Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate she has made of the number of individuals currently living in (a) camps in Calais and (b) hotspots in Greece and Italy who may be eligible to have their asylum case determined in the UK under articles within the Dublin III Regulation.

Member States are responsible for dealing with asylum seekers who are on their territory, including the assessment of whether or not another Member State is responsible for examining an asylum application under the Dublin Regulation.

We consider requests from other States, including France, Italy or Greece, to take responsibility for asylum applicants in their territory, on a case-by-case basis in accordance with the terms of Regulation.

The Joint Ministerial Declaration on UK-French cooperation confirms the wishes of both Governments to improve the operation of the Dublin Regulation: a contact group has been established to ensure that that the provisions of the Dublin Regulation are used efficiently and effectively between both countries.