being permitted to land temporarily and there is good cooperation between the Hong Kong authorities, the UNHCR and the
International Committee for European Migration. Of the 406 "boat people" currently in Hong Kong some 200 have no immediate prospect of resettlement in other countries.
4. Following a request from the Hong Kong Government we asked the Home Office on 20 January to accept a further batch of, perhaps, 50 "boat people". No decision on this has yet been reached because the Home Secretary has been considering the wider question of the UK's policy towards accepting "boat people". We originally laid down a quota of 116 "boat people" which has now been filled, indeed exceeded. The Home Office have recently informed us that the Home Secretary has now decided that in
future the UK will accept any refugee picked up by a UK- registered vessel and taken to the vessel's scheduled next port of call, who is not accepted for resettlement by another country. The Home Secretary is not giving this guarantee in respect of other British, i.e. dependent territory, vessels but he is expected to give sympathetic consideration to such
This decision has not yet been made public.
cases.
5.
Since the original request was made Mr Luard has written on 7 March to Dr Summerskill, Parliamentary Under-Secretary at the Home Office, confirming our belief in the need for an additional 'quota' to help Hong Kong. The Immigration Department of the Home Office have informed us that they are content to agree to our request. The delay is being caused by the need to make new general arrangements to provide funds for the voluntary agencies who will be responsible for all refugees. We understand that Ministers will shortly be consulted on this
point.