To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what action the Government propose to take following the recommendations of the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs in 1995 that cigarette lighter refills be limited in size to about 25ml; and if he will make a statement. [111187]

The Department of Trade and Industry pursued the Advisory Council's recommendation with the industry. Some manufacturers voluntarily introduced a 25ml gas lighter refill, but progress towards an industry-wide agreement to reduce the refills to a maximum size of 25ml was hampered by anti-competitive considerations and practical difficulties.In view of the difficulties encountered in trying to implement the recommendation, the Government decided to tackle the problem by an alternative means. It accordingly introduced the Cigarette Lighter Refill (Safety) Regulations 1999, which prohibits the sale or supply of lighter refills containing butane gas to anyone under 18 years.

Initial decisions on applications received for asylum in the United Kingdom1, 1991–2002, nationals of Iraq—number of principal applicants
		Cases considered under normal procedures2			Backlog clearance exercise3
	Initial decisions4	Granted asylum	Granted ELR	Refused	Granted asylum	Refused under backlog criteria5	Exceptional leave granted when applicant had not applied for asylum6
1991	175	45	115	15	—	—	250
1992	1,440	190	1,210	40	—	—	185
1993	515	185	300	30	—	—	990
1994	645	380	220	45	—	—	620
1995	795	570	175	50	—	—	205
1996	665	470	135	60	—	—	380
1997	665	255	295	110	—	—	205
1998	1,100	510	500	90	—	—	110
1999	745	315	320	100	5	*	75
2000	5,530	845	2,455	2,220	10	*	40
20017	8,880	815	1,855	6,210	—	—	20
20027	11,785	700	8,130	2,955	—	—	n/a
1 Figures rounded to the nearest five, with * = one or two.
2 Cases considered under normal procedures may include some cases decided under the backlog criteria.
3 Cases decided under measures aimed at reducing the pre 1996 asylum application backlog.
4 Information is of initial decisions, excluding the outcome of appeals or other subsequent decisions.
5 Includes some cases where the application has been refused on substantive grounds.
6 Exceptional leave granted in view of internal situation in Iraq when applicant had not applied for asylum, excluding dependants
7 Provisional data.

Information on initial decisions on asylum applications is published quarterly. The next publication will cover the period up to March 2003.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many convictions there have been under the Intoxicating Substance (Supply) Act 1985 in each year since 1992. [111188]

The information requested is given in the table for the period 1992 to 2000. These are the latest figures available at the present time. The data are from the Home Office Court Appearances Database.

Number of convictions under the Intoxicating Substances (Supply) Act 1985, England and Wales, 1992–2000
	Number
1992	4
1993	4
1994	6
1995	0
1996	3
1997	6
1998	6
1999	5
2000	0