HL Deb 18 March 1980 vol 407 cc160-2

2.40 p.m.

Lord AVEBURY

My Lords, I beg leave to ask the second Question which stands in my name on the Order Paper.

The Question was as follows:

To ask Her Majesty's Government how many applications for citizenship of the United Kingdom and Colonies were made and granted respectively in each of the years since 1970, and what was the number of staff in the Home Office engaged in processing those applications, and the number of applications outstanding, on 30th June in each of the years in question.

The PARLIAMENTARY UNDERSECRETARY of STATE, HOME OFFICE (Lord BELSTEAD)

My Lords, as the information requested has to be in the form of a statistical table, I shall, with permission, circulate it in the Official Report.

Lord AVEBURY

My Lords, I am most grateful to the noble Lord for circulating this information. Is he aware that grave offence has been caused to many people who are anxious about their nationality applications by the circulation of a duplicated letter, Form N.427, saying that they are not to make inquiries about their own cases except in the most exceptional circumstances, and threatening them that, if they do so, consideration of their cases will be delayed? Is the noble Lord not anxious because Government business has fallen into such a disarray that it is impossible to reply courteously to normal letters from members of the public?

Lord BELSTEAD

My Lords, I was not aware of that, and I shall certainly look into it.

Lord DERWENT

My Lords, can one have a supplementary question to an original Question when the original Question has not been answered?

Following is the information referred to:

Applications received by 31 December Applications granted by 31 December Number of staff in post at 30 June Number of applications outstanding on 30 June
1970 38,275 30,392 94 5,542
1971 45,826 34,610 96 9,542
1972 43,326 39,965 126 11,555
1973 86,843 41,575 177 18,480
1974 85,442 65,728 269 52,828
1975 39,141 60,587 292 38,240
1976 34,915 31,263 216 26,538
1977 32,391 23,912 184 26,462
1978 38,010 24,924 189 33,067
1979 48,578 24,586 186 35,571

Explanatory Notes:

(1) Applications received in any one year may not be dealt with in that year. The number granted in any one year and the number outstanding midway through that year or at the end of that year do not necessarily correlate with the number received in that year.

(2) The increase in the number of applications received in the years 1971–1974 and in the numbers granted in the years 1972–1975, coupled with the rapid growth from 1973 in the number of applications outstanding, was largely due to increased numbers of applications from citizens of Pakistan under the provisions of the Pakistan Act 1973 and the modification of provisions for the registration of Commonwealth Citizens in the Immigration Act 1971, which came into force in 1973.

(3) A number of High Court judgments in 1977 on illegal entrants and overstayers complicated nationality work and have slowed down the rate of processing applications.

(4) From 1978 the number of applications received began to increase and by the end of 1979 was over 50 per cent. higher than in 1977. This has coincided with a period of strict restraint on the growth of civil service manpower and it has not been possible to provide comparable increases in staff to deal with the increased work. One hundred and ninety-five staff are currently employed, and it is hoped to bring this number up to 217.

(5) From 1974 to 1976 additional staff were added temporarily to the nationality division to deal with the large number of applications for citizenship made under the provisions of the Pakistan Act 1973.