HC Deb 10 November 1971 vol 825 cc981-2
4. Mr. Douglas

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will publish his latest estimates of net migration from Scotland.

Mr. Gordon Campbell

The latest published estimates covered the year to June, 1970. The estimate for the six months ending December, 1970, shows a net loss of about 12,000.

Mr. Douglas

Will the Secretary of State give some indication of when he expects to publish the figures for June, 1971? Are they not available to his office? There is a suspicion that net migration is rising and that the future Labour Government will have to go through the same procedure of going into office with very high figures and having to halve them again.

Mr. Campbell

I can reassure the hon. Gentleman because, although the figures are not available, the indications are that any changes from the average which was running in 1969 and 1970 are very slight. If the hon. Gentleman wants to make comparisons, I must point out that during the six years from 1965 to 1970, the net migration from Scotland was much greater than during the previous six years of Conservative Government, and that the highest year was 1966, with 47,000, and the next highest year was 1967, with 45,000.

Dr. Dickson Mabon

Does the right hon. Gentleman realise that he inherited a falling curve while we inherited a rising curve? Can he assure us that the curve will continue to fall? When will he publish the precise figures up to June, 1971?

Mr. Campbell

The hon. Gentleman seems more interested in curves than in the totals. The curve appears to have levelled out, and that is the position I have described.