HC Deb 27 January 2003 vol 398 cc698-9W
Mr. Gordon Prentice

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many Roma from the Czech Republic have(a) sought and (b) been granted asylum in the UK in each year since 1997. [91869]

Beverley Hughes

It is not possible to say how many asylum applicants from the Czech Republic are of Romany origin. Data on the ethnic origin of asylum seekers are not collated centrally and are therefore not available; the number of those who applied would be available only by examination of individual case-files at disproportionate cost.

The tables show the number of applications and initial decisions of nationals of the Czech Republic from 1997 to September 2002.

Asylum applications1 received in the United Kingdom, excluding dependants, and initial decisions2 on applications, 1997–2001 and January to September 2002, nationals of Czech Republic
Principal applicants
Applications3
Czech Republic Total Port In Country Total initial decisions Grants of asylum Grants of ELR
1997 240 220 20 210
1998 515 490 25 180
1999 1,790 1,750 40 275 *
2000 1,200 1,135 65 1,800 10 10
20014 880 795 85 895 5
20025 1,290 1,220 70 975

Asylum applications1 received in the United Kingdom, excluding dependants, and initial decisions2 on applications, 1997–2001 and January to September 2002, nationals of Czech Republic
Principal applicants
Initial decisions
Czech Republic Total refusals6 Certified refusals Other refusals Third country refusals7 Non-compliance refusals8 Grants of ELR under backlog criteria9, 10 Non compliance refusals under backlog criteria9, 11
1997 210 105 25 70 10
1998 180 170 10 * *
1999 275 115 120 10 30 *
2000 1,775 N/a 1,495 5 205 *
20014 890 325 475 90
20025 970 320 535 * 110
1Figures rounded to nearest 5, with '*' = 1 or 2
2Information is of initial determination decisions, excluding the outcome of appeals or other subsequent decisions
3May exclude some cases lodged at Local Enforcement Offices between January 1999 and March 2000
4Provision data
5January-September 2002—provisional data
6May include some refusals under non compliance grounds
7Refused on the grounds that the applicant had arrived from a safe third country
8Paragraph 340 of Immigration Rules. For failure to provide evidence to support the asylum claim within a reasonable period, including failure to respond to invitation to interview
9Cases decided under pragmatic measures aimed at reducing the pre-1969 asylum backlog
10May include a small number of cases where asylum has been granted
11May include a small number of vases where asylum has been refused on substantive grounds

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