§ Mr. SillarsTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many persons detained under the Immigration Act 1971 have been held at police stations in excess of seven days in(a) Scotland, (b) England and Wales and (c) Northern Ireland.
§ Mr. RentonI am not aware of any such current case.
§ Mr. SillarsTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many persons detained under the Immigration Act 1971 are at present held in police stations in(a) Scotland, (b) England and Wales and (c) Northern Ireland.
§ Mr. RentonOn 7 December 1988 the number of persons detained in police stations under the Immigration Act 1971 were(a) in Scotland-nil (b) in England and Wales-37 and (c) in Northern Ireland-nil.
§ Mr. SillarsTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether immigration officers have been instructed to use endorsement under section 3(3)(b) of the Immigration Act 1971 in respect of all persons who are eligible for such endorsement.
§ Mr. RentonNo. Immigration officers are instructed to make use of section 3(3)(b), which enables conditions of leave already granted to be re-imposed, where the passenger's circumstances following examination on arrival warrant its use.
§ Mr. SillarsTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many persons have been deported under section 3(5)(a) of the Immigration Act 1971 since the coming into force of the Immigration Act 1988; and how any persons were so deported in the same period preceding the coming into force of the 1988 Act;
(2) how many voluntary supervised departures have been effected (a) in the period since the coming into force of the Immigration Act 1988 and (b) in the same period preceding the coming into force of the 1988 Act.
460W
§ Mr. RentonInformation on the numbers of deportation orders enforced, and of persons removed under supervised departure procedures is published quarterly in table 14 of Home Office statistical bulletin "Control of Immigration: Statistics". Figures up to the second quarter of 1988—the period immediately preceding that in which the Immigration Act 1988 came into force —were published on 16 September 1988 in issue 27/88; figures for the third quarter—during which the Act came into force—will be published in the next bulletin in this series on 15 December. The extension of the supervised departure procedures under the Act came into force on 10 July 1988, and the other provisions of the Act relevant to deportation procedures on 1 August.
§ Mr. SillarsTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many persons deported from the United Kingdom in 1988 were detained, prior to their deportation, for(a) 110 days or less, (b) more than 110 days but less than six months and (c) more than six months.
§ Mr. RentonThe readily available information is given below and does not include those detained who were subsequently released before deportation. A total of 262 of the persons deported between 1 January and 30 September 1988 were detained under the Immigration Act 1971 prior to removal for the following periods:
Number Less than 3 months 217 3 to 6 months 35 More than 6 months 10
§ Mr. SillarsTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department in 1988 how many persons who were not held in detention were deported(a) 110 days or less, (b) more than 110 days but less than six months and (c) more than six months after the decision to deport was intimated.
§ Mr. RentonThe readily available information is as follows:
Ninety four persons who were not detained immediately prior to removal were deported under section 3(5)(a) and 3(5)(b) of the Immigration Act 1971 between 1 January and 30 September 1988. The number of cases and the respective periods between the issue of a notice of intention to deport and enforcement of the deportation orders were as follows:
Number Less than 3 months 11 3 to 6 months 6 More than 6 months 77 Information about deportation orders enforced under section 3(6) is not available in the same way. These deportations follow the recommendation of a court and the length of time taken to enforce deportation, if the recommendation is accepted, will vary considerably depending on the length of any custodial sentence imposed by the court.
§ Mr. DarlingTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what consideration he has given to allowing persons seeking leave to enter the United Kingdom who were aged 18 years or under and who were refused leave to enter and who wish to re-apply for leave relying on a DNA test to prove relationship.
461W
§ Mr. RentonA person who makes a fresh application when he is 18 years of age or older will normally be expected to meet the requirements set out in paragraph 51 and 52 of the immigration rules. We have under consideration a number of cases of over-age reapplicants who do not qualify for admission under the rules, but we are not yet in a position to announce any general conclusion.
§ Mr. DarlingTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he has any proposals to introduce the DNA testing scheme for persons seeking leave to enter the United Kingdom; if he has determined what charges would be imposed for such a service; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. RentonMy right hon. Friend announced on 26 July that we were considering whether DNA testing should continue to be left to private initiative or organised on a centrally run scheme. He indicated that the cost of any such scheme should not fall on the taxpayer. We shall announce our conclusions on these matters as soon as possible.