EAR.
present compliment of 20 and an additional 10. The extra 200 refugees would be composed of previous United Kingdom refusals (numbering 100 plus) and the balance would be made up by long stayers and others perhaps those with special skills or those who had been sponsored.
7.
Mr Renton said that the proposed increase was not great and doubted that any additional quota agreed by the United Kingdom (even if agreement were secured) would result in a huge increase from other resettlement countries. Mr Flesher noted that there had been considerable difficulty in reaching a decision on the original 468 and since then the whole climate for selling this idea to Government had shifted for the worse There had been a world-wide increase in applications for asylum and as procedures to handle the applications became clogged up, so grew the reluctance of each country to help. Mr Flesher said that it might have been possible to contemplate a solution for a finite number of people but the main problem as far as the Home Office was concerned was 'the bottomless pit' of refugees.
8. Lord Glenarthur went on to point out that the United Kingdom commitment, to refugees found at sea had been unfulfilled for the past three years, those accepted numbering only 83, 58 and 53 respectively. Mr Renton agreed to look into this and to consider He very seriously the proposals Lord Glenarthur had put forward. had to say however that he was not very hopeful that agreement to accepting a further 200 refugees could be reached. He would however let Lord Glenarthur know the outcome of our deliberations as soon as possible.
cc: Mr Sanderson
Mr Hyde
Mr Morris
Mr Fries
Mrs Fair
Mr Flesher
Miss Dale
Colette McAuster
C MCALISTER
Assistant Private Secretary
13
APRIL 1988
Mr Lidington
PS/Lord Glenarthur
(With Annex A
Principal Resettlement Destinations)