TNAG-1275-FCO40-1625-Resettlement-of-Vietnamese-refugees-from-Hong-Kong-1983 — Page 178

The report also refers to the educational needs of adults, particularly Meir difficulties over learning English as a second language. The Secretaries of State for Education and Science and for Scotland have, of course, nov

received the report on the Tutor Training Project funded by Government, iiich

appears to have been a very useful and welcome initiative. They will, I understand, be commenting separately on this in due course. As regards

the availability of funding for students in further education, the

Government's policy is to enable refugee students to benefit from the same

arrangements as apply to home students. This, as the Committee recognises,

is a major advance. It would be invidious, however, for the Government to allow Vietnamese students better treatment than this by granting mandatory awards for "requalification" for example and with present financial

constraints there are bound to be limits on the availability of discretizzamy

awards from local education authorities. As for the supplementary benefit

regulations, these already make provision for refugees who have been in

Great Britain for less than 12 months and who need to learn English to

equip themselves to obtain employment to follow a full-time course of up to 6 (or exceptionally 9) months whilst still in receipt of benefit. To

go further than this might prejudice the basic principle that supplementa

benefit is not the appropriate means of support for full-time students.

There is, however, I understand, considerable scope for unemployed people

to undertake part-time study or training under the 21 hour rule to which the

report refers. As regards the recommendation that section 11 of the Loca Government Act 1966 should be amended to cover refugees who are not from the Commonwealth, I regret that I can offer no early prospect of legislati

to amend the section.

Turning to employment, the evidence of the Vietnamese ill-fittedness for

employment in this country and their depressing level of unemployment is clearly set out in the report. I hope, however, I can reassure you that

Government for its part is making a determined effort to improve this

position. I understand that as a matter of priority the Manpower Services Commission will be reviewing its current policy and guidance to local

offices on the help to be given in settling refugees into suitable empley-

ment. Particular attention will be given to the Vietnamoso, who still

need considerable resettlement and a close watch kept on their progress. MSC will continue to encourage the involvement of Vietnamese refugees in

their programmes designed to enhance their acceptability to employers, main as the Community Programme. In addition, there are continuing development:

in the field of special help for long-term unemployed people and MSC

will be examining ways in which the application of policy can best be targeted at specific groups such as the Vietnamese. The main contribution of