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Written Question
Asylum: Applications
Tuesday 1st March 2022

Asked by: Scott Benton (Independent - Blackpool South)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many asylum claims have been successfully processed by her Department since 2019.

Answered by Tom Pursglove

The Home Office publishes data on small boat arrivals in the ‘Irregular migration to the UK’ release. Data on the number of small boat arrivals is published in the ‘Irregular migration summary tables’, including breakdowns by nationality, age and sex. The latest data cover the period up to the end of December 2021.

The Home Office publishes data on asylum and returns in the ‘Immigration Statistics Quarterly Release’.

  • Data on asylum applications and initial decisions on asylum applications are published in tables Asy_D01 and Asy_D02 of the ‘asylum and resettlement detailed datasets’.
  • Data on appeals and appeal outcomes are published in tables Asy_D06 and Asy_D07 of the detailed datasets (available at the above link). For appeals, please note that most, but not all, appeals will relate to those who have had their claim refused at initial decision; a small number of appeals relate to cases which received a grant of leave other than asylum.
  • Data on asylum-related returns by type of return (including enforced returns, of which ‘deportations’ are a subset) are published in table Ret_05 in the returns summary tables. The latest data relate to the year ending September 2021.

The term 'deportations' refers to a legally-defined subset of returns, which are enforced either following a criminal conviction, or when it is judged that a person’s removal from the UK is conducive to the public good. The published statistics refer to enforced returns which include deportations, as well as cases where a person has breached UK immigration laws and those removed under other administrative and illegal entry powers that have declined to leave voluntarily. Figures on deportations, which are a subset of enforced returns, are not separately available.

The Home Office seeks to return people who do not have any legal right to stay in the UK, which includes people who:

  1. enter, or attempt to enter, the UK illegally (including people entering clandestinely and by means of deception on entry);
  2. overstay their period of legal right to remain in the UK;
  3. breach their conditions of leave;
  4. are subject to deportation action; for example, due to a serious criminal conviction, and
  5. have been refused asylum.

Asylum-related returns relate to cases where there has been an asylum claim at some stage prior to the return. This will include asylum seekers whose asylum claims have been refused, and who have exhausted any rights of appeal, those returned under third country provisions, as well as those granted asylum/protection, but removed for other reasons (such as criminality).


Written Question
Undocumented Migrants: English Channel
Tuesday 1st March 2022

Asked by: Scott Benton (Independent - Blackpool South)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many migrants successfully crossed the English Channel in each year since 2019.

Answered by Tom Pursglove

The Home Office publishes data on small boat arrivals in the ‘Irregular migration to the UK’ release. Data on the number of small boat arrivals is published in the ‘Irregular migration summary tables’, including breakdowns by nationality, age and sex. The latest data cover the period up to the end of December 2021.

The Home Office publishes data on asylum and returns in the ‘Immigration Statistics Quarterly Release’.

  • Data on asylum applications and initial decisions on asylum applications are published in tables Asy_D01 and Asy_D02 of the ‘asylum and resettlement detailed datasets’.
  • Data on appeals and appeal outcomes are published in tables Asy_D06 and Asy_D07 of the detailed datasets (available at the above link). For appeals, please note that most, but not all, appeals will relate to those who have had their claim refused at initial decision; a small number of appeals relate to cases which received a grant of leave other than asylum.
  • Data on asylum-related returns by type of return (including enforced returns, of which ‘deportations’ are a subset) are published in table Ret_05 in the returns summary tables. The latest data relate to the year ending September 2021.

The term 'deportations' refers to a legally-defined subset of returns, which are enforced either following a criminal conviction, or when it is judged that a person’s removal from the UK is conducive to the public good. The published statistics refer to enforced returns which include deportations, as well as cases where a person has breached UK immigration laws and those removed under other administrative and illegal entry powers that have declined to leave voluntarily. Figures on deportations, which are a subset of enforced returns, are not separately available.

The Home Office seeks to return people who do not have any legal right to stay in the UK, which includes people who:

  1. enter, or attempt to enter, the UK illegally (including people entering clandestinely and by means of deception on entry);
  2. overstay their period of legal right to remain in the UK;
  3. breach their conditions of leave;
  4. are subject to deportation action; for example, due to a serious criminal conviction, and
  5. have been refused asylum.

Asylum-related returns relate to cases where there has been an asylum claim at some stage prior to the return. This will include asylum seekers whose asylum claims have been refused, and who have exhausted any rights of appeal, those returned under third country provisions, as well as those granted asylum/protection, but removed for other reasons (such as criminality).


Written Question
Undocumented Migrants: Temporary Accommodation
Tuesday 1st March 2022

Asked by: Scott Benton (Independent - Blackpool South)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many and what proportion of migrants who crossed the English Channel illegally into the UK since 2019 are being housed in (a) hotels and (b) other temporary accommodation.

