CONFIDENTIAL
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(9)
The draft identifies a general aim: to put forward proposals which, in keeping with Hong Kong's approach to social security, are directly related to needs which can be readily identified, and which are accepted as such by the community as a whole, so that the maximum use can be made of available resources (para 10).
3. In his covering letter the Governor sets out his views very clearly: "the scale of social security development proposed is pretty ambitious"; "when it is all put together in a White Paper we will have a clearly defined and comprehensive scheme of payments and services across the whole field"; "given other competing social
priorities, there is certainly no room for going further at the moment". Part of the scheme, that providing for the introduction of a voluntary contributory sickness, injury and death benefit scheme, is especially subject to the views of ExCo and the Governor states that "its introduction will, of course, depend on the extent of public support it receives".
Argument
4.
After consultation with the Overseas Labour Adviser I have
the following points to make on the proposals:
(a) Provision for the Unemployed: This is an area to which
the Governor's attention has been drawn on a number of
occasions. Paragraph 26 of the Planning Paper on Hong Kong referred to the possibility "of introducing a contributory element to some benefits of an immediate nature, e.g. unemployment". The programme of extended social security benefits envisaged in the Planning Paper was to have been completed by the end of 1980. During his discussions with the Governor on 21 July 1976, Lord Goronwy-Roberts observed that "the Secretary of State would
need to be assured that the social security programme in the Planning Paper would be implemented within the agreed
timetable
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(paragraph 13 of the record). At the same meeting Mr Cortazzi referretended social security system, including the
the need for an
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CONFIDENTIAL