§ Mr. Churchillasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will publish in the Official Report what action is required to be taken by British residents of Polish origin who came to fight for Great Britain in the Second World War and who are currently deprived of the vote in the country that has become their home, before they can attain United Kingdom citizenship; what is the cost involved; and if, in respect of those with more than 30 years' residence in the United Kingdom, he will waive these charges, which are not applied to much more recently arrived citizens of the Commonwealth and the Irish Republic.
§ Dr. SummerskillIn order to qualify for a certificate of naturalisation, a national must satisfy the requirements laid down in Section 10 of the Second Schedule to the British Nationality Act 1948.
The fee for the grant of a certificate is £70, An applicant also has to meet the cost of inserting advertisements in local newspapers, and if his application is witnessed by a commissioner for oaths or notary public there is a fee of £1, as 503W there is also on the taking of the oath of allegiance.
My right hon. Friend has concluded, as have his predecessors who have considered the matter, that it would not be practicable to exempt particular classes of applicant from the obligation to pay fees, which are applied towards the cost of dealing with applications.
Since April 1975 Commonwealth citizens and citizens of the Republic of Ireland have paid fees for registration. The current fee for registration at the discretion of the Home Secretary is £35.
INDICTABLE OFFENCES RECORDED AS KNOWN TO THE POLICE AND INDICTABLE OFFENCES CLEARED UP—BYOFFENCE GROUP METROPOLITAN POLICE DISTRICT Numbers and percentage 1971 1972 Recorded as known Cleared up Percentage cleared up Recorded as known Cleared up Percentage cleared up Violence against the person 7,778 5,608 72 8,261 5,888 71 Sexual offences 2,726 1,965 72 2,686 1,868 70 Burglary 79,898 16,013 20 79,224 15,611 20 Robbery 2,727 966 35 3,167 1,032 33 Theft and handling stolen goods 220,351 57,116 26 220,924 58,362 26 Fraud and forgery 25,305 17,661 70 31,787 22,039 69 Criminal damage 5,936 1,349 23 7,901 2,216 28 Other offences 373 349 94 495 468 95 Total 345,094 101,027 29 354,445 107,484 30
Numbers and percentages 1973 1974 Recorded as known Cleared up Percentage cleared up Recorded as known Cleared up Percentage cleared up Violence against the person 9,368 6,699 72 9,585 6,444 67 Sexual offences 2,999 2,087 70 2,990 2,096 70 Burglary 74,192 13,642 18 88,163 14,955 17 Robbery 2,680 920 34 3,151 903 29 Theft and handling stolen goods 223,210 57,598 26 265,207 66,179 25 Fraud and forgery 31,995 21,293 67 30,080 19,500 65 Criminal damage 10,269 3,052 30 14,079 3,783 27 Other offences 537 506 94 544 497 91 Total 355,250 105,797 30 413,799 114,357 28
Numbers and percentages 1975 Recorded as known Cleared up Percentage cleared up Violence against the person 10,967 6,824 62 Sexual offences 2,550 1,660 65 Burglary 99,579 15,107 15 Robbery 4,452 1,147 26 Theft and handling stolen goods 285,980 65,943 23 Fraud and forgery 30,825 20,483 66 Criminal damage 17,740 4,403 25 Other offences 485 429 88 Total 452,578 115,996 26 The statistics for 1976 are not yet available.