HL Deb 01 February 1977 vol 379 cc838-9WA
Lord AVEBURY

asked Her Majesty's Government:

What is the average length of time between the date of application for registration as a citizen of the United Kingdom and Colonies and the date of the interview of the applicant; how many persons conduct these interviews; what is the average number of interviews each of them conducts in a month; and what was the total number of such interviews conducted in 1976 and how many applicants were waiting for interview at the end of 1976.

Lord HARRIS of GREENWICH

The only class of applications for registration which normally require an interview are those under Section 5A(2) of the British Nationality Act 1948. The interview forms only one part of the inquiries made.

The interval between the date of application and the interview varies according to the nature of the application and the number in hand. At present in a straightforward case it is 4 to 6 months but it is sometimes longer, especially in the London area.

The work of making inquiries is shared between police and immigration officers. No estimate can be made of the number of police officers who may be involved at any one time. At present 16 immigration officers are involved, but the number is lower at other times of year. Each immigration officer completes, on average, 8 cases a month. No record is kept of the number of interviews (some people may be seen more than once), but 1,166 applications were determined in 1976, and at the end of the year 706 were under inquiry or waiting to be sent out.