linking external svg with the use tag doesn't load when opening files

Inkscape 0.92.3 (2405546, 2018-03-11)
Windows 8.1

Hello, I am attempting to link an external file with the <use> tag, eg.

<svg:use
    xlink:href="image/sprite.svg#layer1"
    x="0"
    y="0"
    width="100%"
    height="100%" />

However, upon closing and re-opening the file, I have found that the linked layer doesn't load automatically. To get it to work I have to change the xlink:href attribute to something else then change it back to it's original value. It's as if the external reference isn't being triggered when a file is opened.

Umm... also, changing the height and width attributes has no effect, and dragging the <use> element with the move tool creates a transform attribute instead of affecting the x and y coordinates, despite the store transformation preference being set to optimised... but that's less of a problem

/*\

to reproduce, reference an external svg layer with the code snippet above, then save and re-open