§ Lord Mason of Barnsleyasked Her Majesty's Government:
How many Jews have been allowed to leave the Soviet Union during 1985, 1986, 1987 and each month of 1988 for which figures are available; and what is their estimate of the number of Soviet Jews who have applied to leave the Soviet Union and have been refused.
§ The Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Lord Glenarthur)Estimates of Jewish emigration published by international organisations are:
1985 1,140 1986 914 1987 8,011 1988: January 727 February 737 March 944 April 1,077 May 1,169 June 1,487 July 1,639 August 1,864 September 2,371 October 2,587 Total 14,602 The Israeli authorities estimate that 9,000 Soviet Jews have been refused visas to leave, but they emphasise that this figure is based on known cases and may well understate the true total.