TNAG-0896-FCO40-1106-Refugees-from-Vietnam-in-Hong-Kong-Vietnamese-boat-people-1979 — Page 72

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MINUTES OF A MEETING TO DISCUSS ITEMS OF COMMON INTEREST TO LOCAL AUTHORITIES AND VOLUNTARY ORGANISATIONS CONCERNED WITH REFUGEE RECEPTION AND RESETTLEMENT 23 AUGUST 1979 - ROOM 468 - HOME OFFICE.

Present: Mr Head

Home Office, Chairman

Mr Goddard)

Mr Whitlam )

HO

SCF

Mr Crawley)

Mr Hodgetts)

Hír Alexander )

Miss Pearce )

Ockenden Venture

Mrs Hale

AMA

Mr Denton

Mr Sloman

Miss Rice-Jones

SCOR

Mr Cunningham)

ACC

Mr Stazicker

}

Mr Webb

FCO

Mr Carroll)

Mr Wrenn

PSA

ADC

Mr Hickman)

Mr Nicol

DOE

Mr Crofton

LBA

Mr Thorpe

DES

Mr Simpson )

Mr Woolf

GLC

Mr Gang

DHSS

Mr Clarke )

Mr Reed

DE

Mr O'Neill

New Towns Association

Mr Lee

Miss Friedeberg )

BCAR

Mr Hood

Mr Laloe

The Chairman opened the meeting by outlining the present position on refugee reception and resettlement. He said that the Government were anxious to make a quick start on taking in refugees in consequence of its commitment to accept 10,000 made prior to the Geneva Conference in July, together with the 1,500 accepted earlier in the year by the previous Government. The present Government proposed to take the 1,000 remaining from the 1,500 original quota during September and an additional 500 each month for October, November and December from the 10,000.

No definite commitment on a period of entry for the quota as a whole had as yet been given since there were a number of constraints to be taken into account. These included the number of new reception centres that might be opened and ability of voluntary organisations to co-ordinate the throughput of refugees into resettlement and employment, and the availability of permanent accommodation. The immediate purpose of the meeting was to identify areas of activity by the voluntary bodies in which local authorities had an interest and with which they would need to be kept in touch. The Chairman explained that the question of possible additional finance for local authorities with reception centres in their areas would soon be considered at a separate meeting to which local authorities concerned, together with local authority associations, would be invited to attend.

I. RECEPTION CENTRES

The Chairman reviewed the present reception centre arrangements. It appeared that sufficient accommodation would be available during September to accommodate the 1,000 refugees expected, although reception thereafter would depend to a large extent on resettlement into local authority accommodation. The voluntary refugee bodies were looking for further accommodation for those due to arrive during October December, but,it might be necessary for the Home Office to open a new large reception centre, capable of accommodating at least 600 refugees. Each of

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