§ Keith VazTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many letters from hon. Members were received by UK visas in August 2003. [131882]
§ Mr. MullinIn August 2003, UK visas received 1,466 letters from Members of Parliament.
§ Keith VazTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he intends to fill the post of Director of Visas, India. [131883]
§ Mr. MullinThe post of Director of Visas in India is currently filled by Chris Dix. A decision as to who will replace him has not yet been made.
§ Keith VazTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the backlog of correspondence for UK visas was on 1 September. [131885]
§ Mr. MullinUkvisas's computer system only enables the user to view current information and does not allow access to historical information. On 1 October the backlog of correspondence stood at 370. This refers to individual letters or e-mails that had not been answered within our deadlines (20 working days to reply to members of the public and 15 working days to reply to Members of Parliament). From January to week ending 22 August, the correspondence section received 15,892 letters, an increase of 37.5 per cent. over the same period in 2002. Ukvisas has also seen a 50 per cent. increase in the number of e-mail enquiries it is receiving (currently around 5 per cent. a month). We are constantly seeking 385W to improve our working practices to deal with this rise in demand and are also expanding our correspondence unit.