HC Deb 27 April 2001 vol 367 cc420-1W
Mr. Bercow

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to his answer of 30 March 2001,Official Report, column 797W, on entry clearance, how many of the cases involving entry clearance were investigated by the Minister for Europe; in how many cases the Department's judgment was overturned; in how many cases (a) a constituent of the Minister and (b) an individual covered by an interest declared by an hon. Member, was involved; by what mechanism conflicts of interest were avoided; and if he will make a statement. [158333]

Mr. Vaz

I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Friend the Member for Bury St. Edmunds (Mr. Ruffley) on 22 March 2001,Official Report, columns 316–17W. In accordance with normal Government practice, I do not make decisions on visa cases relating to my own constituency. I will only investigate cases brought to me by right hon. and hon. Members, who I would expect to declare any particular interest in a case when making their representations to me.

Mr. Bercow

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to his answer of 30 March 2001,Official Report, column 797W, on entry clearance, by what means waiting times were reduced; what change in entry denial rates routes occurred; and if he will make a statement. [158334]

Mr. Vaz

Waiting times for interview in Islamabad were reduced by the posting of additional staff; by the appointment of a new management team; by a reduction in the amount of documentation required from applicants; by the implementation of new procedures recommended by external and internal review teams; and by hard work by the staff at Post. I am very pleased with the efforts made by the staff.

The improvement in waiting times is shown in the table.

December 1999 December 2000 March 2001
Visit Visas
Tier 3 5 days 40 days 10
Settlement Visas
Q1 9 weeks 5 weeks 5 weeks
Q2 39 weeks 18.5 weeks 13 weeks
Q3 44 weeks 24 weeks 16 weeks
Q4 50 weeks 31 weeks 23 weeks
1 Same day service

Notes:

Tier 3—Visit visa applications requiring in-depth interview (target: 10 days)

Queue 1—Right of abode cases and Dependant Relatives over 65 (target: 13 weeks)

Queue 2—Spouses and Children under 18 (target: 13 weeks)

Queue 3—Fiancé(e)s and Other First Time Applicants (target: 26 weeks)

Queue 4—Re-applicants (target: 39 weeks)

Refusal rates in Islamabad, as a percentage of the total number of non-settlement and settlement applications received, have been as follows:

Percentage
Non-settlement Settlement
1998 15 16
1999 21.4 25.5
2000 11 20.6

Mr. Cox

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many applications for entry visas made in Pakistan have been(a) granted and (b) refused in the last 12 months. [158388]

Mr. Vaz

In the year 2000, a total of 75,527 visas were issued in Posts in Pakistan and 15,989 were refused.

In January and February 2001, 4,132 visas were issued in Karachi and 1,123 were refused.

In January 2001, 3,693 visas were issued in Islamabad and 1,686 were refused.

Mr. Cox

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many applications for entry visas made in India have been(a) granted and (b) refused in the last 12 months. [158520]

Mr. Vaz

In the year 2000, a total of 165,998 visas were issued by Posts in India, and 20,622 were refused.

For the months of January and February 2001, Posts in India issued a total of 16,814 and refused 1,244.