HC Deb 29 January 2003 vol 398 cc900-2W
Simon Hughes

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many asylum appeals(a) between 1 April 2001 to 31 March 2002 and (b) since 1 April 2002 have been (i) lodged and (ii) heard; how many of these appeals have been refused; and, in relation to these refusals, how many applications for judicial review have been lodged. [93334]

Asylum appeals determined by adjudicators of the Immigration Appellate Authority, excluding dependants,
April 2001 to September 20021
Number of principal appellants Appeals determined by adjudicators
Allowed4 Dismissed4 Withdrawn4
Appeals received by Home Office2 Appeals received by IAA3 Total determined 3 Total As % of total dismissed Total As % of total dismissed Total As % of total
April 2001 to March 2002 63,9005 51,730 47,015 9,640 21% 36,365 77% 1,010 2%
April 2002 to September 2002 24,1005 32,500 33,785 7,385 22% 25,540 76% 855 3%
1Provisional figures rounded to the nearest 5. Numbers might not add up due to rounding.
2Appeals received based on electronic sources.
3Based on information supplied by the Lord Chancellor's Department. Determinations do not necessarily relate to appeals received in the same period.
4Based on data supplied from the Presenting Officers Unit within the Home Office.
5Estimate. Figures rounded to the nearest hundred, and subject to later revision.

In the calendar year 2001 there were 2,210 applications for leave to move for judicial review. 13 per cent. of the 2,300 decisions in the calendar year 2001 granted leave to move. Information is unavailable for the periods requested. Applications for leave to move for Judicial Review do not necessarily relate to appeals refused by the Immigration Appellate Authority in the same period. The figures exclude further appeals to the Tribunal and the House of Lords.

Asylum statistics are published quarterly. The latest published figures give information up to and including September 2002. The next publication giving figures up to and including December 2002 will be available from 28 February 2003 on the Home Office Research Development and Statistics Directorate website at http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/immigration l.html.

Simon Hughes

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many applicants under the expedited appeals process have received(a) legal advice and assistance in preparing their asylum appeal and (b) legal representation at the appeal hearing. [93335]

Beverley Hughes

The expedited appeals process commenced in August 2002 and ended when the Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002 was

Initial asylum decisions in the United Kingdom1 by year 1997–2001
Number of principal applicants Cases considered under normal procedures3 Backlog clearance exercise4
Initial decisions2 Granted asylum Granted ELR Refused Granted asylum or ELR under backlog Criteria Refused under backlog criteria5
1997 36,045 3,985 3,115 28,945
1998 31,570 5,345 3,910 22,315
1999 33,720 7,815 2,465 11,025 11,140 1,275
2000 109,205 10,375 11,495 75,680 10,325 1,335
20016 119,015 11,180 19,845 87,990
1Figures rounded to the nearest five, with * = one or two.
2Information is of initial decisions, excluding the outcome of appeals or other subsequent decisions.
3Cases considered under normal procedures may include some cases decided under the backlog criteria.
4Cases decided under measures aimed at reducing the pre 1996 asylum application backlog.
5Includes some cases where the application has been refused on substantive grounds.
6Provisional data.

Beverley Hughes

The available information is shown in the table. Appeal outcomes in any given time period do not necessarily relate to appeals lodged in the same period.

commenced in November 2002, and non-suspensive appeals came into force for the 10 EU accession countries.

Over 160 (rounded to the nearest five) appeals were dealt with under this process. All expedited appeal claimants passed through the Oakington fast track process and had access to on site legal advice from the Refugee Legal Centre or Immigration Advisory Service. Procedures were put in place to ensure the availability of legal advice once the claimants left Oakington and were detained pending determination of their appeal.

Asylum statistics are published quarterly and are available on the Home Office Research and Development and Statistics Directorate website at: http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/immigration 1. html