HL Deb 30 March 1965 vol 264 cc948-9

2.53 p.m.

LORD FRASER OF LONSDALE

My Lords, I beg leave to ask the Question which stands in my name on the Order Paper.

[The Question was as follows:

To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they can improve the terms under which non-designated officers in the Basutoland Service are now treated on retirement.]

THE PARLIAMENTARY UNDERSECRETARY OF STATE FOR COMMONWEALTH RELATIONS AND FOR THE COLONIES (LORD TAYLOR)

My Lords, the matter of terminal benefits for non-designated officers in Basutoland is still being considered. I hope, however, that it will be possible to announce schemes providing for these benefits in the near future.

LORD FRASER OF LONSDALE

My Lords, while that Answer is better than a negative and I therefore ask leave to thank the noble Lord, can he tell me when I may be in a position to get a more positive answer? And will Her Majesty's Government, in considering this matter, bear in mind that the difference between a designated officer and a non-designated officer is really a question as to where he was recruited rather than of the service he has rendered or the job he has done? Indeed, many of the two categories do exactly the same jobs. That being so, will the Government do what can be done to equate the "bowler hat" provisions for the non-designated types to those which have already been agreed for the designated types?

LORD TAYLOR

My Lords, I do not think I can go so far as that, although I accept that the difference between designated and non-designated officers depends in large measure on the place where they were recruited. I recognise that this is a question which arouses deep feeling, and so do the Government, and I hope it will be possible to make an announcement in a matter of weeks rather than months.

THE MARQUESS OF SALISBURY

My Lords, will Her Majesty's Government, in considering this subject, bear in mind what my noble friend Lord Fraser of Lonsdale has already said: that the undesignated, equally with the designated, have devoted their lives to the country which they served, and therefore any sharp differentiation between the two would be unjustified?

LORD TAYLOR

My Lords, all the relevant points in this matter will be considered.