§ Mr. ClappisonTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many marriages have been reported by the Registrar General to his Department as marriages entered into for the purpose of breaching immigration control since 1994; [78604]
(2) how many reports of sham marriages from the Registrar General to his Department have resulted in action being taken against one or both of the parties for breach of immigration law or control in each year for the last 10 years. [78603]
§ Mr. Mike O'BrienThe number of marriages reported by the Registrar General in each of the past 5 years is given in the following table:
549W
Year Number of marriages reported 1994 404 1995 467 1996 519 1997 354 1998 450 It is not possible to identify those cases where enforcement action has occurred as a result of this notification as these are not distinguished from other enforcement cases. The information is not available centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate costs.