§ Mr. Bill O'BrienTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the longest time taken has been in the last five years to process an application of a person to remain in the UK indefinitely; and how many cases were outstanding at 22 April 2001. [53213]
§ Angela EagleI regret this information is not currently available. We are introducing a Casework Information database which, when fully operational, will enable us to monitor our performance on general immigration casework more effectively.
§ Mr. Bill O'BrienTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list those countries where there are difficulties in obtaining information on internal checks for people applying for indefinite leave to remain in the UK; and if he will make a statement. [53211]
§ Angela EagleChecks made on people applying for indefinite leave to remain will depend on the circumstances of the particular case. While the Immigration and Nationality Directorate aims to deal with 70 per cent. of non-asylum applications within three weeks, the need to make further inquiries, including security checks, may affect this. Within that overall target, there are no specific targets for applications which may require security checks, and on security and international relations grounds it would be inappropriate for me to list countries where there are particular difficulties.