§ Mr. VazTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people over the age of 60 years have applied for naturalisation for each of the past 10 years; how many have been accepted; and how many of those refused were refused because they did not pass the language test.
§ Mr. Peter LloydInformation is available only from 2 October 1986 of those applicants who were aged 60 or over at the time their applications were granted.
Year Granted 1 1986 17 1987 93 1988 71 1989 104 1990 98 2 1991 110 1 2 October to 31 December. 2 1 January to 29 May. It is not possible to say how many applicants aged 60 or over were refused in a given year, nor whether their refusal was because they had an insufficient knowledge of the English, Welsh or Scottish Gaelic language.