HC Deb 17 May 1989 vol 153 cc207-8W
Mr. Darling

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list(a) the number of notices of intention to deport under the Immigration Act 1971 and (b) the number of persons subsequently removed for each week in 1989; if he will indicate the average length of time between issuing a notice of intention to deport and deportation in 1988 and 1989; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Renton

The latest available information about the number of notices of intention to deport and the number of persons removed under the deportation powers is contained in table 14 of the Home Office statistical bulletin 10/89 "Control of Immigration: Statistics—Fourth Quarter and Year 1988", a copy of which is in the Library. Corresponding information for the first quarter of 1989 is due to be published next month. The average length of time beween the issue of a notice of intention to deport and removal under the deportation powers is not readily available and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. The period varies greatly from case to case.

Mr. David Martin

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he will make a statement about the outcome of the meeting of EC Immigration Ministers and of Trevi Ministers in Madrid on 12 May.

Mr. Hurd

The meeting of Ministers responsible for immigration, attended also by a vice-president of the Commission, was the sixth such meeting following an initiative taken during the United Kingdom presidency in 1986 to help prepare the EC's approach to the creation of the single market by end 1992 so far as the movement of persons is concerned.

The meeting on 12 May took a significant step forward on asylum by instructing the official group to prepare a draft convention to deal with the so-called "refugee in orbit" problem. This would establish the criteria for determing which state should be responsible for examining an application for asylum. The meeting reviewed the other work done by officials, and in particular noted with satisfaction that the first regular bulletin on forged and false documents had been produced in April in accordance with the group's earlier recommendations. I welcome this example of solid, practical co-operation on shared operational problems.

I took the opportunity of the meeting to re-state the Government's view of the interpretation of the relevant provision of the Single European Act and the frontier controls of persons, as endorsed by the House on 4 May at column 417.

The later meeting of Trevi Ministers took further measures to enhance collaboration between European Community countries to combat terrorism and other crime. Agreement was reached on the study of forged documents, streamlined procedures for secure communications between Trevi countries, further exchanges on specialist matters, and the establishment in all member states of national drugs intelligence units similar to our own, as well as the later examination of the establishment of a European drugs intelligence unit. Ministers agreed to further work on closer co-operation between police forces.

They also considered the preliminary work of the Group established within Trevi to study border checks and other security measures post 1992 in order that the changes to take place should not adversely affect the prevention of terrorism, drug trafficking and other serious crime in the Community.