TNAG-2685-FCO40-3886-Hong-Kong-Her-Majesty-s-Overseas-Civil-Service-(HMOCS)-poli-1993 — Page 157

cst.ps/dr/4mp13.1

HKA 233/1

18 JAN 1993

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SECRETARY TO THE

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PSIR Goodland

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Treasury Chambers Parliament Street SWIP 3A J. cous

071-270 5000

Fax 071-270 5456

The Rt Hon Douglas Hurd CBE MP

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Lyjne Admis Special Adirin

Secretary of State for Foreign & Commonwealth Affairs

Foreign & Commonwealth Office

King Charles Street

London

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Mr MM

15 January 1993

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HONG KONG: ARRANGEMENTS FOR MEMBERS OF HM OVERSEAS CIVIL SERVICE

(6:25 HKA 233/1 (1992)

Thank you for your letter of 18 November. I have also seen Chris Patten's letter to the Prime Minister of 17 December-

WG

2. We agreed at our meeting on 16 November that a balance has to be struck between protecting the interests of the UK taxpayer and meeting our obligations to Hong Kong members of Her Majesty's Overseas Civil Service (HMOCS). In my view your proposals for a UK-funded sterling pensions safeguard and compensation scheme continue to place undue weight on the latter at the expense of the former. I shall comment on each element in turn. But we should not reasonably be able to defend in Parliament, and to UK citizens,

an overall package which treats substantially better than UK public servants those who have worked in Hong Kong on particularly attractive terms.

3. Much of the argument advanced in favour of proposals as generous as yours (which imply a contingent liability of nearly £250 million) is couched in terms of giving HMOCS terms which equate to those received in previous dependent territories. However in my view the circumstances of the HMOCS are entirely different from all previous cases as I shall seek to below.

explain