ADMINISTRATION IN CONFIDENCE
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4. Generally speaking (a) or (b) are the normal ways of paying OAGS who are members of HMOCS (and who are not liable to UK tax) and (c) is the normal way of paying DS Officers who are appointed to OAG posts (and who remain liable to UK tax on the salary element of their emoluments). Where it seems more advantageous however (as in Hong Kong and Bermuda at the moment) DS Officers may opt to be paid by method (a). In all three cases, however, we need proper advice on the level at which the emoluments should be set in order, in case (a), to be sure that the amount offered is adequate, in case (b) to determine the amount of topping up, and in case (c) to fix the level and type of allowances which we should pay.
5. We are at present looking into the possibility of rationalising these arrangements so that all OAGs would be paid in the same way. But whatever happens, we shall still need proper guidance on how much the OAGS should be receiving whoever ends up paying them.
6.
Below the level of OAG, more DS Officers are now replacing HMOCS members as Deputy Governors, Chief Secretaries, etc. In many Territories there are also people being put in at lower levels from the Diplomatic Service (in some cases remaining on the DS Vote; in other cases filling local posts such as Personal Assistants to Governors). In these cases too we need to know the proper emoluments for the jobs to be done (one particularly vexing problem is to decide when representa- tional allowances are justified: generally speaking, it has been accepted that jobs below the level of OAG do not normally carry representational responsibilities, but this is changing in some Territories, e.g. Gibraltar, where we are putting in DS Officers to carry out sensitive political tasks). We also need advice on the content of these jobs so that we can be sure that they are being filled by staff in the right grades.
7. Other points concerning conditions of service which cause trouble include accommodation and length of tour. On accommodation, we are concerned over the standards of maintenance in OAG's official residences. These at present are the responsibility of local governments, which means that every time repairs are needed the OAGS have to go to local Ministers for approval. In the poorer countries this can be embarrassing. This again is something we are hoping to change, but whether or not it is changed we would find it valuable to have periodic advice on the standard of accommodation needed for the job, and on whether that standard is being maintained. It would clearly be easier for a Governor to ask local Ministers to authorize repairs where these have been recommended by outside advice and do not merely represent the Governor's own view.
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ADMINISTRATION IN CONFIDENCE