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Home Office

Answer

Mr. Henderson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will provide breakdowns of the number of asylum seekers currently detained under Immigration Act powers by (a) nationality, (b) gender, (c) place of detention, (d) length of detention and (e) immigration status at the time of application. [13263] Mr. Kirkhope: The requested breakdown of detained asylum seekers is given in the tables: Table 1: Number of people recorded as being detained{1,}{2} on 11 December 1996 who had sought asylum at some stage, by gender and immigration status _________________________________________________________________________________________________. Gender Port Illegal entrants Subject to deportation Total action Male 353 280 48 681 Female 52 13 8 73 Total 405 293 56 754 _________________________________________________________________________________________________. {1} Persons detained solely under the powers contained in Schedule 2 or 3 of the Immigration Act 1971. {2} These figures include people who have been in detention for less than a month. Because of the delay in recording receptions into, and releases from, detention and the large number of persons detained for a short period, the figures should be used with caution. Table 2: Number of people recorded as being detained {1,}{2} on 11 December 1996 who had sought asylum at some stage, by stage of application and immigration status _________________________________________________________________________________________________. Stage of application Port Illegal entrants Subject to deportation Total action Awaiting initial decision 90 54 8 152 Awaiting result of appeal 219 132 28 379 Awaiting removal after 96 107 20 223 refusal Total 405 293 56 754 _________________________________________________________________________________________________. {1} Persons detained solely under the powers contained in Schedule 2 or 3 of the Immigration Act 1971. {2} These figures include people who have been in detention for less than a month. Because of the delay in recording receptions into, and releases from, detention and the large number of persons detained for a short period, the figures should be used with caution. Table 3: Number of people recorded as being detained{1,2} on 11 December 1996 who had sought asylum at some stage, by length of detention{3} and immigration status _________________________________________________________________________________________________. Length Port Illegal Entrants Subject to Deportation Total action 0-1 month{1} 74 92 7 173 1-2 months 54 57 9 120 2-6 months 169 107 26 302 6-12 months 88 30 11 129 12 months + 20 7 3 30 Total 405 293 56 754 _________________________________________________________________________________________________. {1} Persons detained solely under the powers contained in Schedule 2 or 3 of the Immigration Act 1971. {2} These figures include people who have been in detention for less than a month. Because of the delay in recording receptions into, and releases from, detention and the large number of persons detained for a short period, the figures should be used with caution. {3} In some cases the date a person enters detention may be understated due to the method of recording. Table 4: Number of people recorded as being detained{1,}{2} on 11 December 1996 who had sought asylum at some stage, by nationality and immigration status _________________________________________________________________________________________________. Nationality Port Illegal entrants Subject to deportation Total action Nigeria 58 26 22 106 Algeria 26 48 5 79 India 10 64 1 75 Sri Lanka 30 19 2 51 Zaire 35 4 3 42 Ghana 20 17 3 40 Pakistan 14 21 4 39 China People's Republic of 29 9 0 38 Turkey 21 11 0 32 Romania 4 13 0 17 Cyprus 15 0 0 15 Israel 15 0 0 15 Angola 10 1 3 14 Bangaldesh 4 7 0 11 Gambia 9 1 1 11 Yugoslavia 3 6 1 10 Iran 6 2 1 9 Jamaica 1 5 3 9 Russia 4 4 0 8 Columbia 6 1 0 7 Ethiopia 4 3 0 7 Poland 6 1 0 7 Tanzania 4 1 2 7 Uganda 6 0 1 7 Kenya 5 1 0 6 Liberia 6 0 0 6 Lithuania 4 2 0 6 Sierra Leone 3 3 0 6 Ecuador 4 1 0 5 Ivory Coast 3 2 0 5 Morocco 1 3 1 5 Iraq 3 0 1 4 Lebanon 2 2 0 4 Slovakia 3 0 0 3 South Africa 2 0 1 3 Bulgaria 1 1 0 2 Cameroon 1 1 0 2 Congo 2 0 0 2 Eritrea 1 1 0 2 Philippines 0 2 0 2 Somalia 2 0 0 2 Tunisia 2 0 0 2 Zimbabwe 2 0 0 2 Other 11 7 1 19 Nationality doubtful 7 3 0 10 Total 405 293 56 754 _________________________________________________________________________________________________. {1} Persons detained solely under the powers contained in schedule 2 or 3 of the Immigration Act 1971. {2} These figures include people who have been in detention for less than a month. Because of the delay in recording receptions into, and releases from, detention and the large number of persons detained for a short period, the figures should be used with caution. Table 5: Number of people recorded as being detained{1,}{2} on 11 December 1996 asylum at some state, by location of detention and immigration status _________________________________________________________________________________________________. Port Illegal entrants Subjects to Deportation Total action Prisons HMP Rochester 74 50 13 137 HMP Haslar 34 48 4 86 HMP Birmingham 3 10 2 15 HMP Wormwood Scrubs 4 4 0 8 HMP Magilligan 0 6 0 6 HMP Manchester 0 4 1 5 HMP Brixton 0 4 1 5 HMP Greenock 0 4 0 4 HMP Wandsworth 0 0 2 2 HMP High Down 0 1 1 2 HMP Elmley 0 2 0 2 HMP Doncaster 0 2 0 2 HMP Armley 0 2 0 2 Other prison 7 5 4 16 _________________________________________________________________________________________________. Other Places of Detention _________________________________________________________________________________________________. Campsfield House 98 52 12 162 Tinsley House 66 38 8 112 Harmondsworth 62 22 3 87 Police Cells 10 22 4 36 Meadvale Buildings 25 8 0 33 Queens Building 12 2 0 14 Manchester airport detention 1 7 1 9 suite Dover Harbour 5 0 0 5 Other places of detention 4 0 0 4 Total 405 293 56 754 _________________________________________________________________________________________________. {1} Persons detained solely under the powers contained in schedule 2 or 3 of the Immigration Act 1971. {2} These figures include people who have been in detention for less than a month. Because of the delay in recording receptions into, and releases from, detention and the large number of persons detained for a short period, the figures should be used with caution.

Secondary information

Type

Written question

Reference

13263; 289 c380-3W

Session

1996-97

Subjects

Detainees Applications Immigration Migrants Prisons Nationality Population Refugees

Contains statistics

Yes