§ Mr. Tony LloydTo ask the Attorney-General what is the expected time it takes for an appeal against refusal of(a) a visitor's visa and (b) an entry clearance to be heard; what were the comparable figures three, six and 12 months ago; and what plans he has to reduce this time.
§ The Attorney-GeneralThe Lord Chancellor's Department and the Immigration Appellate Authorities—IAA—do not keep detailed statistics on the expected times for appeals to be determined in the form requested, but it is possible to provide an informed estimate.
Over the past 12 months the average time taken for the IAA to deal with visit visa and settlement appeals to Adjudicators has been six to seven months. This does not include the time which appeals are in the hands of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Home Office and appellants' representatives. This can take from 2 months upwards depending on the nature and complexity of the case.
In addition, the average for appeals from a determination by an Adjudicator to the Immigration Appeal Tribunal over the same period has been 4–6 months, depending on the length of time taken by the parties to prepare their case.
The Lord Chancellor's Department is seeking to keep waiting times for hearings to a minimum and has authorised the IAA to increase the number of staff from 85 to 961/2.