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to apply for enrolment in HMOCS. As the statement said, we should be grateful to receive any written comments on this outline proposal by 24 April. It was envisaged that a small team of officials would then visit Hong Kong in the week beginning 4 May in order to discuss points arising with representatives of the Association. That team would include representatives from both the FCO and the ODA, although its detailed composition ws not yet fixed. He asked whether this timetable was convenient to the HMOCS Association.
5.
Mr Cartland said that the Association would need time to study the statement. It was technical and they wished to examine what it entailed. But he was grateful for the efforts which had acheived recent progress. He welcomed the timetable proposed for consultation. He wondered whether Mr Cox would still be in Hong Kong on 8 April, in which case the Association could perhaps offer an initial reaction. Mr Cox said that he was due to leave later on 7 April. We had not really expected an instant reaction and wanted the Association to have time to think about the statement and offer written comments: it would be better not to start discussing it until an ODA representative was present.
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6. Mr Cartland noted the intention to use the average exchange rate for 1991 for calculating payments. HMG would be aware that another of the Association's concerns was the question of sterling safeguards for pensions. They had mentioned this in their reply to Lord Caithness and would wish to pursue the question in the consultations in the week of 4 May. They wanted to know where we were going. Would decisions be announced in time for officers to decide between the HKG new and old pensions schemes by the 30 June deadline? Mr Cox said that we had seen the reference to this point in Mr Cartland's reply to Lord Caithness. The position was that this question was still under consideration, and no decisions had yet been taken. He could not say when decisions would be taken. But he took note of the Association's concern.
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Mr Cartland asked about the effect of the coming elections on decisions on pension safeguards, and when a decision on the pensions question might be taken if, for example, the elections produced a hung parliament and the government could not focus on substantive business. Mr Cox said that he understood the constitutional convention was not to take new decisions (eg on pensions) once an election was called. On the other hand, the decision on the compensation question had been taken before the election, as Lord Caithness had indicated, so the action we were taking now was simply carrying through that decision. Mr Cartland suggested that the implementation of HMG's long-standing commitments to HMOCS officers did not really constitute new decisions. Mr Cox differed: there was certainly much relevant historical background, but the circumstances of each dependent territory had always required a special approach.
Mr Cartland said that within the Association there were many different points of view and, in giving the statement
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