Immigration: Zimbabwe

James Duddridge
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate he has made of the number of Zimbabwean nationals (a) resident and (b) who have applied for residency in England in the last 12 months; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Woolas
[holding answer 29 June 2009]: The Office for National Statistics collects data on nationality from the Annual Population Survey which covers residents of the UK. For the 12 month period from October 2007 to September 2008, I understand that it is estimated that the number of people with Zimbabwean nationality resident in England was 63,000. The margin of error around this estimate is +/-11,000. These are the latest estimates available.

Information relating to the number of Zimbabwean nationals who have applied for residency in England in the last 12 months is not held centrally by UKBA.