ER.
would urge them to look at neighbouring areas where refugees have been settled. I think they will be encouraged by what they see. To those authorities that already have experience of the Vietnamese I would say, please consider, in the light of your own experience, whether a few more houses could now be offered. I am,
of course,
aware of the difficulties facing local authorities at the present time, and we would be remiss if we did not also look to the private sector and in other directions for permanent accommodation. But
despite all these difficulties I am glad to say that offers are still coming in and I hope that we will be able to find ways of ensuring that enough housing becomes available.
Education
Refugees need not only housing but, as I have said, survival skills.
This means, above all, the ability to communicate in English. For this reason the refugees are given in their time in reception centres intensive tuition in English at Government expense. But it takes longer than the three or four months spent in these centres to become fully proficient in English or even, in some cases, to acquire the skills needed to hold down jobs. The voluntary agencies are, I know, aware of the need to complement the provision of English courses made by the local education authorities in the areas of resettlement and I welcome the initiative taken by the agencies in looking into what the voluntary sector can provide to meet this need. The Government appreciate the special needs of refugee students in further and higher education and are giving sympathetic consideration to the issue of the level of fees applicable to refugees and their eligibility for awards for further and higher education.
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t.