§ Mr. Arthur Lewisasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he can give an assurance that all children and babies of countries other than those from the Asian sub-continent 2W are treated in exactly the same way, when entering Great Britain to join their friends, and relatives, for fixed periods and as permanent residents, as those who enter from the Asian sub-continent.
§ Mr. RaisonThe treatment of a child wishing to enter the United Kingdom temporarily or for settlement depends on the circumstances of the case. The relevant rules are substantially the same whether the child is a citizen of a Commonwealth country or a foreign national—other than a national of a member State of the EEC. The immigration rules require immigration officers to carry out their duties without regard to the race, colour or religion of people seeking to enter the United Kingdom.
§ Mr. Arthur Lewisasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he will give, for the longest and most convenient stated period of time, the numbers and age groups of persons prevented or delayed entry into Great Britain, together with their countries of origin and giving comparisons to show to what extent those from the Asian subcontinent are treated in a worse manner than those from Australia, New Zealand, Canada and America.
§ Mr. RaisonNumbers of people refused leave to enter, according to the countries issuing their passports, are published annually in the " Control of Immigration Statistics "—for 1978 see table 1 of Cmnd. 7565.
§ Mr. Tilleyasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he will bring up to date the details of applications for settlement for wives and children from the Indian sub-continent which his predecessor gave in a parliamentary answer, on 17 June 1978.
§ Mr. Whitelaw,pursuant to his reply [Official Report, 27 June 1979; Vol. 969 c. 182], gave the following answer:
Details of total new applications received—over 90 per cent. of which were from wives and children—applications granted and applications refused, in each country of the Indian subcontinent for each quarter of 1977 and 3W 1978, were published in the House of Lords Official Report, 12 June 1979 Vol. 400, c. 595–596.
The total numbers of applicants awaiting a decision at 31st December 1978 were:
Bangladesh 13,100 India 2,966* Pakistan 11,762 Total 27,858 * Excluding Calcutta and Madras, where the numbers awaiting a decision were very small.
§ Mr. Tilley(1) asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many New Commonwealth and Pakistan citizens were admitted to Great Britain under the distressed relatives category for 1977 and 1978;
(2) how many citizens of the New Commonwealth and Pakistan were admitted to Great Britain under the provisions for parents, grandparents and children over 18 years in 1977 and 1978.
§ Mr. Raison,pursuant to his reply [Official Report, 20 June 1979; Vol. 968, c. 549], gave the following answer:
The only figures available are the total numbers accepted for settlement on arrival under the provisions for distressed relatives, for parents, grandparents and children over 18, and for certain other miscellaneous categories which are published annually by individual country in " Control of Immigration Statistics "—tables 3(a) and 3(b) of the issue for 1978, Cmnd. 7565. For the New Commonwealth countries and Pakistan there were 3,007 such acceptances in 1977 and 2,848 in 1978.
§ Mr. Tilleyasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many New Commonwealth and Pakistan citizens applied for entry to Great Britain under the distressed relatives provision in 1977 and 1978;
(2) how many citizens of the New Commonwealth and Pakistan applied for entry under the provisions for parents, grandparents and children over 18 years in 1977 and 1978.
§ Mr. Raison,pursuant to his reply [Official Report, 20 June 1979; Vol. 968, c. 549], gave the following answer:
4WThe only figures available are the total numbers of applications under the provisions for distressed relatives, for parents, grandparents and children over 18, and for certain other miscellaneous categories. In the New Commonwealth countries and Pakistan there were 2,900 such applications in 1977 and 3,700 in 1978.