§ Mr. Dubsasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is the latest estimated waiting time to first interview for settlement applicants in each of the queues at each of the posts in the Indian subcontinent, how long applicants now being called for interview have waited; and how many people are in each queue at each post.
§ Mr. EggarWaiting times in months and the number of people in each queue as at 31 May are as follows:
Post Queue Actual Estimated Numbers awaiting first interview New Delhi 1 2 2 28 2 5 5 236 3 8 8 430 4 * 11 147 841 Bombay 1 2 3 28 2 6 6 549 3 * 10 443 4 * 12 105 1,125 Dhaka 1 3 3 528 2 10 8 2,376 3 10 8 132 4 21 20 3,565 6,601 Islamabed 1 3 3 899 2 7 8 482 3 13 10 2,061 4 14 14 907 4,349 Karachi 1 2 3 25 2 6 6 35 3 11 11 89 4 13 13 7 156 * None interviewed in May. Actual waiting time is the time waited by an applicant from lodging an application to the actual date of interview in May. Estimated waiting time is the time an applicant applying in May could expect to wait until interview.
§ Mr. Dubsasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how long those applying for entry 254W clearance for (a) settlement and (b) temporary purposes have been waiting before interview at British posts in (i) the Philippines, (ii) Sri Lanka, (iii) Ghana and (iv) Nigeria; and what are the expected waiting times for those now applying.
§ Mr. EggarWaiting times for entry clearance for settlement and temporary purposes are as follows:
Post Settlement Temporary Purposes Manila Six weeks 24 hours if no interview required, otherwise six weeks Colombo Same day Same day Accra Within seven days Same day, apart from June/September when three-seven days Lagos Same day Same day Kaduna Same day Same day The waiting times for those now applying are as above.
§ Mr. Dubsasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many entry clearances (a) in total, (b) for temporary purposes and (c) for settlement were issued during 1985 in the Indian sub-continent; and what was the cost of stationing entry clearance staff at posts in the sub-continent in that period.
§ Mr. EggarIn the period 1 January-31 December 1985 a total number of 20,480 entry clearances were issued in the subcontinent. Of this figure 7,260 were for temporary purposes and 13,220 were for settlement.
Figures for the cost of stationing entry clearance staff at posts in the subcontinent for the financial year ended at 31 March 1986 are not yet available. The cost for the financial year ended 31 March 1985 was £5.2 million.
§ Mr. Dubsasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many entry clearance officers are in post at each post in the Indian sub-continent, the Philippines and Sri Lanka at the latest convenient date and at a date 12 months before that; and if he plans to alter the complement at any of these posts.
§ Mr. EggarThe information required is contained in the following table:
Numbers of ECOs by post July 1986 July 1985 Post Permanent Temporary Permanent Temporary Islamabad 17 — 14 — Karachi 1 1 2 — New Dehli 5 — 4 2 Bombay 5 1 6 1 Calcutta 1 — 1 — Dhaka 16 2 15 1 Colombo 3 2 2 3 Manila 3 1 2 1 The complement of ECOs is under constant review in the light of the pressures on the posts and other demands on available manpower.