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Deportations - Detention - Asylum Q1 - 2015

Detention - January to March 2015

Detention
The number of people entering detention in the year ending March 2015 increased slightly to 30,902 from 30,109 in the previous year. Over the same period there was a similar increase of 2% in those leaving detention (from 29,786 to 30,313).

There was a continuing decline in the proportion of detainees being removed on leaving detention from the peak in the year ending March 2011 of 64% to 51% in the year ending March 2015. Conversely, there was an increase in the proportion of detainees granted temporary admission or release, from 28% to 39% over the same period.

As at the end of March 2015, 3,483 people were in detention, 16% higher than the number recorded at the end of March 2014 (2,991). An increase was expected due to the opening of The Verne IRC in 2014, which is now fully operational. The increase could possibly have been greater; however, an outbreak of an infectious illness at Morton Hall IRC, meant this facility was not used to its full capacity.

Length of detention
During the year ending March 2015, 30,313 people left detention. Of these, almost two-thirds (63%) had been in detention for less than 29 days, 18% for between 29 days and two months and 12% for between two and four months. Of the 2,043 (7%) remaining, 152 had been in detention for between one and two years and 26 for two years or longer.

Over a third (37%) of people leaving detention were detained for seven days or less (11,224). Of these, 5,517 (49%) were removed, 5,425 (48%) were granted temporary admission or release, 98 (1%) were granted leave to enter or remain and 81 (1%) were bailed. Of the 178 detained for 12 months or more, 38% were removed, 37% were bailed and 20% were granted temporary admission or release.

Children in detention
The number of children entering detention in the year ending March 2015 fell to 121 from 203 in the previous year. This was an 89% fall compared with the beginning of the data series in 2009 (1,119).

In the first quarter of 2015, 41 children entered detention, compared with 19 in the first quarter of 2014 and 44 in the first quarter of 2013. Of the 41 children, 23 were initially detained at Tinsley House (Family Unit) IRC, 11 at Cedars PDA and 7 at other IRCs and STHFs.

Of the 43 children leaving detention in the first quarter of 2015, 23 were removed from the UK and 20 were granted temporary admission or release. Of those leaving detention, 29 had been detained for less than four days, 11 for between four and seven days and 3 for between 15 and 28 days. The number of children removed from the UK on leaving detention has ranged from 2 out of 24 (8%) in the first quarter of 2011 to 16 out of 20 (80%) in the second quarter of 2014 and currently in this quarter at 53%.

Immigration detainees in prisons
As at 30 March 2015 there were 374 detainees held in prison establishments in England and Wales solely under immigration powers as set out in the Immigration Act 1971 or UK Borders Act 2007.

UK Home Office Published 21st May 2015

Hunger Strikes in Immigration Removal Centres (IRCs)

Q1 2016 January February March 
Brook House 100 36 40 24
Campsfield House 11 4 2 5
Cedars 0 0 0 0
Colnbrook 14 6 3 5
Dungavel 0 0 0 0
Harmondsworth 23 2 4 17
Morton Hall 16 3 4 9
The Verne 3 0 2 1
Tinsley House 20 8 4 8
Yarl's Wood 66 19 20 27
Total Q1 253

Deportations - January to March 2015

Enforced (deportation) removals from the UK decreased by 3% to 12,498 in the year ending March 2015 compared with the previous year (12,889).

Asylum and Non-Asylum Enforced Removals
In the year ending March 2015, there were 4,214 enforced removals of people who had sought asylum at some stage, down 7% from the previous year (4,512). This figure is 64% lower than the peak in 2004 (11,743) when this data series began. This long-term decrease in the enforced removal of those seeking asylum can be viewed in the context of a generally decreasing trend in asylum applications since 2002; although the asylum applications have increased in recent years, they still remain low compared to the peak in 2002.

In the year ending March 2015, 66% of total enforced removals were non-asylum cases (8,284), down 1% from the previous year (8,377) and down 18% from the peak of 10,070 in 2008.

Removals and Voluntary Departures by Nationality
The highest number of enforced removals in the year ending March 2015 was for Pakistani nationals (1,777; 14% of the total). The second highest was for Indian nationals (1,172; 9% of the total).

The highest number of passengers refused entry at port and subsequently departed was for United States nationals (2,009; 12% of the total). The second and third highest numbers were for Albanian (1,316; 8% of the total) and Brazilian (788; 5% of the total) nationals. United States and Brazilian nationals who are not coming to the UK for work or for 6 months or more do not need to apply for, and be issued with, a visa prior to arrival. The first time that they can be refused entry will therefore be on arrival in the UK.

The highest number of voluntary departures in the year ending March 2015 was for Indian nationals (5,706; 24% of the total), who have also shown the largest decrease compared with the previous year (-1,488 or -21%). The second highest number was for Pakistani nationals (3,291; 14% of the total) voluntary departures.

Foreign National Offenders Deported
The Home Office removes foreign national offenders using enforcement powers or via deportation. In the year ending March 2015, provisional data show that 5,051 foreign national offenders (FNOs) were removed, a similar level as in the previous year (5,080).

Refused Entry
The number of passengers refused entry at port and who subsequently departed has increased by 12% in the year ending March 2015, to 16,255 from 14,548 for the previous year. While the figure is lower than that in 2004 (36,167), the number refused entry at port and subsequently departing has been increasing slowly since 2012.

In the year ending March 2015, there were 23,406 voluntary departures. This category has represented the largest proportion of those departing from the UK since the end of 2009. The comparison with the previous 12 months' figure has not been included due to the retrospective nature of data-matching exercises that are undertaken in counting for some voluntary departures.

