TNAG-2100-FCO40-2989-HM-Overseas-Civil-Service-(HMOCS)-policy-matters-1990 — Page 76

CONFIDENTIAL

4. This issue is linked to the so called Carr-Robertson

assurance given by Mr Robert Carr, the then Secretary for

Technical Cooperation, to Sir James Robertson, the then

President of OSPA. In that letter Mr Carr said "I am now

therefore authorised to tell you that if for any reason it

should so happen in relating to the payment of a pension

that a pensioner funds himself in financial difficulties, HM

Government would feel obliged to take appropriate remedial action". In 1968 Sir Reginald Prentice, the Minister

for Overseas Development, told the House of Commons that the

assurance "does not amount to a formal commitment to pay loan advances (in leiu of pensions) if there has been a

default, but it has been understood since by OSPA and by the

British Government that this would in effect happen if there

was a default." We have been expecting for some time for

OSPA or an HMOCS members to ask us outright whether HMG will

abide by the Carr-Robertson assurance. This has not occured

but to refuse to restate the assurance would amount to

saying that we no longer felt ourselves tied by it. In 1985

Ministers agreed that if asked we would give the assurance.

5. In order to safeguard ourselves against the possibility

of having to pay loan advances should the Hong Kong SARG

default on payment pensions to HMOCS members, an option open

to us is to try to seek the Hong Kong Government's agreement

to make over to us the capitalised value of HMOCS pensions

before 1997. The value of the capitalised pensions would in current prices be considerably more than £210 million.

6.

At that time Sir G Howe concluded that the heavy balance

of argument was against taking early action on this question

but that it should be looked at again perhaps in about 1990.

The Prime Minister noted that it was proposed to review this

matter in 1990 but regretted that it appeared not to be

RODACQ/2

CONFIDENTIAL