TNAG-0892-FCO40-1102-Refugees-from-Vietnam-in-Hong-Kong-Vietnamese-boat-people-1979 — Page 260

CONFIDENTIAL

26.

15.CAPACITY. FOR RECEIVING MORE REFUGEES

1. The fotal capacity of the reception accommodation now being used for the Vietnamese refugees by the voluntary refugee crganisations is between 1,500 and 2,000. The voluntary refugee

organisations think that they would be able to find extra

T

accommodation if this was necessary but it is not clear on what

scale. However, an influx of (say) over : 1,000 over a short

space of time while the present accommodation was still occupied

would almost certainly mean either that more camps would have

to be opened or that the Government would have to find other

suitable premises (eg redundant hospitals or teachers' training

colleges).

2. Factors which determine the length of time spent in reception

centres and, hence, also affect the capacity for receiving more

refugees are the availability of long-term housing and employment

opportunities.

3. So far, refugees have had to spend, as a general rule, little

more than 3-6 months in a reception centre, before they are

settled in permanent local authority housing. The voluntary

bodies have received an encouraging response from local authorities

in respect of the refugees who have arrived up to now;

their overall response to the situation created by the Sibonga

and the Roach Bank has yet to be tested.

have now offered 400-500 housing units

The GLC, however,

mostly in Greater London.

CONFIDENTIAL