HC Deb 19 February 1971 vol 811 cc585-6W
Mr. Arthur Lewis

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) why he is to remove the six months' time limit within which illegal immigrants must be prosecuted; and whether he will make a statement;

(2) to what extent the Government's proposals for immigration will be affected by any present known terms of Britain's entry into the European Economic Community on the assumption that the full Rome Treaty terms are observed;

(3) why he is to give extra police powers in his Immigration Bill; and what action he proposes to take concerning the abolition of the automatic five year residential qualification for United Kingdom citizenship on the part of immigrants;

(4) why he is to introduce a system of compulsory registration of immigrants and to give police the power to stop immigrants to ask to see their papers; and whether he will make a statement;

(5) why he is to introduce a system of work vouchers to immigrants granted for a specific short-stay period, for a specific part of the country, subject to annual renewal; and whether he will make a statement;

(6) why he is to withdraw from immigrants their automatic right of citizenship after five years of residential qualification and institute a system of granting this to immigrants with a good character and a good understanding of English; and whether he will make a statement.

Mr. Sharples

I would invite the hon. Member to await the publication of the Immigration Bill, which will soon be introduced.