§ Mr. BLANEasked the Home Secretary whether he is aware that the good offices of the Overseas Department established by the Foreign Office and the Board of Trade in the City to assist and further overseas trade are not utilised to remedy mistakes when pointed out in the case of passports bearing the endorsement "No return"; and if he will give directions that facilities be accorded to that Department to expedite the removal of grievances where a primâ facie case for action is presented?
§ Mr. SHORTTThe hon. Member appears to be misinformed. There is con- 515W stant communication between the Home Office and the Department of Overseas Trade as to the grant of facilities to aliens to enable them to visit this country for business purposes.
§ Mr. BLANEasked the Home Secretary whether the practice of the Home Office of issuing passports to foreign subjects resident in this country to proceed to Holland marked "No Return" was employed until recently to discourage travelling, consequent on the absence of shipping facilities, even when the record of the applicant for a permit afforded no sufficient ground for considering him to be an undesirable alien; whether he is aware that the holders of such passports who seek to proceed from Holland to Siberia, Japan, and thence to the United States as travellers for British houses to promote overseas trade in favour of this country are in practice refused the visé of the United States Consuls to proceed, by reason of such Consuls interpreting the "No Return" stamped on the passports as indicative that such holders are undesirables; and whether, in view of the present improved facilities for travelling between this country and Holland, he will direct that passports stamped as aforesaid shall in future not be issued, and will authorise the issue through the medium of British Consuls to present holders of British passports against whom no complaint rests of new passports, on which the words referred to shall not appear?
§ Mr. SHORTTThe system of controlling passenger traffic from this country which was found requisite in the exigencies of the War and under which the permits to leave the United Kingdom issued by the Home Office were when necessary made subject to the condition of "No return during the War," came to an end in February last. I have no information to the effect stated in the second paragraph of the question, but instructions were issued some months ago to British Consuls abroad that in granting visas for the United Kingdom the condition of "No Return" should be disregarded unless in any particular case there were serious personal reasons to the contrary.