Immigration and Nationality Department
unar House 40 Wellesley Road Croydon CR9 2BY
Telephone 081-769228 (GTN 3822)
HOME OFFICE
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2
Fax No 081 760 1197
A R Paul Esq (by fax) Hong Kong Department
Foreign & Commonwealth Office WHITEHALL
Your reference
Our reference
Dew
Alan
Date
8 January 1991
HKD 213/1
RECEIVED AT REGISTRY 2 4 JAN 1991
INDEX
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DEPENDENT TERRITORIES QUOTA
Following Mr Hogg's letter of 21 December to the Secretary of State for Employment (which has only just reached us although we knew it was on the way) we need
need to try and sort out the text of the announcement of the abolition of the quota for Hong Kong.
It might be as well to see if we
can reach agreement at official level before we resume the Ministerial correspondence.
We
We are clear that we have to be able to explain the decision. will be asked why the change has been made and we have to have something to say. The Home Office does not have a strong interest in whether an explanation is given in the initial announcement or as a line to take in response to further enquiries. This seems to us to be very much a matter for DE who will have to deal with the extra work generated by enquiries if the explanation is not given initially. Needless to say the explanation must be true. As the quota is being partially retained it is not possible to offer an explanation based solely on immigration control grounds and we have to be able to say why withdrawal only applies to Hong Kong. It would be difficult to deny that there was some link with the recently introduced package of assurances for Hong Kong.
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We stand by the formula proposed in the Home Secretary's letter of 17 December. The objective of the Hong Kong package is that by giving assurances to key people there will be a wider improvement in confidence benefiting others in the colony. This is certainly part of our public position see for example columns 1568, 1573, 1650 and 1651 of the second reading debate on 19 April 1990. We understood that the UK Government was concerned about emigration from the colony at all levels and the work permit quota certainly increases emigration (albeit on a fairly small scale).