CONFIDENTIAL
experience, or to lower the age band, but this would be at odds with Hong Kong's needs, and (given the scheme's success in targetting key people) would be hard to defend in Parliament. It might be more defensible to give even more points for links with a British company, but even if the Bonas employees had gained 100 points for this, they would still not have scored enough to qualify.
Given the limited number of places available, the scheme cannot benefit all skilled workers. Rather, it is designed to select the most valuable applicants and to retain their services for Hong Kong up to and beyond 1997. The Hong Kong Government advise that increasing points for employees of British firms would be controversial in Hong Kong. These points at their present level are defensible because the employees of British undertakings selected are objectively "key" by Hong Kong standards. A change which discriminated against better qualified staff, but with no British connections, might undermine confidence in the scheme overall, and fuel the argument that the scheme is designed for Britain's benefit rather than Hong Kong's.
We have to accommodate the concerns of individual British firms within Hong Kong's overall need to keep key personnel in place in the run up to and beyond 1997, and we think that we have got the balance about right. We therefore recommend against further changes to the points scheme in respect of British links.
I am sending a copy of this letter to Joan MacNaughton (Home Office), Peter Smith (DTI) and to Melanie Leech (Cabinet Office).
William Chapman Esq 10 Downing Street
CONFIDENTIAL
yous ever,
Stephn Smith
(J S Smith)
Private Secretary
No comments yet.
Private notes are available after approval.