HC Deb 19 September 2003 vol 410 cc1232-3W
Mr. Viggers

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what extra resources have been provided in the last three years to police authorities to enable them to deal with the policing of immigrants. [131264]

Ms Blears

Expenditure on policing supported by Government has increased by 25 per cent. in the past three years. It is a matter for each police authority to match resources to local policing requirements.

Mr. Viggers

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what statistics are maintained on the criminal activities of(a) illegal immigrants and (b) seekers of political asylum. [131265]

Beverley Hughes

The statistics referred to are not available from existing data collection systems and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Details of the nationality and immigration status of suspects or of those convicted of crimes are not collated centrally as part of the recorded crime statistics and are not necessarily recorded by individual police forces.

Information on asylum applications is published quarterly on the Home Office website at: http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/immigrationl.html. The next publication will be available from the end of November and will cover the third quarter of 2003.

Mr. Lidington

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many cases in each of the last 12 months have been(a) sent to the Appeals Processing Centre and (b) despatched to the Immigration Appellate Authority. [130611]

Beverley Hughes

The available information is shown in the table.

Number of cases (principal applicants)
Month Asylum appeals received by the Home Office1 Asylum Appeals received by the IAA1,2
July 2002 4,565 4,500
August 2002 3,960 4,510
September 2002 3,905 9,635
October 2002 4,965 4,475
November 2002 3,740 6,080
December 2002 3,575 6,110
January 2003 33,400 6,015
February 2003 34,000 6,025
March 2003 35,200 6,045
April 2003 33,700 5,825
May 2003 33,400 6,025
June 2003 33,600 5,985

1 Figures rounded to the nearest five, and are provisional.

2 Based on information supplied by the Department for Constitutional Affairs.

3 Figures rounded to the nearest 100. and subject to later revision.

Information on the number of asylum appeals received by the Home Office, and the number of appeals received by the Immigration Appellate Authority (IAA), is published quarterly on the Home Office website at http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/immigrationl. html