§ Mr. Chopeasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (1) how much longer he estimates that an applicant for a special voucher which was lodged at the district high commission in Bombay on 24 October 1979 will have to wait for it to be processed;
(2) at the most recent convenient date, how many special voucher applications were awaiting processing in India;
(3) if he will give the approximate date on which applications were made for the special vouchers which are currently being processed at the district high commission in Bombay.
§ Mr. EggarWaiting times are not generally forecast because they are determined by variable factors and may also be substantially affected by unforeseen circumstances. Applicants issued with special vouchers in Bombay this month had applied in December 1977. We anticipate waiting times will now shorten as the number of applications lodged since 1977 has declined.
At 31 July there were 3,137 special voucher applications outstanding in India.