CONFIDENTIAL
HKA 233/›
7 MAR 1992
To Note foo.
The Stond
106
13313
NB'X!!
MACA HMD)
M
FROM:
N J Cox
Hong Kong Department
Thank
DATE:
12 March 1992
CC:
Mr Muir, //RMD
Mr B
Bury's
HONG KONG HMOCS
13/. p.a. pls
MMOC's Policy Q213/3
1.
Mr Muir minuted, on a copy of my submission of 10 March, regarding para 2 of the Secretary of State's minute to the Chief Secretary:
2.
"We will need to be very careful about the "political" argument. Are ODA still accepting that any sterling safeguard payment will be attributed to them?"
You had already quizzed me orally on this point. The answer is that the ODA have shown absolutely no sign of wanting to draw back from the position always agreed between us. As we put it in my letter to the Treasury of
29 August 1991, which had an explicit ODA chop:
"As with the compensation scheme, we propose that the
sterling safeguard and the change to the SPOS
arrangements should be handled by ODA with the costs being borne on the Superannuation Vote".
While other possibilities are being explored, we have not had to say anything further about the financing arrangements for an HMG sterling safeguard. (The Secretary of State's minute of 11 February to the Chief Secretary sought decisions only on compensation and SPOS). But we know we must continue to keep a sharp eye on this point.
3.
Incidentally Mr Mortimer (HMT) rang this afternoon for more background on our sterling safeguards obligations: I had the impression that he had been asked to cast a more dispassionate eye over the problem in which Mrs Brown seems emotionally engaged.
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NJCABG
Moso
N J Cox
CONFIDENTIAL