§ Mr. LawsTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what his policy is on the real level of UK visa fees; and if he will make a statement. [98430]
§ Mr. RammellIt has been the policy of successive Administrations that visa fees be set at a level to ensure that the full cost of providing the entry clearance service worldwide is met from fee income and that the UK taxpayer does not have to meet any of the costs. This continues to be our aim. There is also a Service Delivery Agreement (SDA) with the Treasury that there will be no increase in the real level of fees against a baseline set in 1997. The increase in fees made in July 2002 kept us within this SDA target.
§ Mr. LawsTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much money was collected in visa fees for the latest year for which information is available; and if he will make a statement. [98473]
§ Mr. RammellIncome from visa fees in financial year 2001–02 amounted to £77,403,853.