§ 4. Mr. Tilneyasked the Secretary of State for the Colonies in which ex-Colonial Territories the lump sum compensation for expatriate civil servants given on change of status has been wholly paid by means of a direct or indirect grant from the Treasury of the United Kingdom.
§ Mr. MaudlingThere are no ex-Colonial Territories where the payment of compensation for expatriate civil servants has been met directly by grant from the United Kingdom Treasury. To the extent to which we pay any form of grant to a Colonial or ex-Colonial Territory it can be said that we are helping that Territory indirectly to finance any liability it may be under to pay such compensation.
§ Mr. TilneyDoes not my right hon. Friend agree that this establishes a 1106 relationship, albeit an interim one, between employment by Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom and Her Majesty's Government overseas?
§ Mr. MaudlingI do not think so. I think that there is a distinction between people recruited by the Secretary of State for service in the Colonial Service generally and those locally recruited, but if we are thinking of a grant in aid to a Territory, then clearly it must help with its various liabilities.
§ Mr. G. M. ThomsonWill the right hon. Gentleman ensure that on future occasions like this Her Majesty's Government are as generous as possible in giving help in this respect? Does not the right hon. Gentleman agree that it is important to maintain the good will of ex-colonial servants and equally important not to place an unfair burden of compensation on countries with highly under-developed economies?
§ Mr. MaudlingYes, Sir, I accept that. What we have done in these matters fully meets those criteria.