum Statistics 2000", a copy of which is available in the Library, and from the Home Office 971W Research, Development and Statistics Directorate website at http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/immigration 1.html. Annual figures for 2001 are not yet available.
§ Jeremy CorbynTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how notification of appellants' representatives will take place under the rules contained in SI, 2001, No. 4014; by whom; at what point after promulgation by the adjudicator or tribunal of their determination this will happen; if an appellant is detained at the same time as service of the determination on them, what instructions there are to notify representatives of the fact; and whose responsibility it will be to do so. [27511]
§ Angela Eagle[holding answer 16 January 2002]: Appellants' legal representatives will be notified of determinations by Immigration and Nationality Directorate staff. For those served by post, a copy of the determination will be sent to the representative at the same time as the determination is sent to the appellant. In the case of determinations served in person, representatives will be notified by fax, normally on the same day, but in any case within 24 hours. It is for the appellants to advise their legal representatives that they have been detained, should they wish to do so.
§ Jeremy CorbynTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the purpose is of the new asylum procedure rules in S.I., 2001, No. 4014 in regard to failed asylum appeals where(a) a certificate has been upheld and(b) leave has been refused to appeal to the IAT; which agency will be instructed to carry out service; what instructions have been given and are proposed to be given on (i) method of service, (ii) timing of service, (iii) entry/and search of premises, (iv) detention and (v) removal; and where those instructions will be published. [27510]
§ Angela Eagle[holding answer 16 January 2002]The rules provide for asylum appeal determinations in cases where the appellant has no further statutory right of appeal to be sent to the Home Office by the Immigration Appellate Authority for service on the appellant. The purpose of this is to reduce the opportunity for absconding at this stage by enabling the Home Office to serve the determination in person where appropriate.
Service is undertaken by the Home Office Immigration and Nationality Directorate either by post or in person. Almost all determinations will be served within 48 hours of receipt in the Home Office: the remainder will be served within a further six weeks, to be exceeded only in exceptional circumstances. No new powers relating to entry, search, detention or removal arise from these rules.
§ Jeremy CorbynTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the expected time delay is between the date of the determination of the adjudicator or tribunal and the date of service of the decision on the failed appellant under the rules contained in S.I., 2001, No 4014; and what the usual period of delay is between the date of the determination in a successful appeal and the sending of full refugee status papers to a successful appellant. [27513]
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§ Angela Eagle[holding answer 16 February 2002]We anticipate that almost all determinations received by the Home Office under these rules will he served within 48 hours. The remainder will be served within a further period which would exceed six weeks only in exceptional circumstances.
There have been delays in implementing allowed appeals but additional resources have now been provided and the majority of cases should now be being processed within 24 days of the date of determination.
§ Jeremy CorbynTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make it his policy that no removals will take place following service of the determination without(a) prior and reasonable notice being given to the appellant's representative and (b) the appellant being given the opportunity to receive legal advice following the introduction of S.I., 2001, No. 4014. [27512]
§ Angela Eagle[holding answer 16 January 2002]Appellants' legal representatives will be notified of determinations at the same time as appellants for those served by post, and on the same day or within 24 hours for those served in person. The decision to obtain legal advice is a matter for the individual concerned but is open to appellants at that stage.
§ Jeremy CorbynTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department for what reason a copy of the Procedure Rules relating to S.I., 2001, No. 4014 has not been placed on the HMSO website. [27515]
§ Angela Eagle[holding answer 16 January 2002]A copy of the rules was placed on Her Majesty's Stationery Office (HMSO) website on 4 January 2002.