HC Deb 25 May 1972 vol 837 cc1614-5
22. Mr. Winterton

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will now consider restricting the admission to the United Kingdom of dependants of immigrants permanently settled in this country to wife or husband and children of school age or under only.

Mr. Lane

No, Sir. I can see no sufficient grounds for varying the existing practice, which is of long standing.

Mr. Winterton

A statistical table published recently in the Daily Telegraph showed clearly that 1,912 dependants and settlers came to Britain in December 1971. I refer particularly to the one voucher holder, 26 other settlers and 523 dependants. With the strain on our education, social and welfare services should not my hon. Friend look at this again?

Mr. Lane

No. The dependants arriving in any month are not necessarily connected with the voucher holders who arrive then. I assure my hon. Friend that, leaving aside the special case of the United Kingdom passport holders from East Africa, the annual rate of dependants now arriving here is down to half what it was five years ago.

Mr. Pavitt

I congratulate the Under-Secretary on the firmness of his reply. Is he aware that I come from an area which has a very high degree of immigration and that the problem is one of integration rather than of entry? The hon. Gentleman's decision will be widely welcomed by those of us who are working very hard to secure integration in my area.

Mr. Lane

I appreciate that. I appreciate also the uneasiness still felt by many people about the numbers coming in. That is why I have tried to make it clear that the general trend of arrivals has been declining for a number of years.

Mrs. Shirley Williams

Is the Under-Secretary aware that the hon. Member for Macclesfield (Mr. Winterton) has given voice to some totally misleading statistics? Will the hon. Gentleman confirm that the average number of dependants joining those coming here is about four to five, taking a number of years together?

Mr. Lane

Yes. That average holds true at present for United Kingdom passport holders coming from East Africa, where it is much more normal for the dependants to come with the head of the family. That is a much more accurate average.