Answered by Kevin Foster

The Home Office does not accommodate illegal migrants, but does have a statutory obligation to provide accommodation and other support to asylum seekers who would otherwise be destitute while their application for asylum is being considered.

The latest published Immigration Statistics detail the number of asylum seekers accommodated in each local authority area. These statistics can be found at Asylum and resettlement datasets - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk). Data is published on a quarterly basis, with the latest information published 24 February 2022. The next quarterly figures are due to be released in May 2022. The Home Office does not publish a breakdown these statistics which disaggregates the number of asylum seekers accommodated in specific accommodation. These figures are not available in a reportable format and to provide the information could only be done at disproportionate cost.

Costs are subject to change depending on numbers being accommodated within the asylum system. Accommodation costs are considered to be commercially confidential, therefore the Home Office does not publish this information. However, total expenditure on asylum is published in the Home Office Annual Report and Accounts, available at https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/ho-annual-reports-and-accounts


Written Question
Undocumented Migrants: Housing
Tuesday 1st March 2022

Asked by: Scott Benton (Independent - Blackpool South)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the total cost to the public purse was of providing accommodation for migrants who illegal crossed the English Channel to the UK since 2019.

Answered by Kevin Foster

The Home Office does not accommodate illegal migrants, but does have a statutory obligation to provide accommodation and other support to asylum seekers who would otherwise be destitute while their application for asylum is being considered.

The latest published Immigration Statistics detail the number of asylum seekers accommodated in each local authority area. These statistics can be found at Asylum and resettlement datasets - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk). Data is published on a quarterly basis, with the latest information published 24 February 2022. The next quarterly figures are due to be released in May 2022. The Home Office does not publish a breakdown these statistics which disaggregates the number of asylum seekers accommodated in specific accommodation. These figures are not available in a reportable format and to provide the information could only be done at disproportionate cost.

Costs are subject to change depending on numbers being accommodated within the asylum system. Accommodation costs are considered to be commercially confidential, therefore the Home Office does not publish this information. However, total expenditure on asylum is published in the Home Office Annual Report and Accounts, available at https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/ho-annual-reports-and-accounts


Speech in Commons Chamber - Mon 28 Feb 2022
Oral Answers to Questions

"T3. Our failure to stop tens of thousands of illegal immigrants crossing the English channel in the last few years has resulted in them being accommodated in hotels, often in completely inappropriate locations, including a site in Blackpool, at a cost of millions of pounds per week to the UK …..."
Scott Benton - View Speech

View all Scott Benton (Ind - Blackpool South) contributions to the debate on: Oral Answers to Questions

Written Question
Migrants: Travel Requirements
Monday 28th February 2022

Asked by: Scott Benton (Independent - Blackpool South)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what proportion of migrants arriving in the UK since 2019 have arrived without travel documents.

Answered by Tom Pursglove

Border Force does not hold the data requested in an accessible format.


Speech in Westminster Hall - Wed 12 Jan 2022
Youth Crime and Antisocial Behaviour

"My hon. Friend is making a brilliant speech. One of the main problems that we have in Blackpool is that, when parenting orders are issued, often the police are exasperated that the council cannot hold those families and young people to account and make them abide by the conditions of …..."
Scott Benton - View Speech

View all Scott Benton (Ind - Blackpool South) contributions to the debate on: Youth Crime and Antisocial Behaviour

Speech in Commons Chamber - Wed 15 Dec 2021
Asylum Seeker Accommodation: RAF Manston

"Several hundred asylum seekers are currently being housed in a completely inappropriate location in central Blackpool. The Minister will be aware of my concerns about this placement. Does he agree with the people of Blackpool that the plans for an offshore processing centre for asylum seekers simply cannot come soon …..."
Scott Benton - View Speech

View all Scott Benton (Ind - Blackpool South) contributions to the debate on: Asylum Seeker Accommodation: RAF Manston

Speech in Commons Chamber - Mon 22 Nov 2021
Channel Crossings in Small Boats

"The Human Rights Act 1998 has handed power to unelected judges and it is clear that the creeping power of the courts is directly interfering in our ability to get a grip of our asylum and immigration policies. Does my right hon. Friend agree that, if we are finally going …..."
Scott Benton - View Speech

View all Scott Benton (Ind - Blackpool South) contributions to the debate on: Channel Crossings in Small Boats

Speech in Commons Chamber - Mon 19 Jul 2021
Nationality and Borders Bill

"It is a pleasure to follow the right hon. Member for Islington North (Jeremy Corbyn), although, ironically, his views on issues such as those included within the scope of this Bill are the main reason I find myself in this House today.

Since 1994, every single year the UK has …..."

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View all Scott Benton (Ind - Blackpool South) contributions to the debate on: Nationality and Borders Bill