TNAG-2189-FCO40-3126-Hong-Kong-nationality-package-1990 — Page 98

CONFIDENTIAL

1

completion and clearance of instructions to

Counsel;

report to Ministers on scheme (and consideration

by ODK);

consideration of draft Bill;

preparations for introduction to Parliament and

attendant publicity.

The Bill Timetable

2. You and others may be interested to see the timetable possibilities set out in Annex B, a "planner" for the period

covering

Bill's passage through Parliament.

and optimistic

the

are

illustrations

given, one

Two

the other

pessimistic. On the most optimistic assumptions we might achieve Royal Assent with three weeks to spare before the Summer break.

This would depend on:

(a) introduction before Easter;

(b)

no

(c)

delays because of competition with other parliamentary business or the need to revise the Bill or Scheme in response to opposition;

no extended to-ing and fro-ing between the Commons and

Lords in the final stages.

3. It will be seen that it would not take much to push the Bill into October. The pessimistic illustration shows how the Bill could actually run out of time but quite a lot would have to go

in wrong

terms of successful

to and repeated bids

force

amendments on the Government. Ministers doubtless feel that this is more likely to happen if the Bill has not been completed before the Summer break.

CONFIDENTIAL