HC Deb 14 October 2002 vol 390 cc456-7W
Norman Baker

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many passports sent to the IND in 2001 went missing; and of these, how many have subsequently been found. [64237]

Beverley Hughes

[holding answer 25 June 2002]The information requested is not held centrally and could not be obtained without disproportionate cost. However, a measure of the number of passports which could not be returned to their owners is the lost passport letter. Since September last year, strict controls have been in place on the way such letters are used; as a consequence more effective searches have been carried out and the number of letters issued has fallen by around 50 per cent. per month (from an average of 45 per month to about 20). Of those searches completed, less than 1 per cent. of passports cannot be found. Even so further initiatives are in place to improve the handling of passports.

Norman Baker

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to improve the efficiency of the IND. [64239]

Beverley Hughes

[holding answer 25 June 2002]We aim to consider 70 per cent. of all new general and settlement cases on initial consideration within three weeks. Due to an exceptionally large increase in the number of immigration cases in the latter part of 2001 the turnaround time increased but has now been reduced to four weeks. We are working to return performance to three weeks very shortly. However, cases which cannot be dealt with at the initial consideration stage are taking up to nine months to consider. We are looking to reduce this timescale as a priority case over the next six months. We have also reviewed our processes to speed up the consideration of cases and are looking at options for utilising additional resources within The Immigration and Nationality Directorate (IND).

Since the beginning of June, queue management changes in the Public Enquiry Office (PEO) in Croydon have resulted in bringing the public faster into the building when it opens. Plans are underway to open a second entrance into the building and to relocate other callers to another Croydon office in a further effort to improve access.