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Asylum: Palestinians

Volume 490: debated on Monday 23 March 2009

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many asylum applications her Department has received from (a) individuals and (b) families from (i) the Palestinian Territories and (ii) the Gaza Strip in each of the last (A) 12 months and (B) five years; and if she will make a statement. (264168)

The requested information is unavailable and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost by examination of individual case records.

However, information on the number of nationals from the Palestinian Territories that have applied for asylum in the United Kingdom between 2004 and 2008, broken down by main applicant and dependants have been provided in the table.

Information on asylum is published annually and quarterly. Statistics for the first quarter of 2009 will be available in May 2009 from the Library of the House and from the Home Office Research, Development and Statistics Directorate website at:

http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/immigration-asylum-stats.html

Asylum applications1 received in the United Kingdom, 2004 to 2008, nationals from the Palestinian Territories

Of whom:

Year/month

Total

Principal applicant

Dependant

2004

Total

540

460

80

2005

Total

445

370

75

2006

Total

340

260

80

2007p

Total

480

425

55

2008p

January

30

30

February

35

35

March

35

25

10

April

20

20

*

May

20

20

June

10

10

July

30

25

5

August

30

25

5

September

25

20

5

October

30

30

November

25

25

December

30

25

*

Total 2008p

320

295

25

1 Provisional figures rounded to nearest 5, (— = 0, * = 1 or 2). Figures may not sum to the totals shown because of independent rounding.