§ 29. Mrs. Knightasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will confer with the police authorities in European countries in an effort to end the traffic in illegal immigrants into the United Kingdom.
§ Mr. Roy JenkinsWe have already developed close and effective working relationships with the police and other authorities in neighbouring European countries.
§ Mr. Stanbrookasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he proposes to bring the amnesty for illegal immigrants to an end.
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§ Dr. SummerskillThere is no general amnesty for illegal entrants to this country. The limited amnesty my right hon. Friend announced on 11th April 1974 applied only to those who entered this country illegally before 1st January 1973 and who, as the law stood before that date, had acquired legal immunity from removal. The number of applications currently coming forward under this arrangement is very small.
§ Mr. Stanbrookasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many illegal immigrants have been traced in each year from 1966; how many of these have subsequently been deported; and how many of the remainder have been allowed to stay in the United Kingdom under the terms of the amnesty.
§ Dr. SummerskillThe available information about illegal entrants detained and removed is given in the following table. Figures for years before 1968 are not available and figures for the years before 1973 do not include foreign nationals, as no records of these were kept.
1968 … … 32 32 1969 … … 41 41 1970 … … 99 99 1971 … … 84 84 1972 … … 59 59 1973 … … 258 176 1974 … … 157 139 1975 … … 188 154 Up to 30th April 1976 there were 1,990 applications to benefit under the decision that my right hon. Friend announced on 11th April 1974 affecting people who entered illegally before 1st January 1973. Of these, 1,376 have been granted, 398 found ineligible, and the remainder are being considered.