Assisted Voluntary Return schemes: applications from 2003 to 2013
Published 8 April 2014
© Crown copyright 2014
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This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/assisted-voluntary-return-schemes-applications-from-2003-to-2013/assisted-voluntary-return-schemes-applications-from-2003-to-2013
FOI release 29545
The Assisted Voluntary Return scheme was implemented as a pilot scheme in 1999 under the name of Voluntary Assisted Return Programme (VARP). In 2002 the Voluntary Assisted Return & Reintegration Programme (VARRP) was introduced for failed asylum seekers. In December 2004 the Assisted Voluntary Return Scheme for Irregular Migrants (AVRIM) was introduced for non-asylum cases. The Assisted Voluntary Return Scheme for Families and Children (AVRFC) was introduced in April 2010. No information is available on the number of applications or departures from 1999 – 2002 as this predates the roll out of the Home Office Case Information Database.
Only limited data is available in relation to AVR up until 2006. Where this information is available this has been provided in the tables below.
The application data provided is taken from internal workflow records and has not been subject to any formal quality assurance checks. This information should therefore be viewed as indicative. It should be noted that a number of individuals may be contained on a single application (often the case for family applications). However, for the purposes of data collection these cases are treated as one application.
Information relating to Approvals, Rejection and Withdrawals has been taken separately from the Home Office Case Information Database (CID). This data has been provided by and assured by the Home Office Performance & Compliance Unit. The data has only been provided for the specified purpose in this Freedom of Information Act request. Numbers can change, especially when drawn from caseworking systems and a re-check will be needed to prevent error if the information is required for further purposes.
To note: ‘Approved’ refers to applications which were eligible, ‘Rejected’ refers to those which were ineligible,’ Withdrawn (applicant)’ is self explanatory but ‘Withdrawn (HO)’ accounts for applicants who did not leave within the specified time, or failed to make further contact with the service provider – these can be deemed as lapsed..
Unlike the workflow information, the data from CID identifies each individual on an application. As a result the number of outcomes is higher than the number of applications each year. Furthermore most withdrawn cases will have been previously approved at some point leading to a double count between withdrawn and approved cases. It is not possible to disaggregate these figures.
Data relates to calendar years, and in 2013 is up to 14 November (To note: the outcome of cases may be recorded in a subsequent year to the application)
| AVRIM | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Applications | N/A | 681 | 1109 | 1619 | 2211 | 2495 | 1822 | 1152 | 1400 | 1615 | 14104 |
| Approved | N/A | N/A | N/A | 2579 | 2002 | 2418 | 1684 | 856 | 1125 | 1139 | 11803 |
| Rejected | N/A | N/A | N/A | 156 | 288 | 337 | 373 | 187 | 238 | 327 | 1906 |
| Withdrawn Applicant | N/A | N/A | N/A | 106 | 218 | 247 | 236 | 106 | 108 | 116 | 1137 |
| Withdrawn HO | N/A | N/A | N/A | 146 | 437 | 481 | 413 | 134 | 227 | 254 | 2092 |
| VARRP | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Applications | N/A | N/A | 5030 | 6705 | 5138 | 4910 | 5123 | 4635 | 3523 | 3519 | 3680 | 42263 |
| Approved | 3384 | 4108 | 5314 | 8335 | 5618 | 4122 | 4049 | 3447 | 2426 | 2701 | 2777 | 46282 |
| Rejected | 47 | 126 | 205 | 1041 | 942 | 1140 | 1342 | 1335 | 1076 | 935 | 783 | 8972 |
| Withdrawn Applicant | 380 | 394 | 546 | 1136 | 1383 | 456 | 426 | 401 | 233 | 179 | 148 | 5682 |
| Withdrawn HO | 374 | 679 | 886 | 2524 | 1810 | 1100 | 918 | 765 | 483 | 397 | 294 | 10230 |
| AVRFC | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Applications | 442 | 421 | 345 | 300 | 1508 |
| Approved | 995 | 945 | 927 | 701 | 3568 |
| Rejected | 86 | 111 | 62 | 57 | 316 |
| Withdrawn Applicant | 132 | 163 | 184 | 106 | 585 |
| Withdrawn HO | 58 | 270 | 184 | 150 | 662 |
It was possible to obtain flight and travel document costs through filtering and reference to transactional narrative, but not for travel arrangements post arrival as this information was not clearly categorized or listed on the toolkits. The cost of travel documents encompasses both revalidation of full passports and Emergency Travel Documents which are generally issued for a single journey.
The relevant data available is as follows:
| Financial year | Flight tickets | Travel Documents |
|---|---|---|
| 2010-2011 | £1,549,000 | £31,000 |
| 2011-2012 | £1,882,000 | £30,000 |
| 2012-2013 | £2,123,000 | £37,000 |
The table below sets out the actual costs incurred from 2008-09 to 2012-13. It should be noted that the Home Office receives funding from the European Union for its removals programmes including AVR. The figures provided for 2008-12 incorporate the EU funding streams, however due to changes in financial reporting from 2011-12 these elements were removed, although the expenditure in real terms remained broadly static in comparison to previous years.
| Financial Year | Assisted Voluntary Returns (AVR) (£ million) |
|---|---|
| 2008-09 | 10.8 |
| 2009-10 | 20.4 |
| 2010-11 | 17.3 |
| 2011-12 | 7.5 |
| 2012-13 | 8.8 |