L
SECTION 2 CONDUCT OF THE PROGRAMME
Central Organisation
6. The Joint Committee for Refugees from Vietnam was set up by the Home Secretary in October 1979, after the announcement of the second quota, of 10,000 refugees from Hong Kong, in order to provide assistance to the voluntary agencies in dealing with this large expansion of the refugee programme.
It consists of representatives of the voluntary agencies operating the programme and the Home Office, under the Chairmanship of Sir Arthur Peterson, KCB, MVO. The agencies represented were, initially, the British Council for Aid to Refugees, Ockenden Venture and the Save the Children Fund. In December 1981 BCAR merged with the Standing Conference on Refugees and became the British Refugee Council. In July 1981 a new agency, Refugee Action, was set up to undertake the settlement work in the area in which the Save the Children Fund had been responsible for reception and initial settlement. The Committee has been supported by a small secretariat seconded from the Home Office, to whose energy and enthusiasm we would like to pay a very sincere tribute. It is no small matter to bring so many people to this country from half-way across the world, and the work which the secretariat undertook in organising the arrangements for the selection of refugees in Hong Kong and for their orderly transfer to this country was a major contribution to the success of the programme.
7. The secretariat has also provided the Committee with invaluable support in dealing with the problems of reception and settlement in this country. Their knowledge of the workings of Government departments and local government was of great assistance in dealing with the many practical problems which arose in the early stages of the programme, and we have benefited greatly from their advice on matters of policy, such as the timing of appeals to local authorities for housing.
8. In addition to the Joint Committee an associated Advisory Council comprising Government departments and other voluntary organisations was also established under the same Chairmanship. Over the period of the programme there have been 33 meetings of the Joint Committee and 6 of the Advisory Council.
Selection
9. As indicated in the introduction, the Vietnamese whom we have received in the United Kingdom come not simply from the announced quotas but also from those rescued at sea by British registered ships and those admitted on family reunion criteria. Though the bulk of refugees have arrived in recent years, the flow started in 1975. Some 70 per cent are ethnic Chinese and over 60 per cent are from North Vietnam; there are slightly more males (53 per cent) than females (47 per cent); 60 per cent are aged less than 25 years;
40 entered the country in family groups of 5 or more.
per cent
10.
The quota of refugees accepted by the United Kingdom was filled in a series of selection visits made to Hong Kong, Malaysia and Thailand by Home Office Immigration Department officials and representatives of the voluntary agencies. Latterly the Hong Kong Immigration Department were given discretion to make selection under laid down criteria and subject to Home Office confirmation.
11. To its credit the United Kingdom's selection criteria were humanely drawn
2.