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be considered also by an independent Expert Panel on Finance and Adminis- tration. The United Kingdom Delegation was unable to vote for this resolutione as it flised that the Budget was already subject to adequate examination and that its submission to any independent body would delay its despatch to Member States who wish to receive the Budget Estimates even sooner than at present has been possible.

89. Salary and Allowance System.-The widest discussions took place, and much criticism was heard, on the subject of the salaries and allowances paid to members of the staff. Few other problems deserved more attention and none was more complex. The assumptions underlying the system in force were three-fold: the UNESCO Secretariat's salaries and allowances should be comparable in terms of purchasing power with those of the United Nations and other Specialised Agencies; the salary scale should provide equal base pay for staff members in the same grade regardless of nationality; the allow- ance system should be flexible to allow for periodic fluctuations in the cost of living in France.

90. The system includes the payment of a base salary for each of the 18 grades of staff, fixed allowances in respect of dislocation and installation costs, children's and education allowances, and a special cost of living allowance. This latter allowance is one which is adjusted to the official cost of living index issued by the French Government and it provides for an increase or decrease of 10 per cent. of basic salary whenever the official index rises or falls by 10 per cent.

91. The United Kingdom Delegation satisfied itself that the total remunera- tion received under this system was comparable with that of officials in the United Nations, that in many cases it was less than that paid to diplomatic missions in the main capital cities of the world and that, as it stood, it was in some cases insufficient to attract to the uncertainties of international life candidates of the necessary quality. Moreover, if these salaries appear high in comparison with national standards, it must be realised, that there is no security of tenure and that the contracts for most appointments are for very short periods only. In principle therefore, the United Kingdom Delegation could do no less than support the present system, but it also approved of the several suggestions which emerged from the discussions and it advocated that the Organisation should participate in the forthcoming study by the United Nations concerning the salaries and allowances and leave provisions of its Secretariat. In this way we believe that another step will be taken to ensure a comparable basis of service between the United Nations and the Specialised Agencies.

92. Joint Staff Pensions Scheme.-As a further development towards the co-ordinated administration of the various organs of the United Nations the Conference considered the proposal that UNESCO should participate in the United Nations Joint Staff Pensions Scheme. The Conference reviewed the existing pensions scheme which it found equitable and it was therefore prepared to recommend that the Joint Scheme which the General Assembly of the United Nations had already approved and which was broadly com- parable with the system in force, should be adopted in its place.

93. Medical Benefits Scheme. In considering the emoluments paid to members of the Secretariat the Conference took account of the indirect assistance received through welfare provision such as the Medical Benefits Scheme. It considered whether such welfare assistance was not an indirect contribution to the income of the staff and whether allowance should not be made for such assistance by a reduction in the monetary allowance actually

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