B
C
CONFIDENTIAL
on
SCORRI commitment to accept
to accept some 60 refugees from elsewhere
in South East Asia, they will now be concentrating filling this other "quota" under the same relaxed family reunion criteria. They have told us that Home Office Ministers will not be prepared to take any decision on a further special offtake from Hong Kong is envisaged until at least after Mr Waddington's forthcoming trip to Hong
Kong planned for the end of this month.
5. In the light of the position adopted by Home Office Ministers, their officials have advised us that any request for a prolongation of the present offtake from Hong Kong,
pending Ministerial consideration of a further offtake in
the light of Mr Waddington's visit, would need
need to be made at Ministerial level. (They feel that an approach at Secretary of State level might be more promising than one from Mr Renton to Mr Waddington). They also believe that
Home Office Ministers will
in any event wish to see the
case we may make for a new offtake considered by H
Committee in due course.
6.
resettlement
We have informed Hong Kong of the latest position
regarding
to the UK. They have in response expressed concern at the presentational difficulties that
the end of the current UK offtake will cause both in local
terms and in the light of our efforts to persuade others to
do more in resettlement terms.
7.
For the reasons discussed in the attached draft, I
believe that we must press the Home Office now to consider
the damaging consequences of any hiatus in our offtake from
Hong Kong. In the short term we need their agreement that
family reunion cases should continue to be taken from the
territory pending a decision on a new offtake. I think it
is reasonable for this to be agreed bilaterally with the
Home Office.
Ministers' decision on the current
resettlement programme was expressed in terms capable of
flexible interpretation. Moreover there are many cases
above the original estimate of 500 which have now been
CONFIDENTIAL