asked Her Majesty's Government:

How many failed asylum seekers were returned to Zimbabwe in the past three years. [HL4641]

A total of 270 Zimbabwean asylum applicants (including dependants) were removed or departed voluntarily to Zimbabwe in 2005; 265 in 2006; and 185 in 2007. Figures include persons departing voluntarily after enforcement action had been initiated against them, persons leaving under assisted voluntary return programmes run by the International Organisation for Migration and those who it is established have left the UK without informing the immigration authorities. Figures are rounded to the nearest five and information for 2006 and 2007 is provisional.

It is not possible to say what stage in the asylum process the returnees as a whole have reached at the time of their removal, including whether their claim has failed at that point, because those departing voluntarily can do so at any stage.

We undertook to the High Court on 26 September 2006 that we would not enforce the return of asylum seekers to Zimbabwe pending the outcome of ongoing country guidance litigation. We have no current plans to enforce returns to Zimbabwe.

Further information on asylum removals from the UK is available from the Library of the House and the Home Office's Research, Development and Statistics website at: www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/immigration-asylum-stats.html.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Whether they will have a moratorium on the return of failed asylum seekers to (a) Iran, (b) Sudan, and (c) Zimbabwe. [HL4643]

At present, we are not enforcing the return of non-Arab Darfuri failed asylum seekers. We also have no current plans to enforce returns to Zimbabwe. Our general position remains that we believe the right approach is to consider the protection needs of individuals on an individual basis.