23/10/92
11:01
OVERSEAS DEV ADM
NO. 010
002
Pa
HICA 233/
Reference
From: D S FISH
(Ext 3444)
570
Date: 23 October 1992
Mr M Stone
Hong Kong Department/FCO
HONG KONG: HMOCS
We spoke earlier about the latest draft of the letter from the Secretary of State to the Chief Secretary.
1.
2.
I said that I thought paragraph 6 should be redrafted to take out reference to 22:1 and 30:1 which is not, in any case, a formal Treasury proposal; and to omit the "no scope" reference which I doubt the Secretary of State would endorse. Perhaps something along the following lines would do:
Given the current strength of the Hong Kong dollar against Sterling, the HMOCS Association will press very strongly for a safeguard of at least 12.5:1. We have proposed that the trigger should operate at 16:1 which would allow for a 30% reduction in benefits before the
safeguard came into play. This would provoke a major outcry from the HMOCS officers but I believe that we can defend 16:1 on the grounds that Hong Kong salaries are generally significantly higher than those in UK public service and that our proposal represents a reasonable balance between the interests of the officers and those
of the UK taxpayer.
D S FISH
Overseas Pensions Department 23 October 1992