TNAG-1084-FCO40-1334-Implications-for-Hong-Kong-of-changes-in-the-British-nationa-1981 — Page 74

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The

ment

Gibraltar: British Nationality

19 JULY 1981 ]

rliamentary Under- ecretary of State, Depart- rade (Lord Trefga ne); My Lords, it would not be appropriate to pu lish confidential corres- pondence exchanged with th Governor of Gibraltar. The memorandum, which ex ressed the views of both the Chief Minister and the opposition leaders in Gibral- tar, has been considered met carefully.

Lord Boyd-Carpenter: My ords, would it not be of assistance to this House, in considering a matter of crucial importance to the pe ple of Gibraltar, to hive before it the considered view in their own words of the democratically elected Government of that terri- tory?

Lord Trefgarne: My Lords I am not aware that the Parliament of Gibraltar and the leading personalities there have been slow in mak ag their views known

Lord Bruce of Donington: My Lords, will the noble Lord give the House some in lication as to whether he will reconsider that reply to is noble friend?

I am sure he will agree, in the princ ples of open government to which the party opposite is committed, that an important item such as this should have some public discussion.

Lord Trefgarne: My Lords the principles of open government, to which the noble Lord refers and to which, of course, we also achere, do not extend to publishing confidential memoranda of other Govern-

ments.

Lord Mishcon: My Lords, is the noble Lord the Minister aware that many of us in this House intend to stand by the people of Gibraltar with the same zeal and pertinacity as they have stood by us in the past?

Lord Trefgarne: My Lords, e that as it may, I think that it is rather a matter for the nationality Bill, which we shall be considering in due course.

Lord Boyd-Carpenter: My Lords, can my noble friend answer that part of my Quest on which relates to the response sent? Has, in fact, His Excellency the Governor had an answer at al

Lord Trefgarne: My Lords. London in March and we known to him then.

His Excellency was in ade our views clearly

Lord Stewart of Fulham: M

Lords, has the noble Lord noticed that when comm nications are said to be confidential what usually happ as is that we read them in the newspapers the next w ek? Would it not be more dignified if we were told now?

Lord Trefgarne: My Lords, aks do not come from this Government, but I must onfess-

Noble Lords: Oh!

Lord Trefgarne: But I must confess that any leaks that there may have been in th... matter-and I am not aware of any come from the ther side.

Lord Elwyn-Jones: My Lor

would the Minister

Bill Memorandum

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then define his conception of what is a leak? If it be the case, as he says, that no leaks have come from this Government, what are all the communications that we read about in the Guardian and other papers of what goes on in Government circles? Are they not leaks?

Lord Trefgarne: My Lords, they are no responsibility of mine.

The Special Constabulary: Recruitment Policy

3.20 p.m.

Baroness Trumpington: My Lords, I beg leave to ask the Question which stands in my name on the Order Paper.

The Question was as follows:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have for launching a recruitment campaign for the special constabulary on the same lines as their recently announced policy to recruit an extra 16,000 to the Territorial Army.

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary, Home Office (Lord Belstead): My Lords, the special constabulary is not a national force. Special constables are recruited by each police force on local initiative. The Govern- ment give every encouragement to local efforts to recruit more special constables, who make a valuable contribution to local policing. This year marks the 150th anniversary of the special constabulary, and many forces are taking this opportunity to promote the activities of special constables in their community.

Baronss Trumpington: My Lords, I thank my noble friend for his reply. Would he not agree that tribute should be paid, particularly in this 150th anniversary year, to the work and devotion to duty and enthusiasm of the special constabulary? Having said that, may I ask him why the total number of special constables has consistently decreased? Would he agree that in 1975 there were 23,011 special constables of both sexes, but by the 31st December 1979 that total had fallen to 15,960? Would it be right to say that the total has again fallen since that date? May I ask, in those circumstances, what steps are being taken to promote recruitment ?

Lord Belstead: My Lords, I entirely agree with my noble friend that tribute should most certainly be paid, particularly in this the 150th year of the start of the special constabulary, to the work that the special constables do. My noble friend is right. Numbers have declined over the last five years. A significant factor in this has been that the report of the 1976 working party on the special constabulary included a recommendation that the retirement age should be reduced to 55, with an option of five years more service at the chief constable's discretion in any par- ticular force. We have found that, although it is true that numbers have very much gone down, the number of hours of duty performed by many special constables has increased. Finally, yes, in most forces,