HC Deb 18 November 2003 vol 413 cc834-5W
Keith Vaz

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many passports have been lost by the Immigration and Nationality Directorate in Liverpool in 2003. [133481]

Beverley Hughes

The information is as follows:

(1) 78 passports have been recorded as lost by the Immigration and Nationality Directorate in Liverpool during 2003.

(2) The incidence of lost passports amounts to 0.04 per cent. set against the number of applications handled. Current processes do not allow the movement of passports to be tracked through each stage of case consideration.

(3) I have instituted new arrangements to ensure the security and return of passports by IND.

Mr. Goodman

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department on what basis he reached his decision to set fees for(a) applications for variation of leave and (b) endorsing passports' at the current level. [136959]

Beverley Hughes

[holding answer 6 November 2003]The fees are calculated under Treasury Rules to recover the full administrative cost entailed in considering applications and no more. This is calculated by taking the overall costs of processing the applications divided by the number of decisions we expect to make.

The fee is £155 for a postal application and £250 for personal callers who wish to apply at one of the four Public Enquiry Offices. The charges will ensure we are able to meet the cost of providing for the service and will ensure that we are able to meet the higher standards of service we have set for the Immigration and Nationality Directorate.

Fees were introduced at a time when we were confident that we had in place the service improvements, which were the necessary precursors to charging.

The principle behind charging is to ensure that those who use the service pay for it rather than the general taxpayer.

Mr. Goodman

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many complaints he has received in relation to the introduction of fees for(a) applications for variation of leave and (b) endorsing passports. [136961]

Beverley Hughes

I have received a number of letters; particularly those representing the education sector such as UKCOSA, Universities UK and various universities to which I have already responded.

A number of letters, phone calls and emails have also been received from members of the public, including students with regard to both the introduction of charging and the level of the fee. My Officials at Croydon continue to deal with these.

The charges will ensure we are able to meet the cost of providing for the high service standards-service and will ensure that we are able to meet the tighter performance targets we have set for IND. Postal applications should be dealt within 13 weeks from when they are received in IND. We aim to complete 70 per cent. of postal applications within three weeks of receipt in IND. The premium service will enable callers to have their case considered on the same day as long as the application is complete and further enquiries are not required. We have recently invested heavily to ensure that the improved service standards we publish are achievable and sustainable.

The principle behind charging is to ensure that those who use the service pay for it rather than the general taxpayer.

Mr. Gordon Prentice

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many and what proportion of the adult population of the United Kingdom does not have a passport. [138694]

Beverley Hughes

Out of the adult population of 45.5 million residents, approximately 10 million, or 22 per cent. do not have a passport.

Back to