TNAG-0923-FCO40-1141-Secondments-from-Diplomatic-Service-and-Home-Civil-Service-t-1980 — Page 100

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(c)

it has proved necessary to institute a "deferred drafting list" of Ordinances which Government wishes to have drafted but which there are not the staff to draft for instance Mental Health Bill, Bladed Weapons Bill, amendments to Building Ordinance, Compensation (Pneumoconiosis) Bill, Conveyancing & Law of Property Bill, etc.;

(a) recruitment of trained draftsmen is difficult as there is an international shortage; it takes over 12 months for a good lawyer with the necessary aptitudes to be trained to become a competent draftsman able to undertake ordinary but not difficult work; hence our need to retain one of our good draftsmen despite his being 74 years old;

(e) 96% of Crown Counsel in Chambers are on their first tour (77% if Senior Crown Counsel & Crown Counsel are considered together);

(£) of the 10 most Senior people in Chambers none are local, and of the Senior 20 people (down to APCC) only 3 are local, and of these two have probably reached the limit of their abilities, having been passed over for promotion on several occasions;

(g) so far as the loss of mature and experienced counsel of quality are concerned, the following have been (or will be) lost to my Chambers during this financial year:

(i)

6 (out of an establishment of 16) APCC or PCC will have left - 4 to become Judges, plus 1 PCC and 1 drafting APCC who have resigned to return to Australasia;

(ii) the SCC who was the legal member of the HK

team touring the world to negotiate Textile Quotas decided not to renew his contract in December; apart from the loss of his expertise and of the factual knowledge of the detailed course of previous negotiations, it has not yet proved possible to replace him on the team with a man of his maturity (he was 39) experience and ability who is acceptable to Trade and Industry Department;

(iii) the SCC who had handled the case about the

recovery of money from Godber, and also the present claims against Government in relation to 'Letters B' (totalling hundreds of millions of dollars), and a variety of other heavy work, resigned and became Assistant Company Secretary of Allied Breweries Ltd., whilst on leave in London;