Written question asked by James Clappison (Conservative) on Thursday, 30 January 2003, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Tuesday, 4 February 2003. It was answered by Baroness Hughes of Stretford (Labour) on Tuesday, 4 February 2003 on behalf of the Home Office.

Home Office

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the average time was before the initial determination of asylum claims (a) in the most recent period for which figures are available and (b) in each year since 1997. - Inc table.

Answer: Mr. Clappison:: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the average time was before the initial determination of asylum claims (a) in the most recent period for which figures are available and (b) in each year since 1997. [95569] Beverley Hughes: The average time between application and initial decision was seven months for initial decisions made between October 2001 and September 2002. This has been calculated using all cases for which data are available, including older cases decided as part of the reduction of the backlog, as well as new cases. The table shows the average time to initial decisions for cases decided between 1997 and 2001. Average time to initial decision, 1997-2001 1,2,3 _________________________________________________________________________________________________. Year of decision Average time to initial decision (in months) 4 1997 22 1998 17 1999 35 2000 18 2001 13 _________________________________________________________________________________________________. 1 Excluding dependants. 2 Figures are estimates based on cases for which information is recorded. 3 Based on data from Refugee Index for 1997 to 1999, and the ACID database for 2000 and 2001. 4 The average length of time (in months) is calculated from date application is lodged to the date of initial decision, and relates to the year in which the decisions were made.

Secondary information