HC Deb 13 January 1993 vol 216 cc908-9
9. Mr. Madden

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what are the implications for the staff establishments of British overseas posts of the Asylum and Immigration Appeals Bill; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Goodlad

It is too soon to assess the affect of the Asylum and Immigration Appeals Bill on staffing establishments at British posts abroad, but, as the removal of appeal rights does not imply any change in the criteria under which visit visa applications are considered, it is likely to be limited. Staffing establishments are primarily determined by the number of applications for visas.

Mr. Madden

Does the Minister understand that a growing number of people, including British entry clearance officers, recognise that clause 9 of the Asylum and Immigration Appeals Bill represents a serious denial of natural justice? Does he also accept that if genuine visitors, those who wish to come here to share in joy and grief with their relatives and friends, often in emergencies, are denied those visits, he and other Foreign Office Ministers will be deluged with requests to intervene from hon. Members? I hope very much that he will be prepared to offer us his private telephone number for telephone calls at weekends, over public holidays and during parliamentary recesses, because I suspect that a very large number of such requests will be made if this ridiculous clause becomes law.

Mr. Goodlad

No such reservations have been expressed to me or to my colleagues by entry clearance officers. Applicants will he given every opportunity as before to present their case, and applications will not be considered any less thoroughly than at present. There will be no change in the criteria used to assess applications. Entry clearance officers are under a duty to act fairly and will continue to do so.

Mrs. Currie

Is the Minister aware that a number of my constituents, with families in Bangladesh, particularly in Derby, have an interest in this question? Will he consider, if he has any problems with a shortage of trained officers accustomed to dealing with passports, immigration and the like, making far better use of the staff who currently waste travellers' time, particularly on the cross-channel ferries, insisting on seeing all our passports? Surely there must be a better way, if we are serious about chasing illegal immigrants and about helping the small number of genuine asylum-seekers, than having these officers spend hundreds of hours of publicly paid time sitting on their backsides on the cross-channel ferries?

Mr Goodlad

I know that my hon. Friend takes a close interest in such matters and she has made an interesting suggestion.