TNAG-0429-FCO40-494-Programme-Analysis-and-Review-(PAR)-Future-of-Dependent-Terr-1974 — Page 81

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NOTHING TO BE WRITTEN IN THIS MARGIN

Registry No.

SECURITY CLASSIFICATION

Top Secret.

Secret.

Confidential.

Restricted.

Unclassified,

PRIVACY MARKING

................................................. In Confidence

DRAFT DOPC MEMORANDUM

Type 1 +

FROM

To:-

CABINET

Telephone No. Ext,

Department

DEFENCE AND OVERSEA POLICY COMMITTEE

REVIEW OF THE FUTURE OF THE DEPENDENT TERRITORIES

1.

Joint Memorandum by the Secretary of State

for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs and

the Minister of Overseas Development.

The attached Review was completed in November

1973, but could not be submitted to Ministers collect:

ively before the General Election. It examines the

costs and benefits of Her Majesty's Government' S

continued responsibility for the remaining 18

dependencies and 6 Associated States (now 5, as

Grenada is independent). It concludes that, except

in the case of Hong Kong, British Antarctic Territory

Falkland Islands Dependencies, British Indian Ocean

Territory and St Helena/Ascension Island, which in

our view it is in HMG's continuing interest to retain

as dependencies, we should now adopt a conscious

policy of "accelerated decolonisation". There is not

much to choose between the quantifiable costs of such

The

a policy and those of continued dependence.

choice is essentially political, though obviously

we cannot ignore its financial implications.

*-

POLITICAL CONCLUSIONS

ICAL

2. We agree with this conclusion, and with the

recommendation that its implementation must be

CONFIDENTIAL

/ com: XtraTEN