§ Mr. McNamaraTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps the Government are856W taking to improve the removals process and to ensure that it is transparent and fair. [151474]
§ Mr. BrowneThe Government are committed to identifying and removing those who have no right to be here by ensuring a transparent and fair system where all applicants are treated humanely and fairly and only seeking to return those who have no legal basis of stay in the UK. This is done by having an internal complaints procedure and an independent appeal system established by Parliament to resolve disputes between the Home Office and applicants who feel that their applications for leave to remain or asylum have not been properly assessed or the correct decision reached.
We are constantly striving to improve the way this process works by continually monitoring and reviewing internal procedures and practices.
§ Mr. FlightTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much was spent on the removal of failed asylum seeker; and how many asylum seekers were removed, in each year since 1997. [173676]
§ Mr. Browne[holding answer 18 May 2004]The information is as follows:
(a) The cost of the removal of failed asylum seekers is not disaggregated from the overall costs of the Immigration and Nationality Directorate (IND) and therefore not readily available. Any attempt to calculate the cost of removal of failed asylum seekers would need to take into account a large number of factors and this could be done only at disproportionate cost. However the total public spending for IND is set out in the published Home Office report.
(b) The number of asylum seekers who were removed in each year since 1997 is shown in the table.
857W
Removals and voluntary departures1 of asylum applicants, excluding dependants, 1997 to 2003 Principal applicants Dependants2 Total2 1997 7,165 n/a n/a 1998 6,990 n/a n/a 1999 7,665 n/a n/a 2000 8,980 n/a n/a
Removals and voluntary departures1 of asylum applicants, excluding dependants, 1997 to 2003 Principal applicants Dependants2 Total2 2001 9,285 1,495 10,780 20023 10,740 3,170 13,910 20033 12,490 4,550 17,040 n/a = Not available. 1 Includes persons departing 'Voluntarily' after enforcement action had been initiated against them, persons leaving under Assisted Voluntary Return Programmes run by the International Organisation for Migration, and removals on safe third country grounds. 2 Data on dependants removed have only been collected since April 2001. 3 Provisional figures. Note: Figures rounded to the nearest five, with* = one or two, and may not sum due to rounding.