§ 13. Mr. Mayhewasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he is yet in a position to give details of the new Immigration Rules covering marriages of convenience.
§ Dr. SummerskillNot yet, but my right hon. Friend hopes to lay the new rules before Parliament in the course of this month.
§ Mr. MayhewIn framing the new rules, will the hon. Lady's right hon. Friend bear in mind that evidence can arise in certain cases after the event that throws light on the true intention of the marriage? Will her right hon. Friend take power with proper safeguards in such a case to revoke the qualification to which the original marriage gave rise?
§ Dr. SummerskillI advise the hon. and learned Gentleman to study the rules when they are laid. If he does so, I think he will find the answer to his question.
§ Mrs. KnightWill the hon. Lady bear in mind that there is a good deal of evidence that these marriages are being undertaken illegally in that the persons who marry are already married and have not been divorced? Will she consider the possibility of the need to check at a central registry of births, divorces and deaths before a marriage licence is allowed?
§ Dr. SummerskillWe are considering the very point that the hon. Lady has raised.
§ Mrs. HaymanWhen my hon. Friend is considering the rules, will she ensure, despite some of the more strident cries from Conservative Members, that they are not tipped in the balance so that they become a harassment to couples who marry legally and genuinely?
§ Dr. SummerskillWe are anxious to do what my hon. Friend suggests, but, as my right hon. Friend has announced, we are determined to tackle abuses of the present system of immigration control. One such abuse is a marriage of convenience aimed solely at achieving entry to this country or avoiding removal.