CP(71) 58
COPY NO
0
U
10 May 1971
CABINET
IMMIGRATION POLICY
Memorandum by the Secretary of State for the Home Department
1,
The Ministerial Committee on Immigration and Community
Relations (IC) has recently considered three matters which I should bring
to the Cabi%et s notice.
t
a.
THE PA TRIAL PROVISIONS IN THE IMMIGRATION B I L L
2,
IC considered the action which should be taken following the
amendment, in Commons Committee, to Clause 2(l)(c) of the Immigration
Bill, which effectively removed the "grandparental concession". As the
Bill stands only Commonwealth citizens with a United Kingdom-born father
(as is the present law) or mother (as is now proposed) would be free from
immigration control.
This will substantially reduce the value of the
intended patrial concession to the old Commonwealth, where the Govern­
ment's original proposals were welcomed.
The objection to trying to
restore the grandparental provision on Report is that this would give rise
to serious political difficulties, and might even put at risk the remaining
concession relating to the children of mothers born in the United Kingdom,
IC therefore concluded that we should not seek to restore the grandparental
provision, but that the decision should not meanwhile be disclosed.
b.
ADMISSION OF ALIENS FOR EMPLOYMENT
3,
In approving my proposals for the Immigration Bill (CM(7l) 1st
Conclusions, Minute 3), the Cabinet invited the Secretary of State for
Employment to study possible measures to reduce the employment of aliens.
Despite the increase in unemployment here, there has been a significant
increase in the employment of aliens in recent years (especially in the hotel
and catering industry), and the Secretary of State proposes to apply more
rigorously the procedure for establishing that no indigenous local labour is
available before issuing any permit for the employment of aliens.
Other
features of the changes approved by IC (summarised at Annex) are:
a.
No permits for unskilled and semi-skilled men in industry and
commerce, apart from hotels and catering,
b.
No permits for semi-skilled men for non-seasonal jobs in
hotels and catering,
c.
Present intake of 7,000 unskilled male seasonal workers in
hotels and catering to be reduced.
4*
D o m e s t i c a l l y the e a r l y announcement of these m e a s u r e s would help
to counter c r i t i c i s m s that under the Immigx-ation B i l l aliens would f a r e
b e t t e r than C o m m o n w e a l t h c i t i z e n s and would show our c o n c e r n about the
unemployment p r o b l e m .
5.
But t h e r e a r e difficulties in r e l a t i o n to the c u r r e n t negotiations on
L i k e s o m e of
our e n t r y into the E u r o p e a n E c o n o m i c Community ( E E C )
the other actions w e a r e taking, the r e s t r i c t i o n s p r o p o s e d would run counter
to E E C p r o v i s i o n s about f r e e m o v e m e n t of labour and in announcing them we
would have to be r e a d y to show how they would be affected by a c c e s s i o n to
the E E C .
I t is a l s o p o s s i b l e that any e a r l y announcement might e m b a r r a s s
our E E C n e g o t i a t o r s .
0
c.
UNITED KINGDOM PASSPORT HOLDERS IN EAST A F R I C A
(UKPH)
6.
T a l k s have been in p r o g r e s s with the Kenya and Uganda G o v e r n m e n t s
on the b a s i s of the p r o p o s e d doubling of the a d m i s s i o n quota approved by the
Cabinet on 26 N o v e m b e r ( C M ( 7 0 ) 41st C o n c l u s i o n s , Minute 6 ) .
Our High
C o m m i s s i o n e r has r e p o r t e d that V i c e - P r e s i d e n t M o i of Kenya - the
r e p o n s i b l e M i n i s t e r - w i l l g i v e a p e r s o n a l a s s u r a n c e that our basic
r e q u i r e m e n t s (on n o n - p r o s e c u t i o n of U K P H s waiting in the queue, and the
r e a d m i s s i o n of queue j u m p e r s ) w i l l be m e t , but t h e r e a p p e a r s to be l i t t l e
chance of getting a f o r m a l Kenyan undertaking.
The A m i n coup i n t e r r u p ­
ted our talks with Uganda but we now hope to r e a c h a g r e e m e n t on a s i m i l a r
basis.
W e would l i k e to conclude d i s c u s s i o n s with the E a s t A f r i c a n
G o v e r n m e n t s in t i m e for a P a r l i a m e n t a r y announcement l a t e r this month.
