§ 4. Mr. Budgenasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate he has now made of the number of dependants eligible to enter the United Kingdom from the New Commonwealth.
§ Mr. Roy JenkinsIt is not the practice to publish estimates of this kind, and any forecasts of future immigration would necessarily be speculative since numbers arriving may be affected by a wide variety of factors.
§ Mr. BudgenWill the Home Secretary tell us whether he agrees with the view of Home Office officials as reported in The Times on 26th April, to the effect that the queue of dependants from the new Commonwealth, eligible for entry into this country, is never-ending? If this is so, will he tell the House what he intends to do about it? Does he have any plans for redefining the rules concerning the entry of dependants in a more restrictive way?
§ Mr. JenkinsOne should not assume that Press reports, even in The Times, about the views attributed to Home Office officials, are necessarily accurate. I take the view that this is a complex subject. It is one on which there is a debate on Monday, arising from a Private Member's motion, and I propose to intervene in that debate. I shall deal with this matter in the course of my speech.
§ Mr. SpearingNotwithstanding what the Home Secretary has just said, there is considerable concern throughout the country as a whole, and especially in the older areas of cities. Much of this concern is based on wrong information. Will my right hon. Friend make sure that he gets the right information across on Monday? While ensuring that there are no unfair repercussions on immigrants already here, will he make sure also that there are no unfair repercussions on the people in the older areas of cities, who have been there for many years?
§ Mr. JenkinsI hesitate to predict whether, in the course of a single speech, I can attain all the substantial objectives that my hon. Friend has outlined, but I shall try seriously to deal with these matters.
§ Sir David RentonAs there are still large numbers of immigrants coming from the Commonwealth and Pakistan, which is not a member of the Commonwealth, would it not be better to refuse those people, thus making it more feasible to accept the holders of United Kingdom passports?
§ Mr. JenkinsWe are maintaining very strict control over these numbers, and there is virtually no admission from the Commonwealth or Pakistan for new heads of families. Almost all the immigrants coming now are those who are entitled to do so under the rules as they originally existed and were confirmed by the 1971 Act, enabling heads of families to bring in their dependants—wives and children under 18.
I would not contemplate going back on this undertaking by saying that we should continue in this country indefinitely with divided families. That would not assist our problems. But I agree there is a limit to the rate of absorption that we can maintain.
§ Mr. PavittWill the Home Secretary convey to his departmental officers the gratitude of all hon. Members about the way in which they deal with inquiries from families whose dependants come here? Will he discuss with the Foreign Secretary the waiting time in Bombay and Islamabad which is now 18 months, with a view to expediting the procedures?
§ Mr. JenkinsWe have made some changes, in order to expedite these procedures. Inevitably it is our right to have some degree of control there, as the overwhelming majority of immigrants are families who are entitled to join the heads of families already here, and inevitably there is pressure from those who cannot be members of families but who try to come here under a false guise. One is bound to appreciate that with the difference in the standard of living of those here and those remaining behind, a degree of pressure is inevitable. It means that we have a sieve, but we must try to make it work faster. But as a sieve is inevitable it must take a certain amount of time.