TNAG-0321-FCO40-357-Effect-of-1971-UK-Immigration-Bill-on-entry-of-Chinese-from--1971 — Page 82

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Registry

and rejeevad ou Guí and GVM 212 (170) JS 24/2

Hory pot

Mr. Downing

Reference...

GVM 6/2

pl. enter & connect with the P.P. last year where Ministers decided that an interim voucher scheme sh'd. be introduced to control immigration during the period between the Bill's introduction and the inception of the permanent work-permit scheme.

Mrs. Griffiths has made a wokmanlike attempt to devise an interim employment voucher scheme that, when agreed by the Departments concerned, will operate for the rest of this year; i.e. until the permanet arrangements come into effect on 1 January 1972.

2. The scheme, of course, still permits a Commonwealth immigrant to come here on an employment voucher, which means there will be no control after entry. Its main effect will be

to bring about a substantial reduction in the numbers of unskilled immigrants. This is what

Ministers wanted. To do this, many of the

XXXXX features that will be incorporated in the permanent scheme have been adopted for the temporary scheme; eg the introduction of job

criteria.

į

3. Given its aims, I do not think we can take exception to this interim scheme and suggest we so inform the interested departments.

The special quotas for Malta & the dependent territories, XXX which we agreed for the

work-permit scheme are included in the interim

> proposals. In this connection, there are two

points of detail on which we shall be expected

to comment.

4. First, Malta. Under the permanent arrangements

Maltese immigrants will be able to come here for any type of employment, as they can now, and its proposed this privelege w be continued under the

the pax interim scheme. This can be welcomed. At present, the test of 'availabilty of local labour is not applied before a voucher is issued to a Maltese applicant. We have agreed that it should be under the permanent scheme. It is

now proposed (para. 20) that the test should apply under the interim scheme.

Lincrease of

5. The same situation obtains with the Dependent Territories (para. 21). Their emigrants to

CONFIDENTIAL

/Britain