§ Mr. Ridsdaleasked the Secretary of State for Employment how many work permits have been issued to workers from the Philippines and to workers from the EEC at the latest available date.
§ Mr. John GrantSince the beginning of 1973, when the Immigration Act 1971 was brought fully into force, the numbers of work permits issued annually for Filipinos overseas and permissions given to those already here were as follows:
Year Number 1973 2,691 1974 991 1975 1,986 1976* 2,050 1977 1,804 * The 1976 figure relates to cases recorded; owing to industrial action affecting the compilation of statistics, about 10 per cent. of cases overall were not recorded. The figures do not include student employees for whom permits were issued for supernumerary employment not normally exceeding 12 months.
Analyses of statistics of work permits by country issuing the passports of overseas workers are published in the Department of Employment Gazette. It is expected that the figures for 1977 will be published in the April issue. Since 1973, workers with passports issued by member States of the EEC have not required work permits to take employment here.