§ Mr. Greg KnightTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the progress of the measures announced by the hon. Member for Mid-Sussex on 16 February,Official Report, column 863, to reduce the delays in the processing of citizenship applications.
§ Mr. RentonGood progress has been made as a result of the measures announced, and I am grateful for the cooperation of the staff and trade union side at Lunar House which has helped us achieve this. Of the 150,000 applications for citizenship received before the deadline of 31 December 1987, 117,000 have now been acknowledged, and any passport inside has been returned. Provided the present rate can be maintained, the remaining 33,000 applications will have similarly been dealt with by the middle of May 1988.
It is the Government's aim that all citizenship applications received by 31 December 1987 should be completed within two years, and further measures to achieve this will be announced shortly.