HC Deb 13 December 1979 vol 975 cc1520-2
14. Mr. Hooley

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will arrange for a sample census in each region of England and Wales to ascertain how many daughters of parents of British nationality were born outside the United Kingdom.

Mr. Raison

No, Sir.

Mr. Hooley

Is the Minister aware that many British Service men whose children were born abroad because they were serving abroad, other public servants whose children were born abroad because their service took them abroad, and many other catgories of people, are deeply dismayed and resentful at the immigration rules proposed by the Government? Will he take steps to cut out from those rules the sexist and racist discriminatory elements in them?

Mr. Raison

As was indicated in the debate on 4 December, the Government have agreed to a change in their proposals for girls born overseas to parents who happened to be abroad at the time. They will be able to bring in their husbands or fiances provided that the main purpose of the marriage is not the immigration of the husband, and provided that the woman is a citizen of the United Kingdom and Colonies, one of whose parents was born here. In other cases we shall, of course, consider the circumstances very carefully and contemplate whether to exercise discretion.

Mr. Budgen

Does not my hon. Friend agree that more generous support should be given to the idea of the hon. Member for Sheffield, Heeley (Mr. Hooley) who is trying to discover the number of people involved? Is not that exactly the theory behind the register to which the Tory Party is committed in its election manifesto?

Mr. Raison

My hon. Friend is raising another question.

Mr. Alexander W. Lyon

Has the Minister looked at the figures that were produced from the 1971 census, which indicate that about half of the Indian girls in this country of marriageable age were born here? If the Minister went over to the only sensible defence of this proposal—I doubt whether even that is sensible—and if he were to restrict entry to husbands of patrial wives, would not he actually achieve all that he desires?

Mr. Raison

I have, of course, looked at the figures given in the 1971 census. I accept that point. At that time there were in Great Britain about 267,000 females, 141,000 of them single, who had been born outside the United Kingdom, but one or both of whose parents had been born in the British Isles. Not all of them will necessarily be citizens of the United Kingdom and Colonies.

Mr. Chapman

With respect, will my hon. Friend consider the answer that he gave to the hon. Member for Sheffield, Heeley (Mr. Hooley)? Is not this the kind of question that it would be relevant and useful to answer in the decennial census in 1981?

Mr. Raison

There are some difficulties about the proposed questions covering the origin of people to be tested by the 1980–81 census. We are thinking about that very carefully.

Mr. George Cunningham

When does the Minister expect the new revised rules to be put before the House? In view of the extreme criticisms mounted from all quarters in the House on some aspects of the draft rules in the White Paper, may we have an assurance that the text of the revised regulations will be available to the House before the rules are tabled?

Mr. Raison

No, Sir.