From The Minister of State
Richard Luce MP
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Foreign and Commonwealth Office
London SW1A 2AH
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ник 040/2
30 January 1985
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1985
113
Dear Ivor.
You told me in the House the other evening that you felt that I had failed to respond in my winding-up speech to the points you made in the debate on the Second Reading of the Hong Kong Bill on 21 January.
I have looked at Hansard. One point you made, to which I see that I did not specifically reply, concerned Her Majesty's Overseas Civil Servants. You said that members of the Overseas Civil Service in Hong Kong had a right to know that their interest would be safeguarded in respect of promotion, transfer and pensions, and that if they continued to serve in Hong Kong they should be entitled to all the rights that they would have enjoyed had Hong Kong remained a British Dependent Territory.
As I said in our previous debate on the agreement on 5 December, part IV of Annex I to the agreement provides satisfactorily for continuity of service by serving officers in the public service of Hong Kong on terms and conditions, including pay and pensions, that are no less favourable than before 1 July 1997. These provisions will apply to members of HMOCS serving in Hong Kong as well as other civil servants.
I agree with you on the need to maintain the morale of HMOCS officers in Hong Kong, and I can assure you that the Government will continue to keep their interests closely in mind.
On nationality, I think that I dealt fully in my speech with the amendment which you and Enoch Powell tabled. The only point I would add is that the three million or so Hong Kong BDTCs who will be eligible for the new form of nationality are of course already British nationals. The Government's proposals will not involve anyone becoming a British National (Overseas) who is not already a British national.
Ivor Stanbrook Esq MP
House of Commons
London SW1A OAA
/I can
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