TNAG-2425-FCO40-3527-Hong-Kong-Her-Majesty-s-Overseas-Civil-Service-(HMOCS)-poli-1992 — Page 173

to serve

far as I

was such a period was attainment

for any further period (and as can discover only in the Western Pacific provision made and there the relevant all to be in British service before the of independence), eight instalments is two more than the usual practice;

(c) the British Govenment make no provision for retirement with immediate pension;

(d) no account is to be taken of salary changes after the introduction of the scheme;

(e) no specific arrangements appear to be made about the place of payment of pensions, though this may be of

significance no

in view of the provisions in the Joint Declaration for the free of capital and the absence of

movement

exchange control;

with

the

(f) no arrangements have been made Chinese authorities to guarantee the value of pensions, or, failing such arrangements, for

a United Kingdom guarantee.

Additionally, decolonisation means that there are no longer more than a handful of posts in other territories to which members of HMOCS could be transferred, so that prospects of re-employment in such territories is almost meaningless; and,

some although HMG apparently makes

arrangement for notifying HMOCS officers of employment opportunities, ODA's re-employment bureau, which was

was established following the 1961 White Paper, has long since closed down and no provision

to appears

for contemplated institutional meaning to para 3 (d) above.

9.

be

of course,

giving

entitled to

The British Government are, change their policy, which in this context means to depart from the conditions and principles set out in the White Papers. The disarray in Whitehall's handling of the issues and the nature of the present proposals for a scheme are evidence of a movement in that direction; and, against that background, the statement by the FCO/ODA team in Hong Kong that the present proposals were for a scheme different from those that went before was a necessary precaution for the future.

But, in the event of challenge either in Parliament or in an attempt to obtain judicial review, it is necessary to explore the validity of the reasons for such a change and the arguments for the present proposals.