TNAG-0916-FCO40-1127-Policy-on-salaries-and-pensions-for-civil-servants-in-Hong-K-1979 — Page 76

(39

3.U.5/11

to Mr. Williams

RFMR

22/10.

побел

B.U. 22/10

willian

to Mr.

RIMR

8/10.

HKK 430 Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Your ref: PEN/CV/1

RECEIVED IN REAKTY NO. $1

8 OCT 1970

DFSK OFFKES

KIDEX

London SW1A 2AH

See Biaso

HKK 430/1

J M Rowlands Esq

Secretary for the Civil Service

Government Secretariat HONG KONG

Des Marvin,

MP'S LETTER: MR C V PENHEAROW

3 October 1979

N William for J

See (41

58

See minuting below: would you please now draft a further intern daft reply + covering submission to No Blaker (and also deal with the point about folio 34)

873110

1. I should be grateful if you would look at the correspondence resting with James So's letter of '27 September to Patrick Williamson, about delays in the payment of certain sums due to the estate of Mr CV Penhearow who, until his death in January this year, was a Building Services Engineer with the Hong Kong Government.

2.

We fully accept that the delays in this case were not excessive, given the formalities that had to be complied with, and that the Hong Kong Government departments concerned handled the case sympathetically. I also recognize that all the money due to Mrs Penhearow was payable in Hong Kong dollars, and that the Hong Kong Government cannot be held responsible for fluctuations in the exchange rate. There is therefore no question of your being under any formal obligation.

3. Nonetheless, the fact remains that there were delays by Hong Kong Government departments (albeit not culpable ones) and that Mrs Penhearow as a result suffered a loss of some £300. I realise that if she had accepted the offer of an advance under CSR625, this loss would not have occurred (or at least might have been reduced, depending on the amount of the advance). But as I read CSR625, it is intended to ensure that dependents do not suffer any financial hardship in the immediate aftermath of an officer's death. Since Mrs Penhearow presumably had sufficient funds to meet her immediate needs, she no doubt felt it unnecessary to take advantage of this regulation. But I think it would be unfair to argue that, because of this, she was in any way to blame for her subsequent loss.

4. There can be little doubt that public sympathy would lie with Mrs Penhearow should this case attract publicity. The sum involved may be trifling as far as the Hong Kong Government are concerned, but it is a relatively large amount to a widow in Mrs Penhearow's situation. Her MP clearly believes she has suffered an injustice and I am not entirely confident that we should be able to convince him otherwise on the basis of the information in James So's letters.

15.