The i n c r e a s e d quota would r e l i e v e p r e s s u r e in E a s t A f r i c a and should do
much to r e d u c e the bad publicity we suffer at p r e s e n t .
Any public s t a t e ­
ment on the quota shocdd, h o w e v e r , be linked with the announcement of a
d e c i s i o n to r e d u c e the f l o w of other Corrimonwealth immigrants,,
TIMING
7.
Subject, t h e r e f o r e , to being able to s e t t l e the d e t a i l s with the E a s t
A f r i c a n G o v e r n m e n t s , and to E E C c o n s i d e r a t i o n s , the r i g h t c o u r s e would
be to announce the U K P H d e c i s i o n towards the end of this month and to link
with i t announcements on the r e d u c e d entry of a l i e n s as w e l l as on the
reduced Commonwealth entry,
RE COMMEND A TION
8.
I invite the Cabinet:
V
a.
to a g r e e that if t h e r e i s no change in the P a r l i a m e n t a r y
position w e should not s e e k t o r e s t o r e the d e l e t e d p r o v i s i o n about
grandparents in the I m m i g r a t i o n BilJ ( p a r a g r a p h 2 ) ;
b.
to a p p r o v e the p r o p o s e d m e a s u r e s to r e d u c e the e m p l o y m e n t
of a l i e n s ( p a r a g r a p h s 3 and 4 ) ;
c.
to note the a r r a n g e m e n t s being made with E a s t A f r i c a n
G o v e r n m e n t s o v e r U K P H s ( p a r a g r a p h 6 ) ; and
d.
to a g r e e that an announcement should be made about the end
of May on U K P H s and on a r e d u c e d entry of both a l i e n and
C o m m o n w e a l t h w o r k e r s ; and to c o n s i d e r the t i m i n g .
R M
H o m e Office SW1
7 May 1971
2
CONFIDENTIAL ANNEX
MPL0YM3NT
Off ALIENS I N GREAT BRITAIN.
The r e s t r i c t i o n s p r o p o s e d b y t h e S e c r e t a r y o f S t a t e f o r
Employment and a g r e e d b y t h e M i n i s t e r i a l C o m m i t t e e on I m m i g r a t i o n
and Community R e l a t i o n s a p p l y m a i n l y t o m a l e s , s i n c e u n e m p l o y m e n t
i s a m a l e p r o b l e m , and a r e as f o l l o w s :
(a)
T o t i g h t e n up p r o c e d u r e s f o r e s t a b l i s h i n g t h a t no
i n d i g e n o u s unemployed l a b o u r i s a v a i l a b l e ­ t h e " l o c a l
l a b o u r " r u l e ­ m a i n l y b y r e q u i r i n g m o r e e x t e n s i v e and
prolonged n o t i f i c a t i o n of vacancies over a wider area.
(b)
T o e x c l u d e p e r m i t s f o r u n s k i l l e d and s e m i - s k i l l e d
i n i n d u s t r y and commerce ( a p a r t f r o m h o t e l s and
catering).
(c)
T o e x c l u d e c o m p l e t e l y p e r m i t s f o r s e m i - s k i l l e d men f o r
n o n - s e a s o n a l j o b s i n h o t e l s and c a t e r i n g .
(Permits
are not issued f o r u n s k i l l e d non-seasonal jobs f o r men.)
(d)
To impose a q u o t a ( w h i c h f o r p r a c t i c a l r e a s o n s c o u l d
n o t be e f f e c t i v e u n t i l n e x t y e a r ) t o r e d u c e t h e
p r e s e n t i n t a k e o f 7,000 u n s k i l l e d male s e a s o n a l workers
i n h o t e l s and c a t e r i n g .
(e)
T o c o n f i n e a c t i o n as r e g a r d s women, i n c l u d i n g r e s i d e n t
d o m e s t i c s i n i n s t i t u t i o n s and p r i v a t e h o u s e h o l d s , t o
the t i g h t e n i n g o f the " l o c a l l a b o u r " r u l e ( ( a ) a b o v e ) .
(f)
To a p p l y t h e above c r i t e r i a t o a p p l i c a t i o n s f o r a change
o f j o e b y a l i e n s , b u t t o make no c h a n g e i n p r e s e n t
arrangements f o r d e a l i n g with a p p l i c a t i o n s f o r e x t e n s i o n
o f s t a y b y a l i e n s s o l o n g as t h e y c o n t i n u e i n a p p r o v e d
employment.
CONFIDENTIAL men