§ Mr. VazTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the new target date for the completion of all registration cases made under the British Nationality Act 1981.
§ Mr. Peter LloydI refer the hon. Member to the reply given to a question from my hon. Friend the Member for Wolverhampton, North-East (Mrs. Hicks) on 21 March 1990, at column634. At that time, we held some 18,000 transitional registration cases where a response from the applicant was awaited. That number has now reduced to 10,000. We cannot set a date for completing these applications as this will depend on how soon applicants respond. For the continuing classes of registration case, our aim is to reduce waiting times below 12 months as soon as practicable.