TNAG-0572-FCO40-705-Monitoring-of-progress-made-on-planning-paper-on-Hong-Kong-1976 — Page 39

CONFIDENTIAL

2

!

i

are not really forthright enough for our purposes.

In articular, we believe that the introduction in some instances

of qualifications and reservations may endanger

the precise time-scale we envisaged for the kewhere in your stakemsich

implementation of agreed measures. Emphasis on

sLon

the various stages which will have to be completed before decisions are taken and action initiated has removed a degree of urgency which we would like to have seen. Even from your own point of view, we wonder whether a less quali. fied approach would not be advisable. It is with these considerations in mind that we suggest the following amendments:-

}

Social (A) PUBLIC ASSISTANCE

3. We should like to see the third sentence deleted. It would seem sufficient for you to say that able-bodied persons between 15 and 55 would be included in the public assistance scheme, subject to satisfactory arrangements being made to prevent abuse without specifying what criteria you would expect to establish in order to check on possible abuse. A reference to the need to include a residence qualification etc would immediately be picked up by Hong Kong's critics and seen as a serious limitation on the otherwise wecome extension of the public assistance scheme. We would accept that you may have to impose reasonable limitations but we should prefer to avoid having them spelled out at this stage.

Social (B) SOCIAL WELFARE

4. We think it should be made more clear that the intention is to make progress as quickly as possible according to the time-scale in the Planning Paper, and suggest the following amendments:-

:

(i) At the end of the first paragraph,

replace "will probably not be

ready before" with "should be

ready by".

CONFIDENTIAL

/ (ii)

NOTHING TO BE WRITTEN IN THIS MARGIN

し