HC Deb 15 March 2004 vol 419 cc123-5W
Mr. Jim Cousins

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the vacancy rate in accommodation contracted for by the National Asylum Support Service (NASS) was on the latest date for which figures are available, distinguishing between direct contracts and contracts placed with agencies such as local authorities, broken down by local authority area where NASS has such contracts. [157043]

Beverley Hughes

The information is not available in the format requested. With the reduction in the number of asylum applicants, work is underway to reduce the number of unoccupied places and further information will be provided about that in due course.

Jeremy Corbyn

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what monitoring of returned unsuccessful asylum applicants is undertaken by UK representatives in(a) Congo, (b) Ivory Coast and (c) Cameroon; and if he will make a statement on his assessment of the safety of those individuals. [153940]

Beverley Hughes

All asylum (and human rights) claims are considered on their individual merits in accordance with our obligations under the 1951 United Nations' Refugee Convention and the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). Should a Claim be refused and any appeal before the independent Immigration Appellate Authority be unsuccessful, it means that for that individual it is safe to return.

In making decisions about removing failed asylum seekers, the Home Office takes full account of up to date information from a wide range of sources about the situation in the country of origin. These sources include intergovernmental organisations (such as the UN), governmental sources (including the Foreign and Commonwealth Office) and human rights organisations (for example Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch).

If an individual asylum seeker establishes a need for international protection they would not be returned.

Mr. Keith Bradley

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the estimated annual cost to Manchester City Council is of the implementation of the provisions within the Asylum and Immigration (Treatment of Claimants, etc.) Bill as they affect local authorities. [159423]

Beverley Hughes

[holding answer 8 March 2004]Measures in the Asylum and Immigration (Treatment of Claimants, etc.) Bill are designed to reduce abuse of the United Kingdom asylum system. We would therefore expect implementation of its provisions to reduce costs for central and local government in the long-term. Concerns have been raised over the potential impact of clause 8 of the Bill which proposes to withdraw support from failed asylum-seeking families if they refuse to cooperate with efforts to return them home. If, by putting themselves in this position, parents put their children at risk, it would be for the local authority to decide how the interests of their children should be protected under existing child protection legislation. The Bill does not change the grounds on which children may be taken into care. We do not believe that many, if any, parents would put their children in this position. We have made clear that local authorities would be reimbursed for costs incurred if a child did require assistance from a local authority as a consequence of the withdrawal of support.