§ 14. Mr. Shepherdasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what changes he has made since April 1976 in the operation of the rules concerning the admission into the United Kingdom of the dependants of immigrants.
§ Mr. Roy JenkinsNone.
§ 25. Mr. Lawsonasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department why it is not his Department's practice to publish estimates of the number of dependants of immigrants eligible for entry into the United Kingdom.
§ Mr. Roy JenkinsOnly a proportion of the dependants of those settled in the United Kingdom come to join them. Estimates based on the numbers eligible to come would not, therefore, have been a reliable guide to the numbers who have, in fact, arrived. Many variable factors have affected and will continue to affect the timing and proportion of applications by dependants seeking to join sponsors in the United Kingdom, and any forecasts must necessarily be speculative.