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the voluntary organisations explained the manner in which they had sought to find new reception centres. The Save the Children Fund had circulated their requirements to Directors of Social Services within local authorities. The Ockenden Venture had asked their local constituent groups to search out any possible accommodation that might be available in the area while the BCAR had held meetings recently with individual local authorities to impress upon them their needs. For the AMA, Mr Sloman told the meeting that his Association was alerting its member authorities of the requirements for reception centres. The Chairman assured the meeting that the Home Office or voluntary refugee organisations would liaise with individual local authorities at the earliest possible stage when a site for a new reception centre had been chosen. Mrs Hale, for the Association of Metropolitan Authorities, said that her Association would prefer to resolve the difficulties of finance before the question of new reception centres was considered since she felt that some authorities would be less willing to provide education facilities for new refugees if no additional funds were to be forthcoming from central Government. The Chairman said that English language teaching for refugees was extremely important and a necessary condition for resettlement. He noted the points put to him by Mr Hodgetts (SCF) about the additional burdens imposed on local authorities by the presence of larger reception centres and the difficulties local government was finding in arranging specialised teaching at a time of further economic cuts, a point put by Mr O'Neill (New Towns Association). In reply to a question from Miss Pearce (Ockenden Venture) about the Home Office funding individuals recruited for language teaching directly by voluntary organisations, the Chairman told the meeting that each case would be considered on its merits.
II.
HOUSING
The Chairman said that the Home Office assessment of the number of places likely to be needed for the first half of 1980 was about 2,500. For the Association of District Councils Mr Carroll told the meeting that this figure did not seem impossible to achieve. He added that his Association had offered 850 houses so far in 1979. During further discussion on this item it was agreed that the Home Office should consider providing a memorandum of guidance to local authorities which would be embodied in the text of a letter to local authorities associations. A number of representatives of local authority associations and voluntary organisations present at the meeting felt that with increasing numbers of refugees arriving in the UK there might be a consequent hardening of attitudes by local authorities, the Chairman's expressed hope that the numbers of refugees he proposed should be resettled in each local authority would not be more than around 50 in order to try and minimise the problems of acceptability.
A general preference was expressed for one single point of contact with the voluntary bodies on housing offers. The Chairman suggested that the memorandum might refer to the educational background and jobs of the refugees prior to their departure for the UK in order to minimise fears of further unemployment within local authority areas. In addition local authorities should be advised to liaise direct with the British Council for Aid to Refugees on offers of housing. For the Association of County Councils, Mr Stazicker asked the representatives of the Association of District Councils to stress to their membership the importance of links with Social Service Departments and Education Departments of County Councils in any advice to their member authorities about the provision of houses.
III.
EDUCATION
For the DES Mr Thorpe told the meeting that he was aware of the need for consideration of the refugee dimension in the phrase "ordinary residents" in the context of educational awards. His Department would be considering the matter further.
2.
No comments yet.
Private notes are available after approval.