HC Deb 12 February 1976 vol 905 cc280-1W
26. Mr. Sims

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many wives and dependent children of new Commonwealth citizens already settled in Great Britain when the Immigration Act 1971 came into force remain eligible to join the family head in Great Britain under that Act.

Mr. Alexander W. Lyon

It has never been the practice to publish estimates of this kind; and any forecast of future immigration would necessarily be speculative since numbers arriving may be affected by a wide variety of factors.

28. Mr. Nelson

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate he has made of the addition to permanent male immigration from the Commonwealth to the United Kingdom in 1975 resulting from his 1974 decision giving fiancés and husbands parallel rights to fiancées and wives.

Mr. Alexander W. Lyon

Provisional figures show that, during 1975, 1,673 males from the Commonwealth were admitted for settlement in the United Kingdom as husbands of wives already settled here. During the same period 3,685 males from the Commonwealth were accepted for settlement by reason of marriage after initial temporary admission as fiancés or for some other purpose. A small number from both groups might have been eligible for settlement had no change in the rules occurred.

29. Mr. Lawrence

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the total of Commonwealth citizens granted permanent settlement in the United Kingdom in 1973, 1974 and estimated in 1975, respectively, including those initially admitted temporarily as well as those whose initial admission was for permanent settlement.

Mr. Alexander W. Lyon

The aggregate number of Commonwealth citizens in both the categories, (i) of those admitted for settlement on arrival and (ii) of those accepted for settlement on removal of the time limit on their stay, was 34,044 in 1973 and 42,078 in 1974. The estimated number for 1975 is 51,500.