TNAG-2099-FCO40-2988-HM-Overseas-Civil-Service-(HMOCS)-policy-matters-1990 — Page 121

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been Hong Kong (HKG and HKD, neither of which represent, or are currently representing, the interests of the members of HMOCS), professional pensions (ODA) and Treasury input into the current proposals as regards HMOCS in Hong Kong, but no specific HMOCS input an omission which would be exacerbated if there were to be no consultation with the HMOCS staff as required in paragraph 17 of Cmnd 1193. It is not my purpose to seek to fill the lacuna, but to draw attention to it.

As regards the substantive issue, in his minute to the Prime Minister in 1985 Sir G Howe wrote:-

2.

"Assurances given in the past to HMOCS have not distinguished between those serving in different places and I cannot see how we could justify introducing such a distinction now. Moreover since we have accepted that constitutional change in Hong Kong raises comparable problems for HMOCS to those raised in territories becoming independent, we could not justify declining to attempt to set up comparable arrangements to deal with them. ||

The present proposals as regards HMOCS in Hong Kong represent a substantial withdrawal from this position.

3*

As I wrote in my minute of 15 March to Mr Stone, copied to you, the three elements of the right of retirement, compensation, and inducement are separate even if they may be connected. Cmnd 1193 states "compensation schemes should also [my underlining] provide an inducement to individual officers to continue to serve" ie inducement is additional to, or an element in, compensation not an alternative to it. The proposals currently under consideration:-

(a)

(b)

(c)

include no provision for retirement with immediate pension, though under the Pensions Ordinance officers may retire with their pensions frozen until normal retirement date. (I am grateful to Mr Fish for correcting my misapprehensions on this point);

provide a token "one-tenth" as a compensation element which it is now proposed should be consolidated as an "initial compensation/incentive" payment which (to quote Mr Fish's minute of 30 March) "would remove from the package all reference to traditional compensation arrangements";

provide eight or nine further payments to induce officers to remain in service in the SAR after 1997.

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