§ Lynne JonesTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has undertaken since August 2002 of changes in the rate of refusals of family visit visa applications from(a) New Delhi, (b) Islamabad, (c) South Asia, (d) Amman, (e) Tehran and (f) the Middle East; and if he will make a statement. [101403]
§ Mr. RammellThe Foreign Office, the Home Office and the Lord Chancellor's Department have been working closely together since the Government introduced the right of appeal in family visit cases. An interdepartmental review was established in January 2001. The final report of the inter-departmental review group has been delayed due to pressures of commencing Part 5 of the Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002. The research work commissioned by the Immigration Research and Statistics Service at the Home Office is now being finalised and I understand that it should be published very shortly.