§ Mr. Andrew TurnerTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of the Parliamentary Under Secretary of 19 March,Official Report, column 291WH, when he will respond in writing to points raised during the Westminster Hall adjournment debate. [109028]
§ Beverley Hughes[holding answer 14 April 2003]: I wrote to the hon. Member on 9 April 2003.
§ Mr. LetwinTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people were admitted to the UK pursuant to section 4(1) of the Immigration Act 1971 without restriction on their employment during 2002. [109105]
§ Beverley Hughes[holding answer 14 April 2003]: The main route of entry into the UK for employment is the work permit scheme. Work permit holders are admitted to take the employment specified in their work permit, although they can apply for a new work permit if there is a change of employment. The dependants of work permit holders are admitted to the UK without restriction on their employment.
The latest available information relates to 2001 when 81,100 work permit holders and 27,800 dependants of work permit holders were admitted to the UK pursuant to Section 4(1) of the Immigration Act 1971.
§ Mr. GerrardTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will revise the Immigration Rules to take account of(a) the status of humanitarian protection and (b) changes to the rules regarding entry clearance on the basis of marriage. [108217]
§ Beverley HughesWe fully intend to incorporate Humanitarian Protection in the Immigration Rules.
At the moment, Humanitarian Protection is granted under the same powers in the 1971 Act as Discretionary Leave. However, it is our intention to include Humanitarian Protection in the rules as soon as possible.
A Statement of Changes to the Immigration Rules incorporating the changes to the marriage rules was laid before Parliament on 31 March and came into effect on 1 April.
§ Mr. GerrardTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if discretionary leave to remain in the UK will be granted to persons where asylum claims have been refused before 1 April, but who cannot be removed from the UK. [108219]
66W
§ Beverley HughesUnder the policy announced on 1 April, discretionary leave will only be granted to a person who is able to demonstrate a genuine need for leave to remain in the United Kingdom for one of a limited number of reasons.
It is our policy not to grant a person discretionary leave simply because they cannot be removed from the United Kingdom. The great majority of failed asylum seekers can reasonably be expected to return to their countries voluntarily even if they cannot immediately be removed.
§ Mrs. Helen ClarkTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to his answer of 25 March 2003, to the hon. Member for North-East Hertfordshire (Mr. Heald),Official Report, column 152W, on the Immigration and Nationality Directorate, what proportion of the total expenditure incurred by the National Asylum Support Service was spent on (a) staff pay, (b) staff related expenditure, IT and accommodation, (c) payments of subsistence support to asylum seekers, (d) payments for asylum seekers' accommodation, (e) grants to the receptions' assistant agencies and (f) other expenditure, in each of the last three years. [106807]
§ Beverley Hughes[holding answer 3 April 2003]: Actual expenditure for the National Asylum Support Service (NASS) excluding capital and cost of capital for 2000–01 and 2001–02 is as follows:
Year 2000–01 (£million) 2001–02 (£million) 2002–03 NASS total expenditure of which: 783 1,082 1 Staff Pay 0 16 Non pay 3 3 Grants 23 17 Asylum support payments 747 1,046 1 Final expenditure figures for 2002–03 are not yet available.