§ Ms Oona KingTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many of those applicants who applied for consideration under the regularisation scheme for overstayers had their cases(a) decided, (b) granted, (c) refused and (d) are still awaiting an initial assessment of eligibility; and if he will set a target date for the completion of consideration of these applications. [159997]
§ Mrs. RocheIn total 17,120 applications were received under the Overstayers Regularisation Scheme of the Immigration Appellate Authority 1999. Of the cases decided to date, 255 have resulted in grants of leave and three have been refused. There are 3,916 cases now under consideration and the remaining 12,946 cases are awaiting action. I am currently considering how best to invest our resources on tackling the Regularisation Scheme during this financial year.