CONFIDENTIAL
Mr Quantrill
1.
Seen by the Quantrill
13.11
Your minute of 7 November confirmed that the OD and Cabinet decisions on resettlement of Vietnamese refugees from Hong Kong set an annual limit of 3,000 intake.
1.
I discussed this again with Mr de Deney in the Home Office on 9 November. He confirmed what he had forecast on 1 November, that Mr Whitelaw was not disposed to re-open the question of the rate of intake with his Cabinet colleagues. In parenthesis he added that the UNHCR representative in London, Mr Heidler, had recently seen the Home Secretary and had given a very bad impression.
He said, however, that there should be no problem in aiming at getting at least 3,000 into this country between now and 31 March 1980, ie the end of the financial year: the Home Office could argue if challenged that they had liberty at least to do this. In fact it would be impossible to set a rigid programme of intake. The voluntary organisations in the UK had now discovered that their ability to handle the intake of refugees was considerably less than they had anticipated, largely because of the problem of ultimate resettlement. In addition, the selection team in Hong Kong was finding it very difficult identifying people who were willing to go to the UK - or even to leave Hong Kong at all! Mr de Deney would be reviewing the situation with Mr Woodfield and other officials, in
the light of Mr Woodfield's visit to Hong Kong If it became clear that we would in fact be able to bring in 3,000 before 1 April 1980 he doubted whether there would be any need to submit to Ministers again since this would almost certainly be the maximum the voluntary organisations could absorb.
12 November 1979
cc PS/Mr Blaker
Mr Cortazzi SEAD UND
CONFIDENTIAL
DF Murray
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