§ Dr. CableTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when the decision was made to withdraw the concession for under-12s to join a parent in the UK; and when the information was posted on the Immigration and Nationality Directorate website. [167969]
§ Mr. BrowneFollowing careful consideration, my predecessor, my right hon. Friend the Member for Stretford and Urmston (Beverley Hughes), decided on 13 March 2003 to withdraw the Under 12 Concession with effect from 29 March 2003.
The section of the Immigration and Nationality Directorate website relating to children was updated on 12 August 2003. However, a different section of the website relating to spouses and maintenance and accommodation was found to contain a reference to the concession only recently and was amended on 13 April 2004.