TNAG-1548-FCO40-2112-Future-of-the-Hong-Kong-public-service-1986 — Page 117

FCOAMD

—KK 256 /1 RECEIVED IN REGISTRY

06 FEB 1986

DESK OFFICER

INDEX

SY Foreign and Commonwealth Office

faken

London SW1A 2AH

GT Morgan Esq

Management and Personnel Office

Cabinet Office

Great George Street London SW1

Кизан,

6 February 1986

HONG KONG: SECONDMENTS FROM THE ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICE

1.

to

Geoffrey Wollen has sent me a copy of his minute y ou of 31 January ab ou t his recent meeting with Keith Shipley of the Hong Kong Government's Civil Service Branch.

2.

I very much support the idea that we should assist Hong Kong to broad en the experience of

some of their high-flying young civil servants in the

proposed. From my own experience of such people, the departments which get them will be lucky.

way

3.

On the issue of the UK civil service finding places for expatriates prematurely retired from Hong Kong Government service, I fully understand the difficulties involved. However, HMG has a special responsibility for members of Her Majesty's Overseas Civil

Overseas Civil Service employed the service of the Hong Kong Government on pensionable terms;

and by the precedent both of previous decolonisation exercises, and of public commitments made by HMG to HMOCS during that process, that responsibility has extended to an undertaking that HMG will do what i t can to assist those prematurely retired with future employment.

There a re additional difficulties in fulfilling these responsibilties in the case of Hong Kong, since the Overseas Resettlement Bureau (a placement

service for HMOCS officers) was closed down, budgetary reasons,

in 1970; and the opportunities for transfer to other dependent territories are already few, and will be far fewer by 1997. As a result, it would certainly be helpful if we were able to respond

for

positively to any request from the Hong Kong Government that the UK Civil Service consider taking limited numbers of ex-Hong Kong civil servants.

CC

>

Mr Wollen Mr Trevelyan )

>

Mr Bastin Mr K Morris, PPD,

Tary Gelming

A C Galsworthy Hong Kong Department

MPO, Cabinet Office

FCO