§ Mr. Tony BanksTo ask the Lord President of the Council how many Commons pass applications have been received during the summer recess in respect of overseas students working for Members; how many are still awaiting security clearance; what is the average time taken to process such applications.
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§ Sir Geoffrey HoweI understand that 42 pass applications were received during the summer recess in respect of Members' temporary research assistants from overseas, 33 of which are still awaiting clearance. In response to the comments made by the Services Committee in paragraph 11 of its second report, 1987–88, and the House's approval of that report on 30 January this year, new procedures have been introduced for the clearance of all overseas nationals applying for Palace of Westminster photo-identity passes. All the sponsoring organisations were warned in writing by the authorities of the House on 20 June that ample time should in future be allowed for the clearance of such applications. They were also told that it was not possible to be precise on how long the procedures would take but that, at least initially, two months should be allowed for the applications to be processed.
I regret that right hon. and hon. Members may be inconvenienced because the clearances have not yet been received, but the sponsoring organisations failed in the main to heed the warnings they were given. The Pass Office did not receive some of the completed application forms until September. I can assure the House that everything possible is being done to expedite clearance procedures; but timely submission of applications will remain essential if similar inconvenience is to be avoided in future.