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Registry
and rejeevad ou Guí and GVM 212 (170) JS 24/2
Hory pot
Mr. Downing
Reference...
GVM 6/2
pl. enter & connect with the P.P. last year where Ministers decided that an interim voucher scheme sh'd. be introduced to control immigration during the period between the Bill's introduction and the inception of the permanent work-permit scheme.
Mrs. Griffiths has made a wokmanlike attempt to devise an interim employment voucher scheme that, when agreed by the Departments concerned, will operate for the rest of this year; i.e. until the permanet arrangements come into effect on 1 January 1972.
2. The scheme, of course, still permits a Commonwealth immigrant to come here on an employment voucher, which means there will be no control after entry. Its main effect will be
to bring about a substantial reduction in the numbers of unskilled immigrants. This is what
Ministers wanted. To do this, many of the
XXXXX features that will be incorporated in the permanent scheme have been adopted for the temporary scheme; eg the introduction of job
criteria.
į
3. Given its aims, I do not think we can take exception to this interim scheme and suggest we so inform the interested departments.
The special quotas for Malta & the dependent territories, XXX which we agreed for the
work-permit scheme are included in the interim
> proposals. In this connection, there are two
points of detail on which we shall be expected
to comment.
4. First, Malta. Under the permanent arrangements
Maltese immigrants will be able to come here for any type of employment, as they can now, and its proposed this privelege w be continued under the
the pax interim scheme. This can be welcomed. At present, the test of 'availabilty of local labour is not applied before a voucher is issued to a Maltese applicant. We have agreed that it should be under the permanent scheme. It is
now proposed (para. 20) that the test should apply under the interim scheme.
Lincrease of
5. The same situation obtains with the Dependent Territories (para. 21). Their emigrants to
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