HC Deb 28 November 2002 vol 395 cc416-7W
Mr. Gerrard

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many claims for asylum have been made in the last two years by citizens of Israel who are refusing to serve in the armed forces of Israel in the Occupied Territories; [83556]

(2) how many claims for asylum have been received in the last two years from Palestinians from the Occupied Territories. [83557]

Beverley Hughes

Asylum applications are recorded by nationality only and therefore it is not possible to say how many of the applicants originated from the Occupied Territories. Furthermore, statistics on the reasons behind asylum claims are not compiled. The number of those who applied would therefore be available only by examination of individual case records at disproportionate cost.

Information on asylum applications is published quarterly. The next publication will be available from 29 November 2002 on the Home Office Research Development and Statistics Directorate website at http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/immigrationl.html.