§ 29. Fiona Mactaggart (Slough)Pursuant to his answer of 23 March 1999, Official Report, column 133, on immigration adjudicators, by what percentage the number of outstanding immigration appeals has been reduced; and what training has been undertaken by immigration adjudicators. [84157]
§ The Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department (Mr. Keith Vaz)Between the end of December and the end of April 1999, the total number of outstanding appeals to adjudicators fell by 54 per cent. Any case can now be heard within four weeks of receipt. There is an on-going training programme for new adjudicators and three dedicated training days have been held this year on recent developments in immigration law.
§ Fiona MactaggartI thank my hon. Friend for that reply—and may I be the first to congratulate him on his new responsibilities? As his answer reveals, there is some spare capacity caused by relatively slow processing of domestic immigration cases and statements by the Home Office. As he has shown in the past—for example, in the Adjournment debate that he secured in January this year—there is concern about the operation of entry clearance overseas. Would it be possible for him to take steps to ensure that a larger proportion than the current 156 17 per cent. of work done by adjudicators relates to people appealing against the decisions of entry clearance officers overseas? In my constituency, there are people who have waited for more than six months merely to have an interview. To have to wait longer thereafter for an appeal is unfair. My hon. Friend is faced with a great opportunity to speed up the process radically. Will he take it?
§ Mr. VazI thank my hon. Friend for her kind comments. May I take the opportunity to acknowledge the dedicated and distinguished way in which my predecessor, my hon. Friend the Member for Ashfield (Mr. Hoon), now the Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office, held this post? I am sure that the whole House wishes him well in his new career.
It did not take my hon. Friend the Member for Slough (Fiona Mactaggart) long to remind me of what I said in January. The reduction in the number of outstanding cases has been remarkable. As I have been in the job for only seven days, I cannot take credit for that extraordinary achievement. My hon. Friend is aware that the issue of entry clearance officers and the way in which explanatory statements are issued by the posts abroad are matters for the Foreign Office. She is also aware that there are plans to improve that service by initiating pilot schemes—possibly even ensuring that some of the interviews are recorded. As for the Lord Chancellor's Department, we shall work with the Foreign Office and the Home Office, which has responsibility for dealing with such matters in this country, to ensure that the system is the best for the people who have applied and who have appealed. We shall ensure that the system is efficient, fair and quick.
Mr. Edward Gamier (Harborough)I join the hon. Member for Slough (Fiona Mactaggart) in congratulating my constituency neighbour on his promotion to the Lord Chancellor's Department as its Parliamentary Secretary. I trust that he will enjoy working with the Lord Chancellor as much as the hon. Member for Ashfield (Mr. Hoon) so clearly did.
Will the Minister tell the House why he thinks that the former Minister's reply, set out as a written answer at column 133 of Hansard of 23 March, is a proper and connected answer to the question asked at that time by the hon. Member for Slough?
§ Mr. VazI thank the hon. and learned Gentleman for his kind comments. Clearly, Market Harborough and Leicester, East will often be together in the Chamber during the months to come.
Of course the answer is connected. My hon. Friend the Member for Slough asked whether the number of delays had improved. It has improved; the number of cases has gone down. In the last year of the previous Government, there were 34,000 outstanding appeals. Today, there are 7,113 outstanding appeals. That is a dramatic reduction. That is because the system works and because of the need to ensure that those cases are dealt with as quickly and as speedily as possible.