Rt Hon Merlyn Rees PC MP
House of Commons
London
SW1A OAA
L
Thank you for your letter of 3 September enclosing
one from Mr Graham C S Smith of the Association of
Expatriates Civil Servants (AECS) which raises matters of
concern to members of Her Majesty's Overseas Civil
Service (HMOCS).
man
AECS raise the question of revamping the SPOS arrangements. I know that the arrangements are considered by some to be inequitable but I belive that.
the majority regard them as satifactory. I am not therefore convinced there is a case for changing them, although we naturally keep the matter under review.
With regard to protection against depreciation of
the Hong Kong dollar, we see no justification at present for changing the arrangements. The Hong Kong dollars link with the US dollar has proved extremely resilient.
It is true that the Hong Kong dollar has declined against
sterling over the past few years, but prior to that it
had been on a strengthening trend. Overall I am not
the luck with the is doua bon convinced that the present arrangements worked to the
disadvantage of Hong Kong pensioners: in the long term it
relationship is clear that the Hong Kong dollar/US dollar link makes for stability and certainty.
CEWAAK
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