§ Mr. Nicholas Wintertonasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what will be the cost for the forth-coming year of the Immigrants' Advisory Service;
(2) how many Immigrants' Advisory Service offices have been established in the United Kingdom; and where they arc located;
(3) how long the Immigrants' Advisory Service has been operating;
(4) how many people are employed in the Immigrants' Advisory Service;
(5) what qualifications are looked for in employees working for the Immigrants' Advisory Service;
(6) what are the functions and duties of the Immigrants' Advisory Service.
§ Dr. SummerskillThe United Kingdom Immigrants' Advisory Service is an independent organisation established early in 1970 by a number of voluntary bodies to give advice and assistance to persons who find themselves in difficulties with immigration control. One of the main functions of the service is to assist persons to prepare and present their6W appeals to the immigration appellate authorities. For this purpose the grant for 1976–77 payable under Section 23 of the Immigration Act 1971 is assessed at £253,000.
The service has a complement of 58 staff serving in 11 offices; two offices are located in London and the other nine are in Birmingham, Leeds, Manchester, Glasgow, Folkestone, Southampton, Heathrow, Harmondsworth and Gatwick.
I understand that the service regards an ability to work in a multi-racial organisation as essential for its staff, and social work experience and/or a legal qualification together with a knowledge of foreign languages, as an advantage.