§ Mr. LidingtonTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what criteria he uses to decide when an application for naturalisation should be processed and determined(a) urgently and (b) otherwise than in date order of application. [147601]
§ Mrs. Roche[holding answer 29 January 2001]: There are various criteria for giving priority, such as where a person needs British citizenship for a particular job, but these criteria are not intended to cover all the circumstances which may arise. Discretion may therefore be exercised in the particular circumstances of an individual case.
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§ Mr. LidingtonTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many applications for naturalisation on grounds of residence were granted within(a) six months, (b) nine months and (c) 12 months of the date of application in (i) 1997, (ii) 1998, (iii) 1999 and (iv) 2000; and if he will make a statement. [147599]
§ Mrs. Roche[holding answer 29 January 2001]: The information is given in the table. The data are not available for part of the years 1997 and 2000, due to intermittent proble Ms with information technology and operator error, but nevertheless enables comparisons to be made. The table includes only applications made under section 6(1) of the British Nationality Act 1981, based on five years' residence in the United Kingdom.
Applications decided within 1997 1998 1999 2000 Total Six months 331 486 1,112 1,371 3,300 Nine months 758 722 1,345 1,819 4,644 12 months 1,946 1,935 1,819 4,733 10,433 Total 3,035 3,143 4,276 7,923 18,377
§ Mr. LidingtonTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if it is his policy that applications for naturalisation should be processed and determined in date order of application; and if he will make a statement. [147603]
§ Mrs. Roche[holding answer 29 January 2001]: Applications for naturalisation as British citizens are normally given initial consideration in date of receipt order. It has long been the case that, in appropriate circumstances, initial consideration may be given out of turn. Some measure of priority may also be afforded to subsequent stages of the process.
§ Mr. LidingtonTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what changes he has made to policy on naturalisation since 1 May 1997; when such changes took effect; and if he will make a statement; [147631]
(2) what action he has taken to alter the residence requirements for citizenship in line with paragraph 10.7 of the White Paper "Fairer, Faster and Firmer-A Modern Approach to Immigration and Asylum". [147632]
§ Mrs. Roche[holding answer 29 January 2001]: My right hon. Friend the Home Secretary announced on 22 December 1997 that henceforth reasons would be given in all cases where applications for British citizenship were being refused. In June 1998, it was decided that the benefit of the doubt should normally be given to applicants where there was a conflict of professional opinion over their ability to meet the full capacity requirement. In the same month, it was decided that where breaches of the immigration laws were due to invalidly completed applications for leave to remain they should normally be disregarded for naturalisation purposes. We have yet to give more detailed consideration to effecting the changes in the residence requirements outlined in paragraph 10.7 of the White Paper.
§ Mr. Gordon PrenticeTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to require individuals seeking British citizenship to attend instruction on the rights and responsibilities that come with the grant of citizenship. [147102]
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§ Mrs. RocheMy right hon. Friend the Home Secretary has no plans to introduce such a requirement.