§ Mr. Arthur Lewisasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) whether he will list the number of organisations in existence connected with race, immigration, and community relations where public money is paid; what is the number of staff employed; and what is the annual cost for each of the years since each of these organisations was established;
(2) whether he has received the communication from the hon. Member for Newham, North-West giving official figures of the grants and expenditure of central Government funds on community relations for each of the past five years; and whether he will publish the official figures in the Official Report with similar details for the five preceding years;
(3) in the light of the fact that the Community Relations Commission in its annual reports does not publish the total amounts of financial support and local authority grants, and that in the one year 1974–75 these totalled £742,000, what were the amounts for the past 10 years; and whether he will take steps to ensure that the annual reports of the Commission for Racial Equality give these totals in future;
(4) whether he will publish in the Official Report as much detailed infor- 230W mation as may be available showing to what extent the race relations and community relations industry has grown, for as long a period as may prove convenient, giving the numbers in the industry, the names and descriptions of work or activities of the various groups and organisations, the wages and salaries and the actual or estimated costs; and now that immigration is a mere trickle, what plans he has for reducing these figures;
(5) what sum, in the last five years, has been granted for expenditure on community relations by central Government; and what were the figures for the preceding five years;
(6) whether he will give the actual or estimated number of persons employed full or part-time in race relations and community relations; and what was the estimated total of wages, salaries and expenses at the latest and most convenient date.
§ Mr. Arthur Lewisasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he will give the actual or estimated expenditure from national funds on all matters connected with immigration, central and local government offices, race relations boards and community relations councils for the longest and most convenient period of time.
§ Mr. Merlyn ReesI shall write to my hon. Friend on these Questions and on the Question addressed to the Chancellor of the Exchequer, to which I have been asked to reply.
§ Mr. Arthur Lewisasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) whether he is aware that since the years 1973–74 until 1977–78 Commonwealth immigrants' grants had increased from £9,354,000 to £21,175,000; what were the reasons for this increase; and, now that immigration has been reduced to a mere trickle, what action he has taken or proposes to take to reduce this expenditure;
(2) whether he is aware that in the year 1973–74 £12,532,000 was spent on community relations from grants by central Government and in the year 1977–78 the grant has gone up to £26,787,000; and what is the reason for this increase in view of the fact that there is now only a mere trickle of immigrants.
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§ Mr. Merlyn ReesYes. The higher set of figures in the second Question includes those in the first. These grants reflect needs in the field of community relations and equal opportunities. The current rate of immigration is not directly relevant.
§ Mr. Arthur Lewisasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department, in view of the reduction of immigration to a mere trickle, what action he has taken, or intends taking, to reduce the grants to bodies concerned with race relations.
§ Mr. Merlyn ReesNone. There is a continuing need to eliminate discrimination on racial grounds, to secure equality of opportunity for people of all racial groups and to promote harmonious race relations.