asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (1) how many applications from immigrants claiming entitlement to settle in the United Kingdom were handled by

		1972	1971	1974	1975 first six months)
Applications received*	…	12,117	8,615	8,651	5,146
Applications approved	…	5,670	5,084	4,502	3,600
Applications rejected	…	1,203	729	1,144	733
* An application frequently covers more than one person: these figures relate to the actual number of persons involved.

On 30th June 1975 applications under consideration totalled 11,759. The current waiting period for an interview is 22 months, but only four and a half months for cases accorded priority treatment.