UK Home Office Published 21st May 2015


 

Asylum - April 2014 to March 2015

There were 25,020 asylum applications in the year ending March 2015, an increase of 5% compared with the previous year (23,803). The number of applications remains low relative to the peak number of applications in 2002 (84,132).

In the year ending March 2015, the largest number of applications for asylum came from nationals of Eritrea (3,552), followed by Pakistan (2,421) and Syria (2,222). Grant rates for asylum, humanitarian protection, discretionary leave or other grants of stay vary between nationalities. For example, 85% of the total initial decisions made for nationals of Eritrea and Syria were grants, compared with 22% for Pakistani nationals.

Most applications for asylum are made by those already in the country (89% of applications) rather than by people arriving at port. Applicants tend to be young and male.

In the year ending March 2015, the number of initial decisions on asylum applications increased by 72% to 26,066. Of these decisions, 40% (10,346) were grants either of asylum or an alternative form of protection, compared with 36% (5,435) in the previous year, and the highest number of grants since year ending December 2003 (11,074).

The HM Courts and Tribunals Service received 11,067 asylum appeals from main applicants in the year ending March 2015, a rise of 47% compared with the previous 12 months (7,522).

The UK had the fifth highest number (31,400) of asylum applications within the EU in 2014. In 2014, 4 EU countries received more asylum applicants than the UK - Germany (166,800), Sweden (81,300), France (63,100) and Italy (56,300).

In addition to those asylum seekers who apply in the UK, resettlement schemes are offered. In the year ending March 2015, a total of 934 were resettled in the UK. Of these, 174 (187 since the scheme began) were granted humanitarian protection under the Syrian Vulnerable Persons Relocation Scheme.

Nationalities Applying for Asylum
In the year ending March 2015, the largest number of applications for asylum came from nationals of Eritrea (3,552) followed by Pakistan (2,421). In the same period, the number of asylum applications from Eritrean nationals more than doubled to 3,552 from 1,578 in the year ending March 2014.

Grant rates for asylum, humanitarian protection, discretionary leave or other grants of stay vary between nationalities. For example, 85% of the total decisions made for nationals of Eritrea and Syria were grants, compared with 22% for Pakistani nationals.

Applications Pending
At the end of March 2015, 21,651 of the applications received since April 2006 from main applicants were pending a decision (initial decision, appeal or further review), 10% more than at the end of March 2014 (19,685). The increase is largely accounted for by a 5,361 rise in the number of pending further review (to 8,773) but balanced by a 3,395 fall in the number pending an initial decision to 12,878.

The number of decisions outstanding increased during recent periods due to a decrease in staffing levels following a restructure initiated by the UK Border Agency. Since January 2014, the Home Office took steps to reallocate resources to this area. This is reflected in the 72% (10,915) rise in the number of initial decisions on asylum applications for the year ending March 2015.

Asylum Appeals
The HM Courts and Tribunals Service received 11,067 asylum appeals from main applicants in the year ending March 2015, a 47% rise compared with the year ending March 2014 (7,522). Appeal determinations have decreased from 7,915 in the year ending March 2014 to 6,852 in the year ending March 2015. This remains well below the peaks in the number of appeals in 2009 and the number of determinations in 2010. In the year to March 2015, the proportion of appeals dismissed was 66%, while 28% of appeals were allowed and 5% were withdrawn.

Unaccompanied AsylumSeeking children (UASC)
There were 1,986 asylum applications from UASC in the year ending March 2015, an increase of 46% from the previous year (1,356). These applications represented 8% of all main applications for asylum in the year ending March 2015, but accounted for half of the increase. Despite the recent increase in UASC applications, they remain below the peak of 3,976 in 2008. There were 1,677 initial decisions for UASC in the year ending March 2015, 78% higher than in the year ending March 2014 (941). Overall, there was a fall in the proportion of decisions that were grants, from 73% of decisions in the year ending March 2014 to 66% in the year ending March 2015.

Age disputes
Some asylum applicants claim to be children but there can be doubt as to whether this is in fact the case. In the year ending March 2015, 348 asylum applicants had their age disputed and there were 461 recorded as having an age assessment. Of those who completed age assessments in the year ending March 2015, 57% had a date of birth showing that they were over 18 despite claiming to be a child when the age dispute was raised.

Dependants
Including dependants, the number of asylum applications increased from 30,203 in the year ending March 2014 to 31,407 in the year ending March 2015, an increase of 4% and an average of 1 dependant for every 4 main applicants. In the same period, 8,967 initial decisions were made relating to dependants. Of these 2,334 (26%) were granted asylum, 312 (3%) were granted a form of temporary protection or other type of grant, and 6,321 (70%) were refused.

World events have an effect on which nationals are applying for asylum at any particular time. For example, there have been increases in the number of applicants from Syria since the outbreak of the Syrian civil war in early 2011. In the year ending March 2015, including dependants, there were 2,532 asylum applications compared to 158 in the year ending March 2011. In addition, increasing numbers of people have sought asylum from Eritrea in the circumstances of international concern over human rights within the country. In the year ending March 2015, including dependants, there were 3,594 asylum applications from nationals of Eritrea compared to 793 in the year ending March 2011.

Support
At the end of March 2015, 30,476 asylum seekers and their dependants were being supported under Section 95. This figure has increased each quarter since the end of September 2012, but is still considerably below the figure for the end of 2003 (the start of the published data series), when there were 80,123 asylum seekers in receipt of Section 95.

The number of failed asylum seekers and their dependants receiving support (under Section 4) at the end of March 2015 was 4,941. Failed asylum seekers (main applicants only) receiving support peaked at the end of September 2009 (12,019).

UK Home Office Published 21st May 2015


Last updated 5 January, 2017