§ Mr. Greville Janner asked the Lord Privy Seal when he expects those United Kingdom passport holders who applied for entry to the United Kingdom from India in February 1976 will be called for interview.
§ Mr. Luce: We are unable to predict when persons who applied on any particular date will be called for interview. A number of variable factors make it impossible to forecast likely waiting times.
§ Mr. Greville Janner asked the Lord Privy Seal whether Her Majesty's Government have considered the possibility of applicants for special vouchers requiring a medical examination before the issue of such vouchers being X—rayed and examined by a local doctor rather than having to travel to Bombay for such an examination.
§ Mr. Luce: The appointment of panel doctors in Gujarat has been considered but was found to be unnecessary because applicants travel to Bombay for interview. However, posts are investigating the possibility of reducing the number of journeys to Bombay made by some applicants requiring periodical examinations.
§ Mr. Greville Janner asked the Lord Privy Seal how many British passport holders are at present waiting in India to be admitted to the United Kingdom; how many have been waiting during each of the years during which a special voucher scheme has been in operation; and what was in each such year and what is now the waiting period before British passport holders are admitted to the United Kingdom.
§ Mr. Luce: At 30 September, 4,782 British passport holders in India had applied for special vouchers and were awaiting interview. A voucher quota was allocated to India in 1972. The number of applications outstanding and the times waited by applicants at the end of that and subsequent years are given in the following tables:
awaiting in-
terview
years/months
§ Mr. Greville Janner asked the Lord Privy Seal when applications were lodged for those special vouchers which were most recently issued.
440W§ Mr. Luce: Special vouchers were issued in September to those who had applied for them in early January 1976.
§ Mr. Greville Janner asked the Lord Privy Seal in what exceptional compassionate circumstances the United Kingdom high commission in India considers requests for priority in the issue of special vouchers to enter the United Kingdom.
§ Mr. Luce: There are no specific exceptional compassionate circumstances which carry an automatic entitlement to priority in the special voucher queue in India. Each case is considered on its merits. As from 1982, however, a certain measure of priority will be given to applicants aged 70 and over and to widows with children in this country to support them.
§ Mr. Greville Janner asked the Lord Privy Seal whether it is still the aim of the Government to give an applicant for a special voucher six months' notice of when his or her voucher will be issued.
§ Mr. Luce: No. Applicants now receive three months' notice of their interview date.