§ Mr. LidingtonTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many appeals against refusal of entry clearance from Pakistan by(a) spouses, (b) fiancees, (c) dependent children and (d) dependent elderly relatives are being processed by his Department; what the average time taken in the last 12 months was between receipt of papers from UK Visas and papers being sent to the Independent Appellate Authority; and if he will make a statement. [145402]
§ Beverley HughesI regret that the information on the number of appeals against refusal of entry clearance by nationality is not currently available in the form requested. Appeals against refusal of entry clearance are not sent to UK Visas but go directly to the Appeals Processing Centre (APC) and then to the Immigration Appellate Authority (IAA). Data on the average time taken between receipt of papers by the APC and being sent to the IAA are not currently available.
Statistics on the total numbers of refusals of entry clearance are published annually. The latest publication, Control of Immigration: Statistics United Kingdom 2002, is available on the Home Office Research Development and Statistics Directorate website at http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/immigration 1.html.