§ Mr. Hooleyasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many applications for naturalisation are currently being processed by his Department; and how many were submitted more than three months, more than six months and more than 12 months ago, respectively.
§ Mr. John7,751 applications are at present being processed. Of these 6,084 were received more than three months ago, 4,382 more than six months ago, and 2,263 more than 12 months ago.
§ Mr. Hooleyasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many staff in his Department are concerned with the processing of applications for naturalisation 708W and what increases or decreases in staffing have occurred within the past two years.
§ Mr. JohnAbout 40 people are concerned in some way with the processing of applications for naturalisation. Of these, 22 spend at least 75 per cent. of their time on naturalisation work; these numbers have not changed in the past two years but are under review at present.
§ Mr. Hooleyasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what percentage of applications for naturalisation have to be referred back to the applicant for further or more accurate information; and what is the average delay on this account.
§ Mr. JohnAbout 70 per cent. are referred back. The delay in any one case is determined largely by how quickly the applicant responds, but the average is about four weeks.