HL Deb 21 December 1976 vol 378 cc1291-7WA
Lord MICA RTHY

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Whether they will specify for the period 1970/76 on an annual basis:

  1. (1) the number of work permits issued by Her Majesty's Government for workers from (i) EEC countries and (ii) non-EEC countries (by country where available); and
  2. (2) the occupations and/or industries employing foreign workers on work permits.

Lord ORAM

Before 1973, separate systems of control were applied to foreign nationals and Commonwealth citizens coming here to work. Work permits were issued to the former and employment vouchers to the latter. Since the coming into effect on 1st January 1973 of the Immigration Act 1971, one work permit scheme has operated for all; but work permits are not required by nationals of EEC countries.

Analyses of work permits issued by country of origin and by industrial groups in 1973, 1974 and 1975 appear in the Department of Employment Gazette for May 1973, April 1975 and May 1976 respectively. Corresponding analyses for issues in 1976 are not yet available but will be similarly published in the DE Gazette in 1977. Work permits" includes permits issued for overseas workers before coming here and permissions given for those already here for some other purpose and taking work.

Following is the available information for 1970/1972:

TABLE 1 WORK PERMITS ISSUED TO WORKERS FROM EEC COUNTRIES
Country Year
1970 1971 1972
Belgium 306 417 292
Denmark 940 830 598
France 4,264 3,496 3,212
Germany 4,392 3,464 3,441
Italy 4,483 3,122 2,460
Luxembourg 17 14 17
Netherlands 2,294 1,459 1,174
TOTAL 16,696 12,802 11,194
TABLE 2 EMPLOYMENT VOUCHERS ISSUED TO COMMONWEALTH WORKERS
Country Year
1970 1971 1972
Australia 894 593 379
Bangladesh … … — — 6
Canada 195 157 119
Caribbean Territories 488 135 63
Cyprus 201 104 11
East Africa 231 164 101
Hong Kong 300 241 200
India 981 595 240
Malaysia 102 89 60
Malta 846 634 468
Mauritius 94 140 23
New Zealand 336 147 100
Pakistan 409 249 75
Singapore 55 46 62
Sri Lanka 271 306 257
West Africa 67 89 35
Dependent Territories excluding Hong Kong 74 66 89
Others 19 7 2
TOTAL 5,563 3,762 2,290
TABLE 3 WORK PERMITS ISSUED WORKERS TO OTHER NON-EEC
Country Year
1970 1971 1972
Finland 1,708 1,515 1,355
Japan 629 767 989
Philippines 586 1,195 2,669
Portugal 2,570 2,290 1,609
South Africa 1,876 1,418 1,376
Spain 9,669 8,981 5,883
Sweden 1,345 1,167 1,186
Switzerland 4,109 2,890 2,092
USA 7,151 6,473 6,121
Yugoslavia 2,547 1,357 848
Others 12,021 10,358 7,382
TOTAL 44,211 38,411 31,510
TABLE 4 WORK PERMITS ANALYSED BY INDUSTRIAL OR OCCUPATIONAL GROUP
Industrial or occupational group 1970 1971 1972
Industry and commerce 18,975 14,616 11,720
Manufacturing Industries 6,334 4,038 2,630
Professional and scientific services 2,842 2,690 2,466
Distributive trades 2,619 2,399 1,614
Agriculture, horticulture, forestry, etc. 803 505 287
Other industries and services 6,377 4,984 4,723
Hotels and restaurants 21,633 18,656 12,685
Resident domestic employment in private households, hospitals, nursing homes? schools and other institutions 9,723 8,035 8,077
Concert, stage, film and variety artists, musicians and other entertainers and film technicians 7,479 7,319 7,625
Nurses 3,097 2,587 2,597
TOTAL 60,907 51,213 42,704

These figures are for all foreign workers. Separate figures for EEC nationals are not available

TABLE 5(A) EMPLOYMENT VOUCHERS ANALYSED BY INDUSTRIAL GROUP (CATEGORY A)
Year Agriculture Forestry Fishing Mining and Quarrying Manufacturing industries Construction Gas, Electricity, Water Transport and Communication Distributive Trades Insurance, Banking and Finance Professional and Scientific Services Misc. Services (includes Hotel and Catering Work) Public Admin, and Defence TOTALS
1970 10 — 1,385 27 — 184 41 179 231 804 5 2,866
1971 4 1 680 28 — 54 48 111 324 703 4 1,957
1972 6 7 178 21 — 24 43 96 430 619 5 1,429
Category A Vouchers were issued for those with a job to come to.
TABLE 5(B) EMPLOYMENT VOUCHERS ANALYSED BY PROFESSION/OCCUPATION (CATEGORY B)
Year Teachers Nurses Doctors Dentists Science Graduates Technology Gradiates Other Professions TOTALS
1970 456 453 581 117 215 391 484 2,697
1971 278 322 368* 30* 145 282 380 1,805
1972 179 120 — — 108 201 253 861
Category B Vouchers were issued for professionally qualified workers.
*Vouchers for these professions were not required from 1st June 1971.