Reference..
HKK 25/3
6
2
Ben
minate
Mr. S. W. F Martin,
Personne
Mr. Leahy,
Operations) Dept.
Personnel Services Dept.
Flag
Please see Sir L. Monson's minute of 7 January below. I have endeavoured to cover in the attached draft the points discussed at the meeting referred to (attended by Mr. Larmour, Mr. Wilford, Mr. Martin and myself) and have added some additional thoughts of my own, e.g., under the heading "Status". You will note that parts of paragraphs 5 and 6 in particular need to be checked in your departments.
2.
On this question of status I may be raising a hare from our point of view, although I really think we should make sure that in every respect other than the financial arrangements the exchanges follow the pattern of formal secondments. But in my view it is not a hare so far as Hong Kong is concerned; if he has not already done so the Governor really ought to look carefully into the presentational aspects of these arrangements locally. We have had to be very careful to avoid compromising the Political Adviser's position in suspicious local eyes; and the same considerations hold good for any other Diplomatic Service officers serving in Hong Kong posts.
3. The income tax point was worrying me at one time. It can, I think, only be settled on the basis that the Hong Kong Government pick up their officer's UK tax bill (as they were doing for their officers in the Hong Kong Government Office before UK tax exemption arrangements were made). The draft points to this
as the solution.
4. The Governor's suggested "knock-for-knock" financial arrangement would, I think, about balance out. Because of higher basic salaries in Hong Kong, we would receive higher reimbursements than we would make to Hong Kong for officers of comparable grades. On the other hand our non-reimbursable outgoings in the shape of allowances to Diplomatic Service officers in Hong Kong are going to be higher than corresponding Hong Kong expenditure since Hong Kong officers serving in the UK receive only salary plus rent allowance.' I have tried to illustrate this below, but my figures I know are not accurate since I have not got access to precise information about the UK and Hong Kong rates of allowance. Assuming that it costs about £6,200 for a married First Secretary on his maximum in Hong Kong (£3,712 salary plus, say, £2,500 allowances), we would get £4,470 p.a. back from Hong Kong. An equivalent Hong Kong officer in the UK would cost the Hong Kong Government a little less (£4,470 salary plus about £715 rent This showed have been allowance for a married officer) and we would reimburse
Hong Kong to the extent of £3,600 p.a.
£3.7
3.721
73721 Lose
X
5. I should be grateful for your views on the draft.
22 January, 1970
L. 5. Carts
(W. S. Carter)
Hong Kong Department
and further minte belas of
"beachcomber"
23 Jan?
anamenato