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answer	is ministerial correction true false date of answer exactly: or between: and answer text answering member constituency answering member printed question first answered question first ministerially corrected answering member label attachment file name title previous answer version answering member constituency answering member constituency answering member printed answering member printed answering member answering member label attachment file name title
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168978

	registered interest
	date	09/12/2014
	answering body	Home Office
	answering dept id	1
	answering dept short name	Home Office
	answering dept sort name	Home Office
	hansard heading	Staff
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how much her Department has spent on (a) consultants, (b) temporary staff and (c) contingent labour in each of the last five years; how many people have been so employed; what the length of contract of each such person was; and what equivalent civil service salary band each was on.
	tabling member constituency	Manchester Central
	tabling member printed	Lucy Powell
	uin	217779
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/01/2015 answer text <p>Expenditure incurred by the Home Department and its agencies on consultants, <br />temporary staff and contingent labour in the last five years is published <br />annually in the Home Office Annual Report and Accounts, copies of which are <br />held in the House Library and available from these links.<br /><br /><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/home-office-annual-report-and-accounts-2013-to-2014" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/home-office-annual-report-and-accounts-2013-to-2014</a> <br /><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/home-office-annual-report-and-accounts-2012-to-2013" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/home-office-annual-report-and-accounts-2012-to-2013</a> <br /><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/home-office-annual-report-and-accounts-2011-to-2012" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/home-office-annual-report-and-accounts-2011-to-2012</a><br /><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/ho-annual-report-and-accounts-2010-to-2011" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/ho-annual-report-and-accounts-2010-to-2011</a><br /><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/home-office-resource-accounts-2009-to-2010" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/home-office-resource-accounts-2009-to-2010</a><br /><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/247694/0193.pdf" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/247694/0193.pdf</a><br /><br />The Department did not separately account for Agency Staff (Temporary Workers) <br />in these years as the costs associated with this category are included in the <br />overall Contingent Labour figures. <br /><br />Spend on contingent and consultancy labour has decreased significantly overall <br />since 09/10.<br /><br /></p><table><tbody><tr><td> </td><td><p><strong>FY09/10 </strong></p></td><td><p><strong>FY10/11</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>FY11/12</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>FY12/13</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>FY13/14</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td> </td><td><p>£m</p></td><td><p>£m</p></td><td><p>£m</p></td><td><p>£m</p></td><td><p>£m</p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>Consultancy</strong></p></td><td><p>£227.470</p></td><td><p>£64.194</p></td><td><p>£33.301</p></td><td><p>£14.762</p></td><td><p>£18.014</p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>Contingent Labour </strong></p></td><td><p>£134.000</p></td><td><p>£51.472</p></td><td><p>£37.772</p></td><td><p>£50.672</p></td><td><p>£72.430</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>The Department engages Temporary Staff at AA, AO, EO, HEO and SEO equivalent <br />Grades, the vast majority at the AA to EO grades. Contractors are engaged in <br />grade equivalents EO to SCS PB1 with the vast majority at SEO and G6/7.<br /><br />The Department buys consultancy as a service and therefore does not engage <br />consultants individually.<br /><br />To provide details of contract durations and equivalent grades would require <br />analysis of individual contracts and disparate datasets, the time taken to <br />undertake this task would incur disproportionate cost.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Hornsey and Wood Green answering member printed Lynne Featherstone question first answered 05/01/2015 11:40:14 question first ministerially corrected 06/01/2015 11:32:10 answering member 1531 label Biography information for Baroness Featherstone previous answer version 36668 answering member constituency Staffordshire Moorlands answering member printed Karen Bradley answering member 4110
	tabling member	4263 label Biography information for Lucy Powell

