W(B)L 51-7406
2
including tariff pokey quote!
main changes in the Machinery of Gover ime Minister today, are as follows: .) The Ministry of Technology will take
responsibilities of the Ministry of become a single Department under the
Mi al amor
NOTHING TO BE WRITTEN IN THIS MA
2014
12.
The President of the Board of Trade carries a similar responsibility for the United
wher
Kingdom's external commercial relations and Boliey. He would no doubt regard it as his ultimate responsibility to decide whether any territory for which HMG is responsible should be allowed to pursue a course divergent from, and possibly prejudicial to, HMG's commercial policy objectives.
13. Opposed Ministerial views must ultimately be resolved in Cabinet.
14. Given a situation in which it has not been possible after official exchanges to reach agreement with Hong Kong on the resolution of a conflict of interest, the constitutional responsibility for deciding what Hong Kong should do rests primarily with the Foreign and Commonwealth Secretary. It is considered that this constitutional fact must determine the way in which such conflicts are resolved, subject of course to the right
of the President of the Board of Trade to
raise the matter in Cabinet if he considers
the issue to be of such importance that he cannot accept the Foreign and Commonwealth Secretary's decision.
Possible Changes in Existing Arrangements
15. On the assumption that formal devolution of authority (particularly of a far-reaching, autonomous character) is regarded as unnecessary (if not undesirable) and that an acceptable formula can be found for the settlement of conflicts of interest that must arise under existing arrangements, it is necessary to consider whether :-
(a)
These arrangements for the exercise by Hong Kong in practice of a measure of authority should be extended and/or improved.
(6)
To what extent, short of a formal
16.
definition of that authority, the
statement agreed in August may need amendment.
The case for giving Hong Kong the widest possible measure of authority in practice
/ rests