HL Deb 03 November 2003 vol 654 c72WA
Baroness Harris of Richmond

asked Her Majesty's Government:

  1. (a) how many individuals the United Kingdom has entered on the Eurodac database since it became operational;
  2. (b) how many times the United Kingdom has consulted the database;
  3. (c) how many times the United Kingdom has received requests for information from other member states; and
  4. (d) how many positive hits on the database have resulted from these consultations. [HL4934]

Baroness Scotland of Asthal

The European Commission is responsible for the publication of statistical data relating to Eurodac.

  1. (a) Data relating to how many individuals the United Kingdom has entered on the Eurodac database since it became operational is not currently available.
  2. (b) The fingerprints of all UK asylum applicants over the age of 14 are sent from the UK Immigration Fingerprint Bureau in Croydon to the Eurodac Central Unit database in Luxembourg. They are then stored and checked against the records of all those who have applied for asylum on EU territory or have been encountered in the unlawful crossing of an external EU border since 15 January 2003.
  3. (c) Other EU member states send fingerprints to the Central Unit in the same manner and these will be checked automatically against fingerprints sent by the United Kingdom and all other member states.
  4. (d) The relevant data have yet to be published by the European Commission and will form part of the annual report on Eurodac to be published early in 2004.