HC Deb 12 May 1988 vol 133 cc224-6W
Mr. Janner

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) of the applications for citizenship received in each month in the year 1987, how many and what percentage have now been processed; and what was the minimum, the average and the maximum waiting time for those applying for such processing;

(2) pursuant to the answer of 19 April, Official Report, column 408, of the estimated 290,000 citizenship applications received in 1987, how many grants of citizenship were refused; and how many are still in the course of processing.

Mr. Renton

Information is not available in the form requested. The number of applications for British citizenship received in the nationality division, and the number granted and refused, in each month during 1987 is as follows:

1987 Applications1 received Granted2 Refused2
January 4,587 4,874 298
February 4,503 6,728 373
March 4,475 7,255 341

1987 Applications1 received Granted2 Refused2
April 3,552 3,511 410
May 4,295 4,585 387
June 4,869 5,436 411
July 6,539 5,391 409
August 8,616 4,529 313
September 7,070 5,093 434
October 7,557 5,249 464
November 15,512 5,685 365
December 8,443 6,412 308
1 These figures do not include applications received in Lunar house, but not yet received in the case working groups.
2 Provisional figures.

At the end of April there were approximately 250,000 applications for citizenship in the course of processing. Information about maximum and minimum waiting times is not readily available; the average waiting time for applications currently being completed is seven months for registration and 17 months for naturalisation.

Mr. Janner

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how long he estimates that an application for British nationality received by him during the month of January will take before the same is acknowledged and processed, respectively;

(2) approximately how long he estimates that an application for citizenship currently waits at Lunar house before it is opened and acknowledged, respectively;

(3) how many sacks of applications for British nationality are currently awaiting opening at Lunar house.

Mr. Renton

The majority of applications received during January have now been acknowledged. The remainder, and all other current applications (in total about 9,400), will have been opened and acknowledged by the end of this month.

It is not yet possible to estimate how long, on average, it will be before decisions will be reached on applications received during January.

Mr. Janner

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is his Department's practice in the use of standard acknowledgement forms and standard processing methods in respect of applications for British nationality; and whether he will place in the Library copies of such standard forms and of all processing documents.

Mr. Renton

We make the fullest practicable use of standard forms and letters in order to hold down the cost of fees payable by applicants. Some 245 forms are at present used in connection with processing applications. Their purpose and method of use would in many cases not be clear without a detailed guide which it would be disproportionately expensive to prepare. For that and other reasons I am not willing to make such forms and documents available in the Library.

Mr. Janner

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many staff are employed in the processing of applications for British citizenship; and what is his estimate of the average turnover of such staff during the course of a calendar year.

Mr. Renton

The number of staff employed in case-working groups processing applications for British citizenship has varied between 152 and 146 from 1 April 1987 to 31 March 1988, averaging 148 over the year.

These figues do not include staff processing inquiries about citizenship status, dealing with requests for application forms and maintaining the computer records which support the processing of cases.

Over that year the turnover of staff is estimated at 26 per cent.

Mr. Janner

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how long he now estimates it will he before all applicants for British nationality who applied in 1987 will know whether such applications have been successful;

(2) what system his Department follows in processing applications for British nationality;

(3) whether he will institute an inquiry into the delay in opening, acknowledging and processing applications for British nationality; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Renton

No, since the initial stage of the work to deal with the 290,000 citizenship applications received in 1987, including over 100,000 in December 1987, has now been completed. All these applications have been acknowledged.

Unless there are exceptional reasons for taking a case out of turn, applications will be processed generally in order of receipt. We are considering the response to the recommendation of the Home Affairs Committee in its recent report (HC 340) about the time within which all applications received during 1987 should be decided, and will report our conclusions to the House.

Mr. Janner

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much money by way of fees in respect of applications for British nationality he estimates to be contained in the citizenship applications currently awaiting opening and acknowledgement at Lunar house.

Mr. Renton

The amount of fees contained in the 9,400 citizenship applications received since late January which await to be opened in Lunar house depends on the proportions of registration and naturalisation applications, but is expected to be in the region of £750,000.