170475

	registered interest
	date	15/12/2014
	answering body	Home Office
	answering dept id	1
	answering dept short name	Home Office
	answering dept sort name	Home Office
	hansard heading	UK Border Force
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many front-line staff are employed at the UK border; and what the annual cost to the public purse is of such staff.
	tabling member constituency	Esher and Walton
	tabling member printed	Mr Dominic Raab
	uin	218616
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/01/2015 answer text <p>There are approximately 7,900 Home Office staff employed by Border Force on the front line at the UK border. The annual cost of these staff is approximately £373 million.<br /><br />Please note these figures are part of the current year’s expenditure and so will be subject to audit. These are Home Office staff and do not include staff working for other agencies.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Hornsey and Wood Green answering member printed Lynne Featherstone question first answered 05/01/2015 11:34:20 question first ministerially corrected 08/01/2015 10:29:56 answering member 1531 label Biography information for Baroness Featherstone previous answer version 36659 answering member constituency Old Bexley and Sidcup answering member printed James Brokenshire answering member 1530 label Biography information for James Brokenshire
	tabling member	4007 label Biography information for Dominic Raab

175778

	registered interest
	date	26/01/2015
	answering body	Home Office
	answering dept id	1
	answering dept short name	Home Office
	answering dept sort name	Home Office
	hansard heading	Undocumented Workers: Fines
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many companies were fined for employing illegal immigrants in each of the last five years.
	tabling member constituency	Delyn
	tabling member printed	Mr David Hanson
	uin	222054
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/02/2015 answer text <p>The information requested is <ins class="ministerial">shown</ins> in the following table. The figures are based on the number of civil penalties issued to individual employers during each of the last five complete financial years. This includes public and private limited <br />companies, sole traders, partnerships and franchises. <br /><br />The government is committed to taking effective action against employers of illegal workers. Illegal working drives illegal immigration which leads to exploitation of workers and is also linked to non payment of the national <br />minimum wage, harmful working conditions and tax evasion. Illegal working also undercuts legitimate businesses and adversely impacts on the employment of people who are lawfully resident in the UK.<br /><br />The government has therefore taken measures to strengthen our approach to rogue employers. In 2014, we doubled the maximum civil penalty that can be levied against an employer to £20,000 per illegal worker and we used the Immigration Act 2014 to make it easier to enforce unpaid penalties in the courts. We have also extended our enforcement reach by working more closely across government departments to identify where illegal working is taking place and to enforce a range of sanctions against employers of illegal workers.</p><table><tbody><tr><td><ins class="ministerial">Financial year </ins></td><td><ins class="ministerial">Civil penalties issued </ins></td><td><ins class="ministerial">Employers issued with civil penalties </ins></td></tr><tr><td><ins class="ministerial">2009-10</ins></td><td><ins class="ministerial">2,339</ins></td><td><ins class="ministerial">2,254</ins></td></tr><tr><td><ins class="ministerial">2010-11</ins></td><td><ins class="ministerial">1,899</ins></td><td><ins class="ministerial">1,849</ins></td></tr><tr><td><ins class="ministerial">2011-12</ins></td><td><ins class="ministerial">1,341</ins></td><td><ins class="ministerial">1,317</ins></td></tr><tr><td><ins class="ministerial">2012-13</ins></td><td><ins class="ministerial">1,270</ins></td><td><ins class="ministerial">1,247</ins></td></tr><tr><td><ins class="ministerial">2013-14</ins></td><td><ins class="ministerial">2,150</ins></td><td><ins class="ministerial">2,090</ins></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency Hemel Hempstead answering member printed Mike Penning question first answered 04/02/2015 12:43:46 question first ministerially corrected 06/02/2015 10:41:06 answering member 1528 label Biography information for Sir Mike Penning previous answer version 42849 answering member constituency Hemel Hempstead answering member printed Mike Penning answering member 1528 label Biography information for Sir Mike Penning
	tabling member	533 label Biography information for David Hanson

