§ Mr. Hopkinsasked the Lord Privy Seal what arrangements have been made since the Somali Government broke off diplomatic relations with Her Majesty's Government for the payment of pensions to retired overseas civil servants of the former Somaliland Protectorate now resident outside the Somali Republic.
§ Mr. HeathThese pensions are the liability of the Somali Government. An agreement was reached between that Government and Her Majesty's Government in 1961 that payment should be made on behalf of the Somali Government by the Crown Agents from a special account set up with them by the Somali Government. That account would be funded by the payment into it of an appropriate part of the grant-in-aid that Her Majesty's Government had agreed to make to the Somali Government. When the Republic broke off diplomatic relations and requested that payment of the grant-in-aid should cease, Her Majesty's Government asked them what arrangements they proposed to make to meet the pensions liability. No reply has yet been received. The Crown Agents have in the meantime been instructed by the Somali Ministry of Finance to make no further pension120W payments from Somali Republic Funds and no other arrangements appear to have been made for these payments. Her Majesty's Government however consider that the pensioners concerned should continue to receive the sums to which they are entitled without interruption. They propose to ensure this by making ex gratia loan advances recoverable solely from arrears of pension when such are eventually paid. Pensioners will thus continue to receive the same amount as they would have received had the Somali authorities paid the pension. The situation will be reviewed when arrangements for paying the pensions by the Somali Government become known. Meanwhile a Supplementary Estimate up to an