HL Deb 20 October 1981 vol 424 c745WA
Baroness Elles

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Whether they will publish:

  1. (i) the number of United Kingdom and Colonies citizens with right of abode who were born outside the United Kingdom;
  2. (ii) the number of registrations of births of children born to citizens of the United Kingdom and Colonies in foreign countries, by year and country, since 1970;
  3. (iii) the number (or estimated number) of citizens of the United Kingdom and Colonies, with right of abode, resident in the nine other member states of the European Community.

Lord Belstead

(i) No reliable estimates can be made of the number of United Kingdom and Colonies citizens with right of abode who were born outside the United Kingdom.

(ii) Summary figures for the number of registrations at missions abroad of births of children born to citizens of the United Kingdom and Colonies are given in the table below; however, such totals are under-estimates of births to citizens of the United Kingdom and Colonies overseas because there are no birth registers at missions in certain Commonwealth countries such as Australia, Canada, New Zealand and Zimbabwe. The information in the table below could be broken down for individual countries only at disproportionate cost.

REGISTRATION OF BIRTHS AT MISSIONS ABROAD
Thousands
In Commonwealth countries(1) In Non-Commonwealth countries Total
1970 … … 4.8 10.7 15.5
1971 … … 3.5 11.1 14.6
1972 … … 2.7 11.6 14.3
1973 … … 2.7 12.4 15.1
1974 … … 2.2 12.1 14.3
1975 … … 2.1 12.6 14.6
1976 … … 1.9 13.0 14.9
1977 … … 1.5 13.2 14.7
1978 … … 1.5 13.0 14.5
1979 … … 1.2 12.3 13.5
(1)Excluding Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Zimbabwe.

(iii) For estimates of the number of United Kingdom and Colonies citizens resident in the nine other member states of the European Community, I would refer my noble friend to the reply given to a Question by the noble Lord, Lord Bethell, on 18th February 1981 (Hansard, vol. 417, col. 768).