((c)
Nor
short-comings I have mentioned were linked perhaps to Ministers' wish, once they had formulated a basis for discussion to respond to HMOCS officers' wish for early
progress and for clearer news well before 30 June.
did we wish any Ministerial changes after the General
Election to cause any unnecessary loss of momentum or
delay. However I can assure you that we have been considering the substance of the issues very carefully
indeed.
Turning now to the heart of the matter, we should like to begin with an explanation of the nature of the proposed
scheme.
MR FISH: (Read and handed over Speaking Note at Annex A).
MR BIRCH: (Asked about the meaning of the reference to the
evolution of the public service)
MR COX: Perhaps I can come back to this point. I mentioned
that I should like later on to make a statement about the
question of loyalty, but I hope that this account of the
nature of our scheme already helps make clear that we
fully accept that it must be a matter of individual choice
for ex-HMOCS officers to decide whether to continue in the
service of the SAR. There is no legal obligation on them to do so, and we do not assert that there is any moral
obligation on them to do so either.
In my letter of 30 April I have already set out the
present position on the question of early retirement with immediate payment of pension and the question of sterling safeguards for pensions. We do not, however, wish to inhibit discussion on these issues or on the general
question of compensation. It is our task to inform
ourselves fully on your views on these matters. But we must also ask you to address the outline of our proposals and in particular the proposals for phasing payments.
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