Overseas Civil Service Officers

HC Deb 08 May 1957 vol 569 cc957-8

12. Mr. Creech Jones

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies to what extent, arising from his recent discussions regarding the future of the Protectorates in Central Africa, he proposes over a period to withdraw from Nyasaland and Northern Rhodesia members of the overseas colonial service as personnel in the Federation are recruited.

Mr. Lennox-Boyd

There is no question at all of my withdrawing officers of H.M. Overseas Civil Service from Northern Rhodesia or Nyasaland. I expect those officers to continue to serve there for an indefinite period to come. It is not contemplated that the eventual emergence of locally based Civil Services in those territories would affect the position or rights of serving officers; or that overseas recruitment will necessarily cease when locally-based services are eventually established.

Mr. Creech Jones

What is the meaning of the paragraph in the Report of the discussions between Sir Roy Welensky and the Secretary of State? Will the staffs in these Protected Territories be the responsibility of the territorial Governments, and, through the territorial Governments, the Secretary of State, and how will the staffs of these Protectorates be regarded in the days to come?

Mr. Lennox-Boyd

The responsibility will for the time being remain exactly as it is. All we agreed was that we accepted in principle that eventually all the Civil Services it the Federation would be locally based. The same is true of all other territories when they have acquired full status within the Commonwealth, and I think that it is perfectly reasonable that the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland should look towards the same future.

Mr. J. Johnson

Does the Colonial Secretary mean, by the statement "for the time being", up to the 1960 talks?

Mr. Lennox-Boyd

There is a good deal of work to be done in this field, and in our view the best step forward towards the objective, which I should have thought would commend itself to all sections in the House, is to get on with the examination of interchangeability, which will take some time and is not a simple matter.