§ Mr. DarlingTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) if he will indicate the reason for the delay in processing visa applications by his Department; what he proposes to do about it; and if he will make a statement;
(2) on which date those applications for visas to enter the United Kingdom now being completed were submitted to his Department;
(3) what is the average length of time taken to decide visa applications made by non United Kingdom nationals.
§ Mr. RentonThe reasons for the time taken to complete visa applications and the steps in train or already taken to reduce unnecessary delay were explained in my reply of 23 March to the hon. Member for Stretford (Mr. Lloyd) at column809 in respect of all entry clearance applications.
The way in which visa applications are allocated within the immigration department means that it is not possible to give a common date on which those applications now being completed were first referred to the department. Visa applications are dealt with according to, first, their perceived priority and, second, the date on which the application was first received within the department.
Information about the average length of time taken to decide visa applications is not readily available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.