§ Mr. MaddenTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations and complaints he has received about delays in completing explanatory statements at the British embassy at Islamabad.
§ Mr. EggarRepresentations about individual cases, from any source, are kept on the appropriate case file. No analytical record of the nature of such representations is maintained.
§ Mr. MaddenTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many extra staff have been sent in the last 12 months from the United Kingdom to the British embassy in Islamabad to tackle the backlog of explanatory statements; when such staff were sent; when he expects the backlog to be reduced; and what scale of backlog he regards as tolerable.
§ Mr. EggarI would refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 8 December 1987, at columns 115–16. In addition, during December 1987 three temporary additional entry clearance officers were sent to Islamabad in order to help clear the backlog by the start of the busy summer season. Future performance will be closely monitored in an effort to minimise future delays.
§ Mr. MaddenTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many explanatory statements, setting out the reasons for refusing entry 25W clearance to the United Kingdom, are awaiting completion at the British embassy in Islamabad and what has been (a) the shortest and (b) the longest backlog in completing such explanatory statements in each quarter in each of the last five years.
§ Mr. EggarThe latest figures available relate to the end of November 1987. The number of outstanding explanatory statements was then:
Number Settlement 528 Non-settlement 613 The relevant statistics have been kept since November 1986 only.
§ Mr. MaddenTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is the average time taken in writing an explanatory statement at the United Kingdom's embassy at Islamabad; and what is the average time taken between completing and despatching explanatory statements from the post.
§ Mr. EggarAn average writing time is not available. Each case is different. Once an explanatory statement has been completed, despatch is effected by diplomatic bag within a few days.