§ Mr. NormanTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many applications for (a) asylum and (b) naturalisation were received by the Home Office in each year since 1997; and how many are still outstanding for each year. [90849]
§ Beverley HughesThe table shows the number of applications for asylum in the United Kingdom which have been lodged since 1997.
173W
Year Applications received 1.2 1997 32,500 1998 46,015 1999 71,160 2000 80,315 20013 71,700 Jan-Sept 20023 62,480 1 Figures rounded to the nearest five. 2 May exclude some cases lodged at Local Enforcement Offices between January 1999 and March 2000. 3 Provisional figures. Statistics on the total number of applications for British citizenship received, in 1997 to 2001, the latest available, are given in the table.
Year Applications received 1997 66,000 1998 68030 1999 67,400 2000 62,4.75 2001 109,005 Information on the number of asylum applications lodged in each year since 1997 which are still outstanding is unavailable and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost by examination of individual case records.
At the end of September 2002, there were a total of 37,200 asylum cases awaiting an initial decision, including work in progress. This figure relates to the number of cases i.e. the number of principal applicants. On the same date, there were an estimated 47,000 appeals lodged with the Immigration and Nationality Directorate (IND) that had not yet been sent to the Immigration Appellate Authority. This figure includes non-asylum appeals.
Information on the number of applications for British citizenship outstanding for each year is not available.
Information on asylum and citizenship is available from the Home Office Research Development and Statistics Directorate web site at http:/www. homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/immigrationl.html.
§ Mr. Andrew TurnerTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many asylum seekers, broken down by year of initial application, are in each stage of the process towards admission or deportation. [91254]
§ Beverley HughesInformation on the number of asylum applications outstanding by year of application is unavailable and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost by examination of individual case records.
The number of asylum cases awaiting an initial decision has been reduced from a peak of 120,000 to 37,200 at the end of September 2002. This includes work in progress and relates to the number of cases i.e. the number of principal applicants. On the same date, there were an estimated 47,000 appeals lodged with the Immigration and Nationality Directorate (IND) that had not yet been sent to the Immigration Appellate Authority. This figure includes non-asylum appeals.
Information on the number of cases outstanding in other divisions of IND is not available. Information on the number of asylum cases awaiting an initial decision is published quarterly on the Home Office website at: http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/immigrationl.html