Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer of Lord Murray of Blidworth on 28 June (HL8499), why long delays are occurring for the delivery of BOTC (F) and BOTC (M) registration certificates to the British High Commissions located in the Caribbean region.

We aim to decide all straight-forward applications within the six-month service standard. After a decision is made, the certificate is securely sent to the overseas post via the diplomatic bag through the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office. Delivery times can vary depending on when the next bag is dispatched, which ranges from weekly to fortnightly depending on the destination. These bags can be tracked by the Home Office if details of dispatch date and destination are provided to FCDO.