§ Mr. Geoffrey Finsbergasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is the average delay in Karachi before dependants are granted an interview in connection with entry permits to Great Britain.
§ Mr. HattersleyOn 30th September—the latest convenient date for which records are available—the waiting period between the date on which an application for a settlement entry certificate is received by the Consulate-General in Karachi—from a person normally resident in their area of responsibility—and the date of interview by the Entry Certificate Officer, was approximately 18 months. Special arrangements are made to accord priority treatment where there are compassionate reasons of unusual strength for doing so. We are attempting to reduce the period of waiting between the date of application and interview.