To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many asylum seekers and their dependants were being supported by the National Asylum Support Service (NASS) in accommodation in the City of Newcastle upon Tyne on 1 June 2003, (b) 2004, (c) 2005 and (d) 2006; how many were receiving subsistence only support on each date; how many failed asylum seekers and their dependents were receiving Article 4 support in Newcastle on each such date; and how many claimants of NASS support in Newcastle have had support withdrawn under section 9 of the Asylum and Immigration Act 2004 in each year since coming into force. (92810)

The number of asylum seekers supported by the National Asylum Support Service (NASS) is published on a quarterly and annual basis, broken down by Government office region and local authority. The latest publication covering the second quarter of 2006 is available on the Home Office Research Development and Statistics website at http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/immigration1.html.

The number of failed asylum seekers and their dependants receiving Section 4 support is not available historically and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost by looking at individual case files. However management information shows that there are currently 140 principal applicants and five dependants being supported under Section 4 in Newcastle upon Tyne. Please note that all figures are rounded to the nearest five.

No cases in Newcastle have had their support terminated under section 9 of the 2004 Act, as section 9 was implemented by means of a pilot run in London, Leeds and Manchester.