TNAG-0789-FCO40-993-Development-of-social-policy-in-Hong-Kong-proposed-contribut-1978 — Page 19

FCO40 Hong Kong Department Records 聯邦事務部香港部檔案 All

香港

港 總督官邸

Де

CONFIDENTIAL

See 86

THE OFFICE OF THE GOVERNOR

FLAGSTAFF HOUSE

HONG KONG

82

The Mchaient for Quantall have seen.

HKK 234/1

RECEIVED IN REGISTRÝ NO. 51

13 NOV 1978

SK OFFICER

LAPA

юли

REG:TRY

Action Taken

1 November 1978

Copies are being sent to OCAT DG Happell DHSS.

CONTRIBUTORY SICKNESS, DEATH AND RETIREMENT SCHEME

A+

ચેમ્બલ

Nor

their comments.

CLE

৭৪%,

1. We spoke about this during your visit, and I promised to write to you about our problems over the contributory scheme. Meanwhile the Government's official position rests firstly on the proposals in chapter 8 of the Green Paper on "Help for those least able to help themselves", and on paragraphs 94 - 97 of my speech to the Legislative Council. We now propose to go ahead and finalise a comprehensive White Paper covering the social welfare proposals in this Green Paper and in those covering services and payments for the elderly and services for youth, without waiting for a final decision on this contributory scheme. Instead we will probably include a paragraph along the same lines as that in my speech.

2.

As I explained to you, the reason for our hesitation is that we have only just realised how considerable the problems in the scheme are.

We have tended to concentrate on the recommendations of chapter 8, paragraphs 5 and 6, of the Green Paper (ie public opinion testing and actuarial calculations) and have belatedly realised how considerable are the problems of superimposing a contributory scheme firstly on well- established social security arrangements with a non- contributory basis though I admit that Strachan Heppell did warn us about this and secondly on the significant sector already covered under terms of employment.

3. First of all some facts and figures: -

a) The population is 4.6 million. The total

workforce is 2 million and about 1.6 million employees would be eligible to join a contributory scheme.

RJT McLaren Esq

Hong Kong and General Department

FCO

/ b)

CONFIDENTIAL

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