2
Mr Gardner (Migration & Visa Department)
IMMIGRATION CONTROL
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Mr Gaminara
(HKD)
Mr Massingham
(P & DTD) Mr Webster
(WID)
Mr Counsell
(EAD)
Mr Goodall
(WAD)
1
Your minute of 2 March.
2.
I have no particular comment on the interim measures proposed. They will cut unskilled immigrants in particular and therefore Pakistan is likely to be particularly affected. Curiously, however, the reaction of some of the Pakistan communities in Yorkshire has been favourable. You may already have seen the attached cutting from the "Yorkshire Post" of 1 March.
3.
I am much more concerned about the manner of announcing the interim scheme. I see from Mrs Griffiths' letter of 23 February to Mr Bohan of the Home Office, attached to your minute, that "It is expected that any announcement about this interim scheme will be linked with proposals concerning an increase in the number of special vouchers for UKPH." Mrs Griffiths goes on to say that if our negotiations with the East African countries have not been successfully concluded, the Government may wish to announce the interim scheme in the context only of a proposal to reduce the number of Commonwealth citizens admitted with employment vouchers from about 4,000 to about 2,000 a year and its intention to effect some reduction in the rate of Commonwealth immigration. This would be on the assump- tion that there had not yet been any agreement with the East African Governments concerning arrangements for UK passport holders in those countries.
4. So far as the South Asian countries are concerned, South Asian Department would want to be consulted about the terms of any public announcement of the interim scheme. If this is linked in any way with arrangements for UKPH in East Africa we should want to do this in such a way that it did not appear that the additional vouchers for East African Asians were being produced at the expense of immigrants from other Commonwealth countries. During his talks with President Yahya Khan in Pakistan and with Mrs Gandhi in India the Prime Minister told both in confidence of the arrangements we had in mind to ease the position of East African Asians and these were welcomed particularly by Mrs Gandhi. No impression was given during the talks in Delhi that an improvement in the situation of East African Asians would be achieved at the cost of other Commonwealth immigrants.
4 March 1971
KC Byatt
South Asian Dept