Written question asked by Chris Huhne (Liberal Democrat) on Monday, 8 December 2008, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Tuesday, 16 December 2008. It was answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern (Labour) on Wednesday, 1 April 2009 on behalf of the Home Office.

Asylum: Expenditure

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much expenditure her Department has incurred in removing unsuccessful asylum seekers from the United Kingdom in each of the last five years.

Answer: [holding answer 16 December 2008]: It is not possible to provide a comprehensive figure for the overall cost of removals and deportations over a specified period of time because there are many different factors which may or may not be involved in the cost of a case (such as detention costs, travel costs, and the cost of escorting the individual in question). We are unable to disaggregate the specific costs and any attempt to do so would incur disproportionate cost.

Secondary information