Written question asked by James Clappison (Conservative) on Tuesday, 9 February 2010, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 22 February 2010. It was answered by Phil Woolas (Labour) on Tuesday, 9 March 2010 on behalf of the Home Office.

Immigration

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what his most recent estimate is of the number of older, non-asylum cases considered by the UK Border Agency which have resulted in (a) removal and (b) the award of a grant in each of the last five years; and how many such cases remain outstanding.

Answer: The chief executive of the UK Border Agency Lin Homer, reported in her letter to the Home Affairs Select Committee (HASC) on 4 February 2010 about the group of older, non-asylum cases where the application has been dealt with, but where there is no formal record that the individual has left the country.This review is in the early stages and the UK Border Agency has concluded just over 200 cases. The Agency is currently working those cases that fall into the exceptional circumstances criteria for expedition and is planning to increase resource allocated to this work as the clearance of casework backlogs is completed. The Agency is planning that all of the remaining files will be reviewed and archived by summer 2011. Lin Homer will provide a further progress update on the conclusion of these cases in the next update to HASC.

Secondary information