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Immigration Advisers
Mr. Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list those who responded to the consultation document on control of unscrupulous immigration advisers; which consultees were (a) in favour of, (b) in favour subject to specific criticisms of and (c) against, the proposals in the document. [78634]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: The Government's consultation document on the control of unscrupulous immigration advisers did not present a single set of proposals, but invited views on a range of issues and options for change. Of 53 respondents to the paper, all were in favour of regulating those who provide immigration advice for profit and are not already subject to a regulatory system; 22 were in favour of the independent regulation of solicitors; 22 were against regulation of solicitors, but 11 of these expressed some concerns or reservations about the adequacy of the current regulation of solicitors in this field of work.
Child Asylum Seekers
Mr. Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to change the time limit for further representations following interviews in the case of unaccompanied child asylum applicants. [78597]
Mr. Mike O'Brien:
Children are an extremely vulnerable group and therefore, unaccompanied children will not normally be interviewed about the substance of their claim if it is possible to obtain sufficient information to decide the claim from written representations or other sources.
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In the event that an interview was necessary in a particular case, normal time limits would apply, but as in all other cases an extension would normally be granted if there was a good reason for the delay, and full account would be taken of the applicant's vulnerability. Obviously, any undue delay in deciding an application once the circumstances are known would not be in the child's interest.
Mr. Clappison:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many marriages have been reported by the Registrar General to his Department as marriages entered into for the purpose of breaching immigration control since 1994; [78604]
Mr. Mike O'Brien:
The number of marriages reported by the Registrar General in each of the past 5 years is given in the following table:
(2) how many reports of sham marriages from the Registrar General to his Department have resulted in action being taken against one or both of the parties for breach of immigration law or control in each year for the last 10 years. [78603]
| Year | Number of marriages reported |
|---|---|
| 1994 | 404 |
| 1995 | 467 |
| 1996 | 519 |
| 1997 | 354 |
| 1998 | 450 |
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Leave to Remain
Mr. Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many applications for (a) leave to remain in the United Kingdom, (b) variation of leave to enter or remain in the United Kingdom and (c) fixing an indefinite leave stamp on an applicant's passport or travel document as the result of the removal or replacement of a previous passport were there in each of the last five years; [78639]
- (2) how many persons in receipt of limited leave (a) applied for a variation or extension of their leave to remain and (b) had such an application granted in 1998. [78622]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: The available information relates to initial decisions on applications for an extension of stay, excluding dependants. The numbers of such decisions, excluding those in respect of an asylum application, were:
| Year | Number |
|---|---|
| 1994 | 185,000 |
| 1995 | 169,000 |
| 1996 | 180,000 |
| 1997 | 173,000 |
| 1998 | 157,000 |
151,000 of the decisions in 1998 were grants of an extension of stay, including indefinite leave to remain. I regret that the other information requested is not available.
Mr. Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate he has made of the current cost of processing applications for (a) leave to remain in the United Kingdom, (b) the variation of leave to enter or remain in the United Kingdom and (c) the fixing of an indefinite leave stamp on an applicant's passport or travel document as a result of the removal or replacement of a previous passport. [78671]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: Our estimate of the average cost of dealing with applications for (a) and (b) is £90. This includes direct costs and overheads, including accommodation. The cost of fixing an indefinite leave stamp on a passport will be significantly less than this.
Embarkation Control
Mr. Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many persons were charged with an offence after being stopped at embarkation controls (a) in each of the three years before April 1998 and (b) since April 1998. [78651]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: I regret that the information requested is not available in the form requested.
Mr. Clappison:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many airlines were waiting for an application for approved gate check status at a
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port of embarkation to be dealt with on (a) 1 May 1997 and (b) according to the latest figures which are available. [78608]
Mr. Mike O'Brien:
The figure for 1 May 1997 is not available. The current number is 46 (from 19 airlines).
Mr. Clappison:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the average waiting time for an application for approved gate check status at a port of embarkation to be dealt with on (a) 1 May 1997 and (b) according to the latest figures which are available. [78606]
Mr. Mike O'Brien:
All applications for approved Gate Check (AGC) status are actioned upon receipt. A site visit is invariably required before AGC status can be granted. The estimated average waiting time for a decision on routine applications is: (a) on 1 May 1997--173 days and (b) currently--144 days.
Mr. Clappison:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the average waiting time for an application for British Citizenship in the last year for which figures are available. [78660]
Mr. Mike O'Brien:
Applications for British Citizenship fall into two categories: naturalisations or registrations. As at the end of February 1999, naturalisations are taking 20 months on average to complete, whilst registrations are taking 7 months. The overall average time is currently 18 months.
Mr. Clappison:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what research he has (a) commissioned and (b) evaluated into alleged unlawful discrimination arising out of Section 8 of the Asylum and Immigration Act 1996. [78620]
Mr. Mike O'Brien:
The Commission for Racial Equality, the Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants and the Trades Union Congress have separately recounted to us instances of alleged unlawful discrimination reported to them, but the Home Office has not separately commissioned research.
Mr. Clappison:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what consultations he carried out with (a) business organisations and (b) others regarding a code of practice for the avoidance of unlawful discrimination by employers who seek to comply with the provisions of section 8 of the Asylum and Immigration Act 1996. [78621]
Mr. Mike O'Brien:
A Code of Practice for the avoidance of unlawful discrimination was proposed in the White Paper "Fairer, Faster and Firmer--A Modern Approach to Immigration and Asylum", published last July. Comments from business organisations and others were invited at the time of publication.
No business organisations have been directly consulted since then but consultations on the proposal have taken place with the Commission for Racial Equality, (CRE) the Trades Union Congress and other interested organisations. The current proposals provide for the CRE and
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organisations or associations representative of employers and workers to be consulted on the preparation of the draft code of practice.
Mr. Clappison:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many family visitors were refused an entry clearance (a) as a visitor, (b) in order to follow a course of study of not more than six months duration and (c) with the intention of studying but without having been accepted for any course of study in the last year for which figures are available. [78667]
Mr. Mike O'Brien:
I regret that the information is not available in the form requested. In 1998, 78,600 persons were refused entry clearance for travel to the United Kingdom other than for settlement, of whom 9,600 were students or prospective students.
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