§ Lord BARNBYasked Her Majesty's Government:
80WAWith regard to the Statement of 29th November granting amnesty to illegal immigrants, whether they will indicate how many dependants are to be permitted entry; and, according to most recent figures available, how many dependants of those who have been granted leave of entry under the current 3,500 voucher scheme are permitted to enter each month.
§ Lord HARRIS of GREENWICHNo reliable estimate can be made of the number of dependants who will be admitted for settlement in consequence of the decision announced by my right honourable friend the Home Secretary on 29th November which of course is concerned with those who entered before 1st January 1973.
The global quota of special vouchers was raised from 3,500 to 5,000 a year in 1975. Excluding those heads of household who arrived with special vouchers, a total of 1,980 United Kingdom passport holders, mainly dependants, were admitted for settlement on arrival in the United Kingdom during the first six months of 1977. The monthly figures were as follows:
Acceptances for settlement on arrival January-June 1977 United Kingdom passport holders excluding those with special vouchers January 257 February 249 March 263 April 352 May 462 June 397 1,980 Those dependants of United Kingdom passport holders who did not themselves hold such passports are not included because they cannot be separately identified.