Opening Remarks
Glad that with your agreement we have been able to stick to timetable of meeting in week beginning 4 May.
Received over 250 individual comments as well as Committee comments most copied to Committee and many spoke of their support for the Committee to represent them in these
consultations.
Let me begin by reaffirming HMG's commitment to full consultations with your Committee, as representatives of HMOCS officers serving in Hong Kong, about the proposals designed to make provision for HMOCS officers on the change of sovereignty in 1997. We have carefully considered the comments received and have since refined our proposals. main role of the present Team is to explain these proposals and the reasoning which underlies them, to ascertain your views on them and then to report these views to Ministers in order that they may be fully appraised of them before they take final decisions on what scheme to establish.
The
Before turning to substance, wish to make two other
points:
(a) timetable. Disappointed to learn CSB were unable to get copies of our statement to all HMOCS officers as quickly as we had expected. Many complaints on this score, ie that after years of reflection in London we were now giving officers only a few days on even hours to make their comments. We should be grateful if, when the opportunity arises, you should convey our apologies for this unfortunate delay. The timetable we proposed for consultations was always tight so that we could realistically aim to announce decisions on the scheme
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