§ Mr. MalinsTo ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department how many family visit appeals have been lodged(a) for a full hearing and (b) for a review of the papers since 2 October 2000: how many of these have been determined and, in each category, how many have been (i) allowed and (ii) dismissed; when she expects to complete the ministerial review; and if she will make a statement. [159206]
§ Jane KennedyThe Immigration Appellate Authority has received 834 family visit visa appeals in the period from 2 October 2000 through to 20 April 2001. Of that total 326 appeals were received for an oral hearing and 508 for a determination on the papers alone.
Over the same period 538 appeals have been determined by the Adjudicators and the outcomes were as follows:
Allowed Dismissed Oral Appeals 89 46 Paper Appeals 143 260 The Immigration Appeal Tribunal, the higher tier of the Authority, has received 14 substantive appeals. Of these, three appeals have been determined on the papers alone and all have been allowed.
The initial ministerial review was completed in January this year, when the Home Secretary announced reduced visit visa fee rates. A review of the wider scheme will be completed by the end of December this year.
§ Mr. MalinsTo ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department when(a) he and (b) the Legal Services Commission will make a statement about the procedure to be adopted by those eligible for controlled legal representation to have family visit appeals fees paid as a disbursement. [159207]
§ Mr. LockFull guidance on the availability of Community Legal Service funding for family visit appeals is currently being prepared by the Legal Services Commission for consultation and future inclusion in the General Civil Contract. The Commission has set out its initial guidance on this in Issue 34 of its publication "Focus", dated March 2001. Copies of Focus 34 have been placed in the Libraries of both Houses.