TNAG-1910-FCO40-2714-Financial-assistance-from-the-UK-Government-to-Vietnamese-re-1989 — Page 56

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HM Treasury

RESTRICTED

Parliament Street

London SW1P 3AG Telephone 01 270 4895

HKB 243 / !!

Our ref: FMA Z/57

(102)

G F Griffiths Esq

Finance Department

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Room 2/114

Old Admiralty Building

Whitehall

LONDON

SW1A 2AH

Dear Gedt,

Mr Fostmany Манажа

10 July 1989

рд

Pl consider whether the

Submission needs to be revised in

VIETNAMESE BOAT PEOPLE IN HONG KONG: CONTINGENCIES FUND

light of this

ADVANCE FROM THE

W12/

Thank you for your letter of 6 July to Peter Davis, who is heavily engaged chairing a promotion board at the moment, seeking an advance of £4.25 million from the Contingencies Fund to provide temporary accommodation for Vietnamese boat people in Hong Kong.

2. The Foreign Secretary originally sought and obtained the Chief Secretary's authority for immediate expenditure of £4.25 million (in his minute of 2 June) on the ground that this was an urgent and politically unavoidable commitment to which we must respond swiftly and positively. He specified the purposes for which the funds were sought as the conversion of the barracks to provide accommodation for 7,000, together with the 100 marquee tents, both of which had been requested by the Governor.

3.

In his reply of 6 June the Chief Secretary agreed to a discretionary claim on the Reserve of up to £4.25 million. He specified that this was for 100 marquee tents and for converting the barracks at a figure, to be agreed by officials, of up to £4

million

4. We cannot accept that the current proposal to accommodate 18,000 people falls within the terms of this agreement. When you first mentioned to me that Hong Kong was no longer making the barracks available, and that alternatives were being pursued, I said we

would need to know how many people would be accommodated under a revised proposal. That was because I was particularly anxious that the expenditure would still provide for 7,000 people.

5. The furthest we can go within the limits agreed by the Chief Secretary is to accept, instead of converting the barracks for 7,000 people, prefabricated buildings on the Whitehead site for up to 9,000 people, at a cost of up to £2.5 million.

would also be willing to accept your proposals for £0.5 million being spent on marquee tents, ie the excess over £0.25 million coming from your unallocated margin on Vote 2. This means that the original objectives have been met, or exceeded, at greater value for money.

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