Asylum: Children

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many unaccompanied minors have arrived in the country seeking asylum in each year since 1999; and how many of them were granted asylum. (313613)

The table shows the number of Unaccompanied Asylum Seeking Children (UASC) applications, initial decisions and grants of asylum, Exceptional Leave to Remain (ELR), Humanitarian Protection (HP) and Discretionary Leave (DL) between 1999 and September 2009. Statistics on UASC asylum decisions and outcomes until 2002 are not available. Figures only include initial decisions on UASC asylum applications and not any later asylum decisions (e.g. after appeal).

Information on asylum applications is published annually in the Control of Immigration: Statistics United Kingdom bulletin which is available 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

*Unaccompanied Asylum Seeking Children application*s^{1, 2, 3}*received in the United Kingdom, excluding dependants, and initial decisions*⁴ *on applications by year, all nationals*
	Applications	Total decisions⁴	Grants of asylum	Grants of ELR⁵	Grants of HP⁵	Grants of DL⁵
	Total	Port	In-country	Number	Total granted	Total ELR	Total HP	Total DL
1999	3,350	1,500	1,850	⁶—	⁶—	⁶—	⁷—	⁷—
2000	2,735	1,395	1,340	⁶—	⁶—	⁶—	⁷—	⁷—
2001	3,470	1,645	1,820	⁶—	⁶—	⁶—	⁷—	⁷—
2002	6,200	1,240	4,955	6,990	585	4,830	⁷—	⁷—
2003	3,180	645	2,535	3,835	150	1,255	15	1,525
2004	2,990	540	2,455	3,440	85	⁷—	20	2,505
2005	2,965	445	2,520	2,835	150	⁷—	20	1,965
2006	3,450	395	3,055	2,880	195	⁷—	10	1,960
2007	3,645	480	3,165	3,385	445	⁷—	15	1,780
2008⁸	4,285	380	3,905	3,375	335	⁷—	15	1,795
January-September 2009⁸	2,400	200	2,200	2,645	265	⁷—	15	1,490
¹ Figures are rounded to the nearest five and may not sum to the totals shown because of independent rounding. ² Figures exclude cases where the age of the applicant is disputed. ³An Unaccompanied Asylum Seeking Child (UASC) is a person under 18, or who, in the absence of documentary evidence establishing age, appears to be under that age; is applying for asylum in his or her own right and; is separated from both parents and is not being cared for by an adult who by law or custom has responsibility to do so. ⁴ The year of asylum application may not be the same as the year of initial asylum decision. ⁵ Humanitarian Protection (HP) and Discretionary Leave (DL) replaced Exceptional Leave to Remain (ELR) from 1 April 2003. ⁶ Not available. ⁷ Not applicable. ⁸ Provisional figures.

Volume 505: debated on Friday 5 February 2010