asked Her Majesty's Government:

What are the maximum waiting times for passengers arriving at London Heathrow Airport, and what are the requirements for the provision of immigration officers for those passengers. [HL3014]

The current benchmarks of 45 minutes for non-EEA nationals and 25 minutes for EEA nationals are the current national standards against which all of our ports and airports can measure performance.

Our priority at Heathrow is to maintain border security by checking all arriving passengers.

We monitor our staffing levels carefully and deploy staff to ensure maximum possible coverage of the arrivals control.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

What involvement the Department for Transport will have in decisions taken by the Civil Aviation Authority regarding airspace allocated for flight stacking; and [HL3120]

What account is taken of potential noise nuisance when decisions are made concerning flight stacking; and [HL3121]

What account is taken of responses generated by public consultation exercises on flight stacking proposals; and [HL3122]

Whether they have considered flight stacking over the North Sea as an alternative to using airspace over Suffolk for flights landing at Stansted Airport. [HL3123]

Airspace planning and regulation is the responsibility of the independent Civil Aviation Authority (CAA). The process for making changes to airspace is governed by the CAA's airspace change process. Under this process it is for airspace change sponsors to develop and consult on proposals. Detailed guidance is given on what impacts are to be taken into account, how they should be measured and who should be consulted. Informed by the consultation, the sponsor submits the proposal to the CAA's Directorate of Airspace Policy for assessment against regulatory requirements. In determining whether to accept or reject a proposal, the CAA's process reflects the Secretary of State's directions and guidance to the CAA on the exercise of its statutory duties and environmental objectives.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

What cost is incurred in registering for naturalisation as a British citizen. [HL3033]

The fee for naturalisation is £655 including an £80 ceremony fee. Spouses or civil partners applying jointly pay a combined fee of £735 including £160 ceremony fees.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

How many applications for registration for naturalisation as a British citizen have been received from individuals in Northern Ireland in each of the past five years. [HL3034]

The requested information is available only from January 2004, and is shown on the attached table.

The information has been provided from local management information and is not a national statistic. As such it should be treated as provisional and therefore subject to change.

Source: Local Management Information

Footnotes

(1) Figures have been rounded to the nearest 5

(2) Statistics can be obtained only from Jan 2004 when citizenship ceremonies were introduced. Residence has been obtained using the N Ireland central point.

(3) The information has been provided from local management information and is not a National Statistic. As such, it should be treated as provisional and therefore subject to change.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

What is the legal status of the European Union flag and anthem (a) in the United Kingdom; and (b) in the rest of the European Union. [HL1989]

The EU flag and anthem have no legal status in UK or EU law.

The EU flag originated on 25 October 1955 when the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly took the unanimous decision to adopt a flag as its emblem. The Council of Europe's Committee of Ministers adopted it as the European flag on 8 December 1955. In 1985, the European flag was adopted as the official emblem of the then European Communities by the heads of state and government. EU institutions have been using it since 1986.

Similarly, the Council of Europe adopted Beethoven's Ode to Joy as its anthem in 1972. It was adopted by the Heads of State or government of the then European Communities as the official anthem in 1985.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

When they first became aware of the status of the European Union flag in the United Kingdom and the rest of the European Union. [HL2904]

The EU flag has no legal status in UK or EU law.

The EU flag originated on 25 October 1955 when the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly took the unanimous decision to adopt a flag as its emblem. The Council of Europe's Committee of Ministers adopted it as the European flag on 8 December 1955. In 1985, the European flag was adopted as the official emblem of the then European Communities by heads of state and government. EU institutions have been using it since 1986.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Further to the Written Answer by Lord Malloch-Brown on 19 February (WA 40), on how many occasions entry clearance officers in Tbilisi, Georgia, have reviewed decisions on appeal without sight of the grounds of appeal and additional evidence an applicant may have submitted. [HL2953]

This information is not available from visa records at our embassy in Tbilisi. However, I am advised that entry clearance staff at the embassy recall three occasions in the past three years when an entry clearance decision has been reviewed and an explanatory statement despatched to the Asylum and Immigration Tribunal (AIT) without a notice of appeal having been received. The AIT is responsible for ensuring that overseas posts receive appeal documents.

asked Her Majesty’s Government:

What reports have been received of irregularities in the handling of visa applicants to visit the United Kingdom from United Kingdom or Georgian citizens in each of the past three years. [HL2954]

The number of formal complaints received in the past three years about the handling of visa applications at our embassy in Tbilisi, Georgia are as follows:

2005—5;

2006—1; and

2007—5.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Further to the Written Answer by Lord Malloch-Brown on 4 March (WA 169), on what date were the three entry clearance officers, the deputy head of Mission, the third secretary and the members of United Kingdom support staff originally appointed to the embassy in Tbilisi; and on what date they arrived in post. [HL2956]

The three entry clearance officers at our embassy in Tbilisi were appointed/arrived at post on the following dates:

the deputy head of Mission: 1 September 2007;

the third secretary: 6 March 2006; and

the support officer: 20 August 2007

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Further to the Written Answer by Lord Malloch-Brown on 4 March (WA 169), whether that Answer is consistent with the employment records of the department in relation to the length of contract of entry clearance officers at the British embassy in Georgia. [HL2958]

I regret that Lord Malloch-Brown's Written Answer of the 4 March (WA1 69) contained a factual error. One of the three entry clearance officers at our embassy in Tbilisi, the third secretary, has in fact been at post for approximately two years not three. Otherwise the information given was correct.

Entry clearance officers and other UK based staff are normally posted to our missions overseas for a period of three years.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

What is the procedure for securing international recognition of the boundary line between potentially overlapping territorial waters. [HL3156]

If two coastal states cannot agree on a boundary between their territorial seas then they may have an option to go to a dispute settlement mechanism, such as the International Court of Justice, the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, or arbitration.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

How they intend to respond to the findings of the recent MORI poll commissioned by the BBC to mark the 40th anniversary of Enoch Powell's “rivers of blood” speech that two out of three people polled believe there are too many immigrants in Britain and that race riots are likely to arise if community tensions increase; and [HL3159]

What action they are taking to avert the possibility of race riots; what advice they have received from the Equality and Human Rights Commission on that subject; when the advice was offered; how they have responded to it; and which areas or neighbourhoods have been identified as having a high risk of race riots occurring; and [HL3160]

Whether they have made representations to newspapers, television and radio companies about their coverage of immigration and race relations stories; and whether such coverage reduces racial prejudice and intolerance; and [HL3161]

What initiatives they are pursuing to promote better knowledge and understanding of the benefits of a diverse and multi-cultural society. [HL3162]

In February this year, the Government made a renewed commitment to build community cohesion, as part of our response to the Commission on Integration and Cohesion's report. Community cohesion is about much more than preventing violence—it is part of building sustainable active and empowered communities. Central to this is the principle that cohesion must be understood and built locally by local authorities and the local partnerships which they lead. Central government's role is to set the national framework within which local authorities and their partners operate. We are working with EHRC in developing our policies and approach. We are providing both funding and support to do this: £50 million over the next three years and a cohesion delivery framework in the summer.

The findings of the MORI poll of just 1,000 people contrast sharply with those of the citizenship survey of 10,000 people. The citizenship survey found that 81 per cent of people feel that individuals from different backgrounds get on well together in their local area and that 83 per cent of people agree that people in their local area respect ethnic differences, an increase from 79 per cent in 2003. In its final report, published in June 2007, the Commission on Integration and Cohesion, also found that cohesion rates only fell below 60 per cent in 10 out of 387 areas in England.

We work routinely with local authorities and the police to assess where local tensions may arise and we encourage local areas to do the same. We will shortly be publishing guidance for local areas on tension monitoring and contingency planning.

The coverage of immigration and race relations stories by the media is a matter for the relevant regulatory bodies or the courts, not the Government. The Government strongly believe that a press free from state intervention is fundamental to democracy.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

What monitoring takes place of the handling of visa applications from overseas nationals by entry clearance officers and the Immigration Tribunal Service. [HL2873]

Visa categories that have the full right of appeal are considered by the Asylum and Immigration Tribunal. Other categories that have a limited right of appeal fall under the remit of the Independent Monitor for Entry Clearance, who monitors a sample of applications. We also have internal procedures within the visa section to ensure consistency of decision making.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

What further consideration they have given to self-determination for West Papua since the Question for Short Debate on 26 February (Official Report, House of Lords, cols. 620–34); and whether they are in contact with the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Torture concerning the alleged excessive force used by police and others in that country. [HL3110]

We recognise the territorial integrity of Indonesia as it is currently constituted. We believe that full implementation of the special autonomy legislation offers the Papuan people the means to achieve their economic and social development goals.

We welcome Dr Manfred Nowak's, the UN Special Rapportuer on Torture, visit to Indonesia in November 2007, at the invitation of the Indonesian Government. In an address to the UN Human Rights Council on 4 March, the Indonesian Foreign Minister, Hassan Wirajuda, expressed appreciation for the importance of the work of the special rapporteurs and undertook to sustain Indonesia's dialogue with them. The report of Dr Manfred Nowak's visit was published at the UN Human Rights Council on 10 March. It notes the considerable progress made in Indonesia since 1998 and the commitment of the current government to uphold and promote human rights. It also raises concerns about torture and ill treatment in places of detention, particularly in the metropolitan areas of Java.

We are continuing to study Dr Nowak's report and are consulting with EU partners on how we might engage with the Indonesian Government on its findings.