To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many asylum seekers from Chechnya have been removed. [123478]

Information on the number of people of Chechen origin removed from the UK is not available except by examination of individual case files, which would incur disproportionate cost.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many asylum seekers have been housed in each of the London local authorities in each of the last three years; and if he will make a statement. [123484]

The information is not available in the form requested.The availability of information on the location of asylum seekers in the UK is currently linked to the support the asylum seeker receives. Asylum seekers in the UK either receive support from the National Asylum Support Service (NASS), local authorities or the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), or are supporting themselves.The following table contains the numbers of asylum seekers (including dependants) supported by NASS as at the end December 2000 and December 2001. It is not possible to split data for these periods into each of the London boroughs.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many asylum seekers are referred to (a) Leeds, (b) Bradford and (c) Wakefield; and what the intended maximum numbers are for each of those areas. [123558]

The information is not available in the form requested.The availability of information on the location of asylum seekers in the UK is currently linked to the support the asylum seeker receives. Asylum seekers in the UK either receive support from the National Asylum Support Service (NASS), local authorities or the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), or are supporting themselves.The following table contains the numbers of asylum seekers (including dependants) supported by NASS as at the end March 2003 in each of the three areas

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many reception centres there are in England and Wales to which asylum seekers are sent. [123566]

There is one establishment designated as a reception centre—the Oakington Reception Centre in Cambridgeshire, which accommodates up to 400 asylum seekers.However, asylum seekers can also be received, on arrival, at an induction centre. Currently there are two induction centres, one in Dover and another in Leeds. Generally speaking, asylum seekers requiring accommodation will spend approximately one week in the induction centre before being dispersed. Other asylum seekers requesting either subsistence only support or who do not require support will spend between one and two days at the centre.We are proposing to establish a national network of induction centres over the coming months.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what information is given by British officials operating in France under juxtaposed controls to (a) undocumented and (b) inadequately documented persons who wish to claim asylum in the UK; what access they are given to independent legal advice; what monitoring is undertaken as to how many who are refused entry by British officials then claim asylum in France; and in what circumstances British officials will admit such persons to the asylum process in the UK. [124115]

Persons refused entry to the UK at the juxtaposed controls in France who claim asylum are served with a written Notice of Refusal of Leave to Enter, which tells them that the United Kingdom is under no obligation to consider their asylum claim and that they are to be handed over to the competent French authorities.These procedures apply both to persons with no travel documents and to those holding invalid/improper travel documents.Given that asylum applicants are handed to the appropriate French authorities we do not routinely provide access to independent legal advisors in the UK. But public telephones are available for use in waiting areas and may be used at any time.The UK Immigration Service does not collate figures on the numbers of persons refused leave to enter the UK at the juxtaposed controls who apply for asylum in France.Given the clear access to the French asylum process for those who claim asylum at the juxtaposed controls, there are no circumstances where admittance to the UK asylum process will be given. It is possible, however, for the French authorities to make a request to transfer an asylum applicant to the UK if they believe the applicant is the responsibility of the UK under the criteria set out in the Dublin Convention.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many asylum applicants have been removed from Northern Ireland in each year since 2002. [124147]

Information on the number of removals of persons from particular areas of the UK is not available except by examination of individual case-files; this would incur disproportionate cost.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if the departmental press office will answer inquiries about the Taunton/Bridgwater contract run by Clearsprings Ltd. on behalf of the National Asylum Support Service. [124222]

[holding answer 7 July 2003]: The Home Office press office does answer media queries on behalf of the National Asylum Support Service (NASS) and recently provided an answer to a question from a local newspaper about Clearsprings. The newspaper was informed that Clearsprings has not yet offered NASS any specific properties and so no decisions have been made about their suitability.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what talks he has had with his Afghan counterparts about the return of Afghan asylum seekers and making conditions safer for returning Afghan citizens. [123886]

[holding answer 8 July 2003]: The Government opened negotiations with the Afghan Authorities on return issues following the change of regime in Afghanistan. These negotiations resulted in the signing of a Tripartite Memorandum of Understanding by the UK Government, the Afghan Authorities and the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) on 12 October 2000. The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) establishes a framework for returns from the UK to Afghanistan. We continue to have talks with the Afghan Authorities on the subject. Most recently, my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary met President Karzai in London on 4 June 2003, and restated the Government's commitment to ensuring that returnees have access to reintegration assistance in Afghanistan. We will continue to work with the Afghan authorities to ensure that returns to Afghanistan are sustainable.