Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many failed asylum seekers are in the UK; and what the longest period is for which a failed asylum seeker has remained in the UK.

The data requested could be provided only by examining individual case records, which would result in disproportionate cost. It is not possible to accurately quantify the number of immigration offenders in the UK as, by their very nature, those that deliberately evade immigration control to enter and stay in the country illegally are not officially recorded until they come to light and are arrested. Exit Checks were introduced on 8 April 2015 on all scheduled commercial international air, sea and rail routes. Over time, Exit Checks will improve our ability to identify those who have overstayed.