§ Mr. MaddenTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will specify the latest average waiting times for applicants for all application categories406W dealt with by the immigration and nationality department; and what changes have taken place in waiting times in each of the last five years on a quarterly basis.
§ Mr. RentonAnnual information is given in the following table for the major areas of work undertaken by the immigration and natonality department: the figures for extensions of stay and settlement and for refugee status involves a degree of approximation such that any quarterly fluctuation would not be of significance.
Average length of time between the receipt of an application and the decision, for cases decided during the year Months 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 Applications for extension of stay or settlement1 n/a 2 2 2 3 Applications for refugee status orasylum2 6 9 13 14 15 Applications for citizenship3 —naturalisation 17 15 16 14 17 —registration 13 13 10 5 6 1 Cases decided by caseworking groups and Public Enquiry Office. 2 Some refugee cases are also included within the figures for extension of stay or settlement. 3 Average for cases decided in June. n/a—not available.