226039

	registered interest
	date	09/03/2015
	answering body	Home Office
	answering dept id	1
	answering dept short name	Home Office
	answering dept sort name	Home Office
	hansard heading	Agency Workers
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many agency staff are employed in (a) her Department, (b) the Passport Office, (c) UK Visas Immigration and (d) the Border Force.
	tabling member constituency	Delyn
	tabling member printed	Mr David Hanson
	uin	226758
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/03/2015 answer text <p>The number of agency workers employed by (a) the Home Department, (b) Her Majesty’s Passport Office, (c) UK Visas and Immigration and (d) Border Force is <br />provided in Table 1.<br /><br />The number of full-time equivalent staff employed and the projected staffing levels for March 2015 broken down by (a) the Home Department, (b) Her Majesty’s <br />Passport Office, (c) UK Visas and Immigration and (d) Border Force is provided in Table 2.<br /><br />The information provided for staff and agency workers in post is as at 31st January 2015.<br /><br />The Home Department is currently finalising projected staffing levels for 2015-16 as part of the annual planning round so projected levels beyond March 2015 are not yet available.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency Old Bexley and Sidcup answering member printed James Brokenshire question first answered 16/03/2015 15:04:13 question first ministerially corrected 26/03/2015 12:03:07 answering member 1530 label Biography information for James Brokenshire attachment 1 file name Copy of PQ 226758 Table 1 and 226759 Table 2 V2.xls title NEW TABLES previous answer version 50156 answering member constituency Old Bexley and Sidcup answering member printed James Brokenshire answering member 1530 label Biography information for James Brokenshire attachment 1 file name PQ 226758 Table 1 and 226759 Table 2.xlsx title Agency workers and the full-time employed
	tabling member	533 label Biography information for David Hanson

226040

	registered interest
	date	09/03/2015
	answering body	Home Office
	answering dept id	1
	answering dept short name	Home Office
	answering dept sort name	Home Office
	hansard heading	Staff
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many full-time equivalent staff there are in (a) her Department, (b) the Passport Office, (c) the Border Force and (d) UK Visas and Immigration; and what the projected staffing levels are for each such body for (i) March 2015, (ii) November 2015, (iii) March 2016 and (iv) November 2016.
	tabling member constituency	Delyn
	tabling member printed	Mr David Hanson
	uin	226759
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/03/2015 answer text <p>The number of agency workers employed by (a) the Home Department, (b) Her Majesty’s Passport Office, (c) UK Visas and Immigration and (d) Border Force is <br />provided in Table 1.<br /><br />The number of full-time equivalent staff employed and the projected staffing levels for March 2015 broken down by (a) the Home Department, (b) Her Majesty’s <br />Passport Office, (c) UK Visas and Immigration and (d) Border Force is provided in Table 2.<br /><br />The information provided for staff and agency workers in post is as at 31st January 2015.<br /><br />The Home Department is currently finalising projected staffing levels for 2015-16 as part of the annual planning round so projected levels beyond March 2015 are not yet available.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency Old Bexley and Sidcup answering member printed James Brokenshire question first answered 16/03/2015 15:04:13 question first ministerially corrected 26/03/2015 12:07:37 answering member 1530 label Biography information for James Brokenshire attachment 1 file name Copy of PQ 226758 Table 1 and 226759 Table 2 V2.xls title NEW TABLE previous answer version 50331 answering member constituency Old Bexley and Sidcup answering member printed James Brokenshire answering member 1530 label Biography information for James Brokenshire attachment 1 file name PQ 226758 Table 1 and 226759 Table 2.xlsx title Agency workers and the full-time employed
	tabling member	533 label Biography information for David Hanson

