TNAG-1802-FCO40-2562-Hong-Kong-Vietnamese-refugees-resettlement-in-the-UK-1988 — Page 191

immigration officials.

Most of the more skilled refugees have,

of course, left Hong Kong some time ago so it would be difficult

and would give the wrong signals to go further towards an

exclusively skills based package at this stage.

11. We have in the past had problems with resettling boat people

here and those problems are not going to disappear entirely; we

anticipate for example that some housing agencies will be hard

pressed to find accommodation for the new intake. However with

initial selection of refugees on the basis proposed, we think

that an expansion of existing language training programmes

provided in camps in Hong Kong and, after arrival in the UK, good

linkages into the new Employment Training Programme (which

provides individual assessments and training programmes to

enhance the employment and self employment prospects of those

using it) can reduce previous difficulties.

12. In terms of resources we estimate that up to an additional

£0.5 million each year will be needed from the Home Office for

grant aid to voluntary organisations working with these refugees.

Obviously they will also use the existing statutory services on

the basis of need but actual refugee uptake of services is not

monitored by either service providers or the Home Office. We

obtain only very generalised pictures of the circumstances of

refugees in this country from voluntary organisations working

with them. However at a rate of only 480 new arrivals per year

the burden falling on any one service is likely to be

containable.

Moreover the current package of proposals aims to

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