§ Mr. GummerTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many man hours on average it has taken to process a student visa application in the last 12 months. [36990]
§ Angela EagleThis information is not readily available and could be obtained only by scrutiny of individual case files at a disproportionate cost. The length of time to process an application varies from case to case.
§ Mr. GummerTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many applications for student visas were received in each of the last six months. [36993]
§ Angela EagleThe available information is given in the following table.
The information relates to decisions on applications for leave to remain in the United Kingdom as a student. The latest available data are for the period July to December 2000. Data for 2001 are due to be published later this year.
Grants and refusals of extensions of leave to remain1 in the United Kingdom as a student, July to September 2000 Number of decisions Grants Refusals Total July 5,200 430 5,630 August 6,130 340 6,470 September 8,070 280 8,350 October 10,150 140 10,290 November 8,600 450 9,050 December 5,480 220 5,700 Total 43,620 1,860 45,490 1 Excludes dependants of principal applicants, the outcome of appeals and withdrawn applications. Notes:
Data rounded to the nearest 10; because of this the sum of constituent items may not agree with the total as shown.
§ Mr. GummerTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if his target of three weeks' average for the processing of student visa applications starts on the day of receipt and not the day of being entered on the computer. [36996]
§ Angela EagleThe target of processing all straightforward applications within three weeks has been measured from the date of receipt until now. As a result of the business process changes recently introduced, this will in future be measured from the date on which the application is posted by the applicant.
§ Mr. GummerTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many clerical staff were engaged in processing student visas in each of the years(a) 1998–99, (b) 1999–2000 and (c) 2000–01; [36992]
(2) how many clerical staff have been engaged in processing student visas in each of the last six months. [36991]
§ Angela EagleThere are no staff dealing only with applications for leave to remain in the United Kingdom for the purpose of following a course of study. The average number of staff involved in the initial processing of new postal immigration applications in each of these1388W years was as follows: 60 in 1998–99; 115 in 1999–2000; and 160 in 2000–01, but over the last six months this has increased to 190 staff.
§ Mr. GummerTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make it clear on the appropriate form and on his Department's website that applications for student visas sent by unregistered post cannot thereafter be traced until the visa is finally granted. [36989]
§ Angela EagleThis now is not the case; as a result of the business process changes introduced over recent months, all new applications are opened and entered on to a case information database within a very few days of receipt and updated at each stage of the process. This has brought about a significant improvement in our ability to trace all individual applications as they are processed.
§ Mr. GummerTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how applications for student visas sent by(a) registered and (b) unregistered post are treated. [36994]
§ Angela EagleAll applications are processed in the same way irrespective of the method of posting. The only advantage of registered mail is that the barcode on the package allows it to be registered on to a database as soon as it is received.
§ Mr. GummerTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the average time from receipt of an application for a student visa to its entry on the computer was in the last 12 months. [36995]
§ Angela EagleThis information is not currently available. We are introducing a Casework Information Database which, when fully operational, will enable us to monitor our performance on general immigration casework more effectively.
§ Mr. GummerTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what arrangements he has made for independent bench marking of the Student Visa Service. [36988]
§ Angela EagleAlthough not specifically aimed at students the Integrated Casework Directorate is conducting a self-assessment of its general casework process using the European Foundation of Quality Management, with a view to independent assessment of benchmarking in due course.