349817

	registered interest
	date	10/06/2015
	answering body	Home Office
	answering dept id	1
	answering dept short name	Home Office
	answering dept sort name	Home Office
	hansard heading	Asylum: Deportation
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people have been removed from the UK under the Dublin Convention in each year since 2010.
	tabling member constituency	Delyn
	tabling member printed	Mr David Hanson
	uin	1933
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/06/2015 answer text <p><del class="ministerial">The number of people transferred under the Dublin Convention and the later Dublin II and Dublin III Regulations, is shown in the following table:</del></p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p><del class="ministerial"> </del></p></td><td><p><del class="ministerial">2010</del></p></td><td><p><del class="ministerial">2011</del></p></td><td><p><del class="ministerial">2012</del></p></td><td><p><del class="ministerial">2013</del></p></td><td><p><del class="ministerial">2014</del></p></td></tr><tr><td><p><del class="ministerial">Total</del></p></td><td><p><del class="ministerial">1545</del></p></td><td><p><del class="ministerial">1343</del></p></td><td><p><del class="ministerial">972</del></p></td><td><p><del class="ministerial">1023</del></p></td><td><p><del class="ministerial">740</del></p></td></tr></tbody></table><p><del class="ministerial">Transfers to other Member States under the Dublin Regulations fell in the last three years because we stopped transferring asylum claimants to Greece in 2010. This was because it was found conditions there amounted to a breach of article 3 of the European Convention of Human Rights. There then followed similar litigation around conditions in Italy, but we are still able to effect transfers there.</del></p><p><ins class="ministerial">Our records indicate that the number of people transferred under the Dublin Convention and the later Dublin II and Dublin III Regulations were as shown in the following table:</ins></p><p><ins class="ministerial"><strong> </strong></ins></p><table><tbody><tr><td><p><ins class="ministerial"> </ins></p></td><td><p><ins class="ministerial"><strong>2010</strong></ins></p></td><td><p><ins class="ministerial"><strong>2011</strong></ins></p></td><td><p><ins class="ministerial"><strong>2012</strong></ins></p></td><td><p><ins class="ministerial"><strong>2013</strong></ins></p></td><td><p><ins class="ministerial"><strong>2014</strong></ins></p></td></tr><tr><td><p><ins class="ministerial"><strong>Total</strong></ins></p></td><td><p><ins class="ministerial">1,150</ins></p></td><td><p><ins class="ministerial">980</ins></p></td><td><p><ins class="ministerial">740</ins></p></td><td><p><ins class="ministerial">800</ins></p></td><td><p><ins class="ministerial">520</ins></p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p><ins class="ministerial">Figures are rounded to the nearest 10; are based on the latest management information so are subject to change; and have not been quality assured under national statistics protocols.</ins></p><p><ins class="ministerial"><strong> </strong></ins></p><p><ins class="ministerial">Transfers to other Member States under the Dublin Regulations fell in the last three years because we stopped transferring asylum claimants to Greece in 2010. This was because it was found conditions there amounted to a breach of article 3 of the European Convention of Human Rights. There then followed similar litigation around conditions in Italy, but we are still able to effect transfers there.</ins></p> answering member constituency Old Bexley and Sidcup answering member printed James Brokenshire question first answered 15/06/2015 13:55:47 question first ministerially corrected 22/02/2016 12:51:58 answering member 1530 label Biography information for James Brokenshire previous answer version 5042 answering member constituency Old Bexley and Sidcup answering member printed James Brokenshire answering member 1530 label Biography information for James Brokenshire
	tabling member	533 label Biography information for David Hanson

386719

	registered interest
	date	30/06/2015
	answering body	Home Office
	answering dept id	1
	answering dept short name	Home Office
	answering dept sort name	Home Office
	hansard heading	Asylum: Deportation
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many asylum seekers were removed from the UK under the Dublin Convention in (a) 2005, (b) 2010 and (c) 2014.
	tabling member constituency	Kettering
	tabling member printed	Mr Philip Hollobone
	uin	4942
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/07/2015 answer text <p><del class="ministerial">In 2010 1,545 people were removed from the UK with reference to the Dublin Regulation, which replaced the Dublin Convention in 2003. This figure includes people who claimed asylum in the UK and those who did not, but had asylum claims in other States, as the Dublin Regulation applies in both cases. In 2014 740 were removed. Comparable figures are not available for 2005. The figures are based on management information and are only valid for the date of the report (11 June 2015). This information has not been quality assured under National Statistics protocols.</del></p><p><del class="ministerial">Removals from the UK under the Dublin Regulations have fallen since 2010 primarily because all Member States are unable to make transfers to Greece following the ruling on 21 January 2011 from the European Court of Human Rights in the case of MSS vs Belgium and Greece. The Court found that Greece had violated Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) that prohibits inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment both because of the poor living conditions for applicants and the failure by the Greek authorities to properly consider his asylum claim. This ruling prevents further transfers to Greece until the situation improves.</del></p><p><del class="ministerial">Since the Court ruling the UK has helped Greece significantly to improve its asylum system, both bilaterally and as part of interventions under the European Asylum Support Office (EASO). The UK has contributed more working days in asylum expert deployments under EASO support plans to countries such as Greece than any other Member State.</del></p><p> </p><p><ins class="ministerial">Our records indicate that in 2010 1,150 people were removed from the UK with reference to the Dublin Regulation, which replaced the Dublin Convention in 2003. This figure includes people who claimed asylum in the UK and those who did not, but had asylum claims in other States, as the Dublin Regulation applies in both cases. Our records indicate that in 2014 520 people were removed, and in 2005 1,890 people were removed. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10, and are based on the latest management information and so are subject to change. This information has not been quality assured under National Statistics protocols.</ins></p><p><br /><ins class="ministerial">Removals from the UK under the Dublin Regulations have fallen since 2010 primarily because all Member States are unable to make transfers to Greece following the ruling on 21 January 2011 from the European Court of Human Rights in the case of MSS vs Belgium and Greece. The Court found that Greece had violated Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) that prohibits inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment both because of the poor living conditions for applicants and the failure by the Greek authorities to properly consider his asylum claim. This ruling prevents further transfers to Greece until the situation improves.</ins></p><p><br /><ins class="ministerial">Since the Court ruling the UK has helped Greece significantly to improve its asylum system, both bilaterally and as part of interventions under the European Asylum Support Office (EASO). The UK has contributed more working days in asylum expert deployments under EASO support plans to countries such as Greece than any other Member State.</ins></p> answering member constituency Old Bexley and Sidcup answering member printed James Brokenshire previous answer version 11376 answering member constituency Old Bexley and Sidcup answering member printed James Brokenshire answering member 1530 label Biography information for James Brokenshire 16353 answering member constituency Old Bexley and Sidcup answering member printed James Brokenshire answering member 1530 label Biography information for James Brokenshire question first answered 21/07/2015 13:04:48 question first ministerially corrected 22/02/2016 12:51:34 answering member 1530 label Biography information for James Brokenshire
	tabling member	1537 label Biography information for Mr Philip Hollobone

387869

	registered interest
	date	06/07/2015
	answering body	Home Office
	answering dept id	1
	answering dept short name	Home Office
	answering dept sort name	Home Office
	hansard heading	Entry Clearances: English Language
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many companies bid for the Secure English Language Test for applicants abroad; what the value was of that contract; and who was awarded that contract.
	tabling member constituency	Leicester East
	tabling member printed	Keith Vaz
	uin	5707
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 13/07/2015 answer text <p>Three companies bid for the Secure English Language Test for applicants abroad. <ins class="ministerial">Four companies bid for the Secure English Language Test for applicants within the UK.</ins> The contract was awarded to IELTS Consortium; the Consortium is made up of Cambridge English Language Assessment as Consortium Lead, with British Council and IDP IELTS Australia. The Concession Agreement is cost neutral as it was procured as a concession, rather than a contract, with test-takers paying the test provider directly. The Home Office has not provided funding to the service providers under this arrangement. An estimate of the market value is approximately £60 million per annum worldwide, based on expected volumes of upwards of 400,000 SELT tests at an average cost of £150 per test.</p> answering member constituency Old Bexley and Sidcup answering member printed James Brokenshire question first answered 13/07/2015 14:25:42 question first ministerially corrected 21/07/2015 16:00:55 answering member 1530 label Biography information for James Brokenshire previous answer version 13700 answering member constituency Old Bexley and Sidcup answering member printed James Brokenshire answering member 1530 label Biography information for James Brokenshire
	tabling member	338 label Biography information for Keith Vaz

388300

	registered interest
	date	07/07/2015
	answering body	Home Office
	answering dept id	1
	answering dept short name	Home Office
	answering dept sort name	Home Office
	hansard heading	Passports: British Nationals Abroad
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what (a) number and (b) proportion of applications for a passport for a child overseas take longer than (a) three, (b) four and (c) six months to be processed.
	tabling member constituency	Edinburgh East
	tabling member printed	Tommy Sheppard
	uin	5846
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/07/2015 answer text <p>A total of 49,173 international child passport applications finished processing in January-June 2015. Of this total, <del class="ministerial">2,418 (4.9%)</del> <ins class="ministerial">3,242 (6.6%)</ins> took longer than three months to be processed, <del class="ministerial">1,780 (3.6%)</del> <ins class="ministerial">2,539 (5.2%)</ins> took longer than four months to be processed, and <del class="ministerial">944 (1.9%)</del> <ins class="ministerial">1,657 (3.4%)</ins> took longer than six months to be processed.</p><p>The processing time is the length of time from receipt of the application to the passport being printed. For international child passport applications processed in the same period, the average processing time was 19.4 working days. Information is not held on the time between receipt of application and interview date as the date of interview can be subject to customer availability.</p><p>Her Majesty’s Passport Office must be fully satisfied that all appropriate checks have been completed successfully prior to the issuance of passport facilities. This is particularly important in relation to child applications as part of Her Majesty’s Passport Office responsibility to protect potentially vulnerable children, including those potentially at risk of child trafficking and to maintain the integrity of the British Passport.</p><p>These checks can require the provision of information from other agencies overseas – particularly in complex applications such as surrogacy cases.</p><p>Delays in the provision of this information to HMPO can lead to significantly extended timeframe in processing applications.</p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency Old Bexley and Sidcup answering member printed James Brokenshire question first answered 15/07/2015 15:19:26 question first ministerially corrected 05/08/2015 13:22:11 answering member 1530 label Biography information for James Brokenshire previous answer version 14230 answering member constituency Old Bexley and Sidcup answering member printed James Brokenshire answering member 1530 label Biography information for James Brokenshire
	tabling member	4453 label Biography information for Tommy Sheppard

388302

	registered interest
	date	07/07/2015
	answering body	Home Office
	answering dept id	1
	answering dept short name	Home Office
	answering dept sort name	Home Office
	hansard heading	Passports: British Nationals Abroad
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the average time is for processing a passport application for a child overseas from the initial application to the interview in connection with that application.
	tabling member constituency	Edinburgh East
	tabling member printed	Tommy Sheppard
	uin	5848
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/07/2015 answer text <p>A total of 49,173 international child passport applications finished processing in January-June 2015. Of this total, <del class="ministerial">2,418 (4.9%)</del> <ins class="ministerial">3,242 (6.6%)</ins> took longer than three months to be processed, <del class="ministerial">1,780 (3.6%)</del> <ins class="ministerial">2,539 (5.2%)</ins> took longer than four months to be processed, and <del class="ministerial">944 (1.9%)</del> <ins class="ministerial">1,657 (3.4%)</ins> took longer than six months to be processed.</p><p>The processing time is the length of time from receipt of the application to the passport being printed. For international child passport applications processed in the same period, the average processing time was 19.4 working days. Information is not held on the time between receipt of application and interview date as the date of interview can be subject to customer availability.</p><p>Her Majesty’s Passport Office must be fully satisfied that all appropriate checks have been completed successfully prior to the issuance of passport facilities. This is particularly important in relation to child applications as part of Her Majesty’s Passport Office responsibility to protect potentially vulnerable children, including those potentially at risk of child trafficking and to maintain the integrity of the British Passport.</p><p>These checks can require the provision of information from other agencies overseas – particularly in complex applications such as surrogacy cases.</p><p>Delays in the provision of this information to HMPO can lead to significantly extended timeframe in processing applications.</p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency Old Bexley and Sidcup answering member printed James Brokenshire question first answered 15/07/2015 15:19:26 question first ministerially corrected 05/08/2015 14:35:08 answering member 1530 label Biography information for James Brokenshire previous answer version 15266 answering member constituency Old Bexley and Sidcup answering member printed James Brokenshire answering member 1530 label Biography information for James Brokenshire
	tabling member	4453 label Biography information for Tommy Sheppard