§ 26. Mr. Molloyasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what administrative arrangements are made for liaison between immigration authorities and Medical Officers of Health in areas of immigrants' destinations.
§ Mr. AlisonThe destination addresses of immigrants arriving at ports and airports in the United Kingdom for permanent settlement are sent by Medical Inspectors to the Medical Officers of Health of the areas to which they are going so that visits can be arranged.
§ Mr. MolloyMay I thank the hon. Gentleman for that reply? Does he recall the incident in Perivale, in my constituency, which caused some concern when a young child arrived in this country and within 24 hours was going to school when he had typhoid fever? Does he realise that but for the remarkable way in which the Medical Officer of Health and his staff in the London 192 Borough of Ealing dealt with this, there might have been a very serious situation? Has anything been learned from that incident which might be of benefit to the country as a whole?
§ Mr. AlisonI am grateful to the hon. Member for the immediate action he took in bringing this detailed case to our notice. He will recall the Answer I gave him in detail about this case in my letter to him on 31st July. We have learned a number of lessons from this, but wholesale holding back from school we believe would be too Draconian a measure to obviate this hazard.