4.
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Mr Raison commented that housing was perhaps even more important than unemployment. Sir M MacLehose asked whether the refugees needed council housing. Mr Raison said that there was no real alternative.
5. Sir M MacLehose said that he understood the Home Secretary's problem but before too long the UK's unwillingness to accept any more refugees would come out. We would then be subject to serious criticism that, as the prime movers in the 1979 Geneva Conference, we were now frustrating the completion of the exercise by refusing to take a very small number of refugees.
6.
Mr Whitelaw said that we would still be fulfilling our Imperial responsibility by taking people from the Indian sub-continent. Sir M MacLehose asked whether a distinction could not be made between refugees and immigrants. Mr Whitelaw said that this had been possible up to now but was becoming more difficult because of pressure in the Conservative Party. There was nothing more that he could do sub rosa. He would have to put the question to his Cabinet colleagues, stating the problem and leaving it to them to decide. He would have to explain the difficulties from his point of view but he recognised that the foreign policy arguments were strong and he would not resist them. He was afraid that his colleagues would not agree. It they did agree he would, of course, not oppose them although he would have to say that the Home Office could not meet any new quota out of its existing financial resources.
7. Mr Raison said that the extra cost of a fresh quota might be about £5 million. This was accounted for by the cost of keeping the camps going and by social security benefits.
Sir M MacLehose said that the worst course would be to go on record that the UK would not take any more refugees.
8.
9.
Mr Whitelaw said that for the moment they would neither say yes nor no. Sir M MacLehose commented that there would be questions in the House. Mr Whitelaw agreed. In this case, the Home Office would say that they were completing the existing quota. If they were pressed in answer to an oral question, they would say that their first taks was to complete the existing quota; they would then have to review the situation.
10. Sir M MacLehose said that would be all right for the time being but what would happen when the current quota was finished? More was needed than simply a continuation of family reunions and boat rescue cases. What figure could the Home Secretary accept from Hong Kong? Mr Whitelaw said that without going to his colleagues the answer must be none.
11. Sir M MacLehose asked whether the main problem was money Mr Whitelaw said that it was a combination of money, jobs and prejudice. Mr Raison added housing to this list.
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