HC Deb 20 July 1977 vol 935 c553W
Mr. Powell

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he expects the White Paper corresponding to Command Paper No. 6504 to be published for 1976.

Mr. Merlyn Rees

Within the next few weeks I regret that publication has been delayed by the incorporation in the White Paper of certain refinements and improvements in presentation. At the same time I will make available, as my predecessor undertook to do, the embarkation figures for 1976. However, since Sir Claus Moser found in his report "On the general significance of statistics relating to admissions and embarkations", that the embarkation figures, and hence the net balance figures derived from them are inherently unreliable, I have decided that statistics of embarkations will not be compiled in the future.