§ Mr. GouldTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what records are kept of personal interventions made by hon. Members in respect of visa applications for each year since 1987.
§ Mr. Douglas HoggNo records are available before 1988. The hon. Member will be aware that the correspondence unit of the migration and visa department which was set up in May 1989 deals specifically with inquiries about entry clearance applications made at posts overseas. Details about the Unit were last circulated to hon. Members under cover of my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs' letter of 24 April 1992. From 1988 to date the Department and subsequently the unit has handled 20,850 inquiries from hon. Members as follows:
39W
1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 November 282 421 354 374 — December 234 279 288 335 — TOTALS 3,875 4,111 4,561 4,577 3,726