TNAG-1415-FCO40-1896-Public-finance-in-Hong-Kong-1985 — Page 4

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Foreign and Commonwealth Office

London SW1A 2AH

CONFIDENTIAL

SE Alleyn Esq

Deputy Financial Secretary

Government

HONG KONG

secretariat

Dean Arlequi

f

20 December 1985

HRR 100|4

A

2 4 DEC 1985

Ry

Tarun

HONG KONG FINANCIAL ADMINISTRATION

J

1.

WDEX

PA

Адван

I apologiset

Thank you for your letter of 3 June.

for the long delay in providing you with this substantive reply but

Clinton Leeks' letter of

as

you

know

from

4 October to Tony Savage, we have had to consult various departments within the Office.

2.

In view of the confusion that is being caused in Hong Kong over the matter of financial administration, we have considered very carefully your

that suggestion Chapter VIII of Colonial Regulations should 50 longer apply to Hong Kong. Although this would provide a solution to

problems, your difficulties for us.

3.

matters.

Το

I am

advised

that it

neat

poses

to

Most, if not all, dependent territories have in recent years made legislative provision for financial and audit

be consistent, we

need would consider a footnote in Colonial Regulations stating that Chapter VIII no longer applies to any territory (not only Hong Kong) which has made the parallel legislative However, as each territory's legislation

the

to

cater

respect some

for each and

case

of

a

or other it would every variation.

territory still

be

In

in

rovision. probably varies in impossible addition, in the grant-in-aid or recently emerged, we would wish to retain financial provisions laid down in Colonial Regulations. I appreciate that there is a precedent in that a special variation of Colonial Regulations 54-66 (dealing with discipline) applies to Hong Kong only. However, this does not seem to be an exact precedent. Although, on the face of it, the Secretary of State gave

the disciplining responsibility

of locally-appointed public officers, there remained a right of petition under Colonial Regulation 169. If Chapter VIII no longer applied to Hong Kong, then the Secretary of State would have no standing at all in the territory's finances or audit of accounts. I do not mean to suggest

up

any

for

CONFIDENTIAL

23