§ Mr. Geoffrey Lloydasked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether, in view of the high incidence of tuberculosis among immigrants from India and Pakistan, he will, in consultation with the Secretary of State for the Home Department, take steps to require those arriving for permanent residence to undergo tuberculin testing on arrival and regular chest radiography.
§ Sir K. JosephImmigrants coming here from India and Pakistan to settle are normally examined either in their country or origin or at our ports of entry and in the majority of cases this includes an X-ray examination for tuberculosis.416W Port medical inspectors advise medical officers of health of immigrants settling in their areas and medical officers of health may arrange, if they consider it necessary, for tuberculin testing and regular chest radiography. The present arrangements are in most cases working satisfactorily and my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Home Department and I consider that we could not reasonably introduce legislation to compel immigrants once resident here to submit to medical examinations which do not apply to the public generally unless there were clear evidence that the present proceedings were causing a wholly unacceptable risk to public health.