To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many cases the UK Border Agency's Case Resolution Directorate plans to resolve in each quarter of (a) 2009, (b) 2010 and (c) 2011. (242838)

We have ramped up performance in dealing with the asylum legacy cases and are now resolving several thousand every month, however, we have not set quarterly targets because the mix of case types means that some will take very little time to resolve while others will take longer. We are confident that we will be able to conclude the cases by summer 2011, and are on track to do so.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many unresolved cases the UK Border Agency's Case Resolution Directorate has identified that were not taken into account in setting its initial target for resolution in each quarter since it was established. (242839)

The then Home Secretary made clear when he announced the programme of work in July 2006 that the case-load of legacy asylum cases was estimated to be around 400,000 to 450,000 cases. This remains the estimate. We continue to be on track to complete all those categorised as older legacy cases by the summer of 2011. Up to 9 January 2009 we had concluded 155,500 cases.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many asylum seekers have been waiting more than six months for a final decision on their claim; and how many of these applicants have dependants aged over 16 years. (254614)

An asylum seeker may make further representations at any stage in the application process which may, in certain circumstances, be treated as a fresh asylum application.

The United Kingdom Border Agency’s asylum targets are based on case conclusion times and the agency is on target to fully conclude 90 per cent. of new asylum applications within six months by 2011.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many asylum seekers have been waiting more than 12 months for an initial decision on their claim; and how many of these applicants have dependants aged over 16 years. (254615)

The information requested in this question could be obtained only at disproportionate cost by undertaking an examination of individual case records.

The United Kingdom Border Agency's asylum targets are based on case conclusion times and the agency is on target to fully conclude 90 per cent. of new asylum applications within six months by 2011.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many asylum seekers who waited more than 12 months for an initial decision on their claim are now at the appeal stage; and how many of these applicants have dependants aged over 16 years. (254616)

The information requested in this question could be obtained only at disproportionate cost by undertaking an examination of individual case records.

The United Kingdom Border Agency's asylum targets are based on case conclusion times and the agency is on target to fully conclude 90 per cent. of new asylum applications within six months by 2011.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many files under the asylum legacy cases programme have been archived because the individual could not be traced within six months. (269170)

The chief executive of the UK Border Agency has undertaken to update the Home Affairs Committee every six months on progress within the Case Resolution Directorate. She confirmed in her last update, on 8 December 2008, that the legacy cohort contains cases that the agency struggles to trace, including those where the applicant has died or left the country voluntarily. The agency makes every effort to trace such cases, checking a number of internal and external databases. If such tracing fails, the case is placed into a controlled archive. As of the end of November 2008 we reported that there were 1,850 cases in the controlled archive older than six months. This figure will be updated in the next letter to the Home Affairs Committee in the summer.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many Asylum Application Registration Cards were issued in (a) 2008 and (b) each month of 2009. (269177)

The number of Asylum Application Registration Cards issued was: 26,022 in 2008; and 7,233 in the first 13 weeks of 2009. The information is not collated on a monthly basis. These figures are not provided under national statistics protocols and have been derived from management information which is provisional and subject to change.