§ Mr. BercowTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what proportion of non-residence visa applications(a) in 1997 were and (b) currently are, decided within 24 hours; and what extra finances are being directed to meet the relevant key departmental performance target. [83735]
118W
§ Mr. Robin Cook92 per cent. of non-residence visa applications were "processed"1 within 24 hours in 1997 against a target of 94 per cent.
In April 1998, we changed the bases for calculating performance against this objective, to record the number of applications "decided"2 within 24 hours.
Under the new system, 86 per cent. of straightforward non-residence visa applications made in person during the period April-December 1998 were decided within 24 hours (target 87 per cent.) The figure for January to March 1999 was 90 per cent3.
No additional resources have been deployed specifically to meet this target, but the performance of visa sections overseas is kept under regular review to ensure so far as possible that performance targets are met.
1"processed" means issued, refused, referred or deferred
2 "decided" means visas/passports ready for collection
3based on monthly reporting from the largest 100 posts.