Open to the Public ITEM NO.8
REPORT OF THE STRATEGIC DIRECTOR CUSTOMER AND SUPPORT
SERVICES
To the: Lead Member, Customer and Support Services
On: 11th December 2006
TITLE: Nationality Checking Service
RECOMMENDATIONS:
Lead Member is asked to authorise the Registration Service to commence provision of
the Nationality Checking Service in accordance with legislation and the proposals
detailed within this report
In addition authorisation is sought to employ a Deputy Registrar in the event that
demand for this service is as anticipated.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
The Nationality Checking Service (NCS) is a partnership between the Home Office
and local councils in England and Wales. It allows those people applying for British
Citizenship to make their applications, in person, at their local council offices. For a
small fee, participating councils will check that applications are completed correctly
and have been submitted with all the necessary supporting documents. The number of
local register offices currently delivering NCS is 37 with a further 21 trained. This
represents a significant success for this central/local government partnership, with
very good levels of customer satisfaction. So far this year NCS has raised an
additional overall income of £1.2m for local authorities.
BACKGROUND DOCUMENTS:
Nationality intake figures up to September 2006
Office of the Immigration Services Commissioner (OICS) Registration Process
ASSESSMENT OF RISK:
Low
THE SOURCE OF FUNDING IS:
Payment is made by customers to the BMD budget.
LEGAL ADVICE OBTAINED:
Consultation with Andy Roberts (Acting Proper Officer), Home Office and OICS
FINANCIAL ADVICE OBTAINED:
Guidance to fees charged from OICS and other authorities
CONTACT OFFICER:
Rebecca Wardley
WARD(S) TO WHICH REPORT RELATES:
All
KEY COUNCIL POLICIES:
Equal Opportunities, Equalities and Diversity, HR strategies.
DETAILS:
The NCS was introduced to help applicants submit completed applications for British
Citizenship allowing them to keep their important documents and reduce the number
of requests for further information from the Home Office. Applications are usually
dealt with more quickly than those submitted by more conventional means and
therefore the NCS offers a better customer service.
This service is optional for applicants but because on average applications are dealt
with more quickly, the NCS is proving to be very popular within Register Offices
already offering the service.
Manchester and Bolton Register Offices have been offering this service for a number
of months. The average income at Bolton is between £2000 and £3000 per month.
The average income at Manchester is up to £4500. Both these authorities have
employed extra staff to cope with the demand but are still refusing appointments, as
they do not have the capacity to deal with the volume of applications being received.
The fees for provision of the NCS are the responsibility of each local authority and
must be set to recover the full cost of providing the service. Guideline fees are
detailed as follows and most authorities are using this fee structure: Type of Application
Fee
Adult who submits single application pays one fee
£35.00
Husband and wife living together who apply at the
same time pay one fee
£50.00
Husband and wife and up to 2 children
£60.00
Additional children on parents application
£90.00)
£15.00 (E.g. based on 4 -
One or more children under the age of 18 who apply
£15.00 per child
separately from their parents
For Salford Register Office to offer a Nationality Checking Service there are certain
procedures to follow including submission of an application to the OICS. The OICS is
responsible for ensuring that all immigration advisers fulfil the requirements of good
practice.
Initially an application pack for registration needs to be completed with the names of
any advisers at the Register Office who will be undertaking this service. A
registration fee of £555.00 must also be submitted.
All advisers need to complete on line assessments, training and competence
statements before undertaking the service. A licence will then be issued allowing the
authority to offer the service. At least one advisor is required to have professional
indemnity insurance, although for the majority of local authorities the NCS will be
covered within existing Officials Indemnity Insurance. Advertisement of the service
will be through the website, literature and Salford City Council will also be added to
the Home Office website. This is where most customers look to see who is offering
the service.
Other Register Offices offering this service have confirmed it is very popular and
have employed extra staff to cope with the demand. It is also worth noting that
applicants need not reside within Salford so it is highly likely that we would receive
applications from citizens in neighbouring authorities who don’t provide a service and
from those LA’s that do but cannot meet demand.
It is proposed that existing Registration Staff will undertake these duties initially to
monitor demand with a view to employing a full time Deputy registrar should demand
be as anticipated. There will be extra phone calls, appointments to be made, and
appointments last between 30 minutes to an hour depending on whether it is a single
application or for a family. All documents need to be photocopied before the
applications are submitted to the Home Office and all fees are accountable.
For the provision of employing a full time member of staff at Deputy Registrar level
the salary would be between £14,523 to £15,459.
Salford Register Office is very keen to offer this service as it ties in with the British
Citizenship Ceremonies. The benefits of offering the service include the generation
of extra income and a conservative estimate would be that we could generate in the
region of £24K pa but this would need to be offset by the costs of employing any
additional staff. Notwithstanding this there is likely to be a net surplus to the
Authority.
Finally, it is considered that offering this additional service would promote inclusion
and complement the City Council’s policies on equality, diversity and wider choice
for our customers