§ 21. Mr. Darlingasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he has any plans to extend beyond 31 December the period available for registration as British citizen under the British Nationality Act 1981.
§ Mr. RentonWe have no plans to do so.
26. Mr. James Marshallasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will consider reducing or withdrawing the requirement under the British Nationality Act 1981 that every adult registering as a British citizen pay a fee of £60 and every family pay a fee of £180.
§ 46. Ms. Ruddockasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will reduce or cancel the fee of £60 payable by people seeking to register as British citizens under the provisions of the British Nationality Act 1981 on the grounds of its disincentive effect on poor people.
§ Mr. RentonNo. This would not be fair to all other applicants who have paid the full fee.
§ 36. Mr. Nellistasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what arrangements he now proposes to make for those in receipt of state benefits who wish to apply for registration or naturalisation under the Nationality Act 1981.
§ Mr. RentonThe Government believe that it is right that those who wish to become British citizens should meet the cost of processing their applications and there are no plans to make any exceptions to this general principle.
§ Mr. Vazasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the total income received by Her Majesty's Government from those persons applying for registration to become British citizens for 1987 (interim), 1986 and 1985.
§ Mr. RentonThe information requested is not available.
Net fee receipts in respect of all applications under the British Nationality Act 1981 (including those for naturalisation as well as registration) were as follows:
Financial year Receipts 1985–86 £3,269,000 1986–87 £4,241,000 1987–881 £5,120,000 1To end October.
§ Mr. Vazasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the total numbers of persons applying for registration as British citizens pursuant to the British Nationality Act 1981 for 1987 (interim figure), 1986 and 1985.
§ Mr. RentonThe precise information requested is not available. The following table gives the number of registration applications received in the Home Office for British citizenship, British Overseas citizenship and British subject status.
820W
Applications received 1985 33,756 1986 37,873 19871 63,000 1Estimate to end September.
§ Mr. Randallasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether those people who are eligible to register as British citizens by the 31 December deadline. and fail to do so will (a) lose their current civil rights including their right to vote, (b) lose, as a consequence, their current rights to any social benefit payments and (c) increase their risks of deportation.
§ Mr. RentonIf people do not apply for registration before the end of the year, their failure to do so will not affect their right to vote, their current rights to social benefit payments or their current immigration position.
§ Mr. Randallasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will estimate what effect the £60 cost of registering as British citizens will have on the number of people failing to register by the 31 December deadline.
§ Mr. RentonIt is not possible to make any such assessment.