§ 24. Mr. Gurdenasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the number of deportations recommended by the courts in each of the past five years; and how many of these were cancelled by him.
§ Mr. MaudlingAs the reply contains a number of figures, I will, with permission, circulate it in the OFFICIAL REPORT.
§ Mr. GurdenDoes not my right hon. Friend consider that the courts have taken into account all the relevant considerations on every individual case? Why should the Home Office upturn the courts' recommendations?
§ Mr. MaudlingIn a number of cases further facts become available after the decision has been made. In a number of cases people leave the country immediately anyway. In a number of cases, we think it is probably better all round to have supervised departure rather than deportation. In general, obviously I am swayed very much by the recommendations of a court which has heard the case and seen the individual. I would not want to depart from those recommendations except for very strong reasons.
§ Mr. PavittWould the right hon. Gentleman convey the thanks of many hon. Members to the staff in his private office who deal with this subject? Those of us who have a large immigrant population in our constituences sometimes need to move very quickly regarding a 1609 deportation order. The staff deal with the matter most promptly, and we are most grateful for the action they take in these cases.
§ Mr. MaudlingI am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for the tribute he has paid to those who work with me at the Home Office and who give the greatest care and attention to all these cases.
§ Following is the information:
| Year | Recommendations made by courts(1) | Decisions not to give effect to recommendations(2) |
| 1967 | 512 | 189 |
| 1968 | 635 | 253 |
| 1969 | 747 | 294 |
| 1970 | 775 | 209 |
| 1971 | 772 | 206 |
§ Notes:
§ 1. The first column does not include cases in which a recommendation was set aside on appeal.
§ 2. Decisions not to give effect to recommendations may be taken either on merits or because, for example—
- (a) the recommendation was invalid as the notice of liability to deportation was not served as required by statute, or was invalid or of doubtful validity for other reasons;
- (b) the person may have established that he was in law exempt from liability to deportation; or
- (c) the person may have left the country voluntarily or be prepared to leave under supervised departure.
§ 3. The first and second columns relate to the same periods but not to the same cases; for example the second column for 1967 includes some recommendations made in 1966, and not all the recommendations made in 1967, some of which will have been the subject of decisions by the Secretary of State in 1968.