TNAG-2222-FCO40-3193-Hong-Kong-Civil-Service-general-policy-1991 — Page 6

CONFIDENTIAL AND PERSONAL

18 November 1991

SE Bradley Esq

Deputy Political Adviser

Hong Kong

HKB (16/1

(By Fax)

OFEU

-ON-DEO

Foreign & Commonwealth Office

London SW1A 2AH

Telephone: 071-

(faxed) Pa

in

19/**

Dear Stephen,

DIPLOMATIC SERVICE RECRUITMENT IN HONG KONG

1.

35

I am sorry

Thank you for your letter of 27 September. for the delay in replying. Personnel Policy Department offer the following advice:

"Opportunities are already open to at least some of your colleagues. Those who fulfil our nationality requirement would certainly be eligible to apply for the annual competitions for the mainstream and the fast stream (for both of which the effective upper age limit is now 52). That requirement (enclosed) stipulates inter alia that the applicant must be a British citizen, and have at least one parent who has been continuously a British, Commonwealth or Republic of Ireland citizen from a date thirty years before the application (or from that date until death). We suspect that this would cover a good many of those who are members of Her Majesty's Overseas Civil Service (HMOCS); though fewer, we imagine, of those who are local Hong Kong Civil Servants

(HKCS).

However, we could not bring in either HMOCS or HKCS staff en masse and on transfer terms. There are two main reasons. First (as you note) they have not been through entrance procedures which test for the same mix of qualities as is required for the DS; they are not, indeed, in grades recognised by the Treasury as eligible for such transfer. Second, and more significant, we would have in a large number (perhaps a majority) or cases to waive the DS nationality requirement. Quite apart from the intrinsic importance of maintaining the element of that requirement which calls for candidates "to be so closely connected with the United Kingdom .... that (they) may properly be appointed", this would be undesirable because it would complicate separate efforts now underway to ensure that the DS is not required to open its doors to EC nationals."

2.

The only good news here is the raising of the upper age limit for applicants. PPD think that "British citizen" in this case does not include BDTC or BN (O), which for these purposes might count as Commonwealth citizenship. But I am pursuing the point with NTCD who may have had a hand in the drafting of the Order in Council which contains the

NC2AAF

CONFIDENTIAL AND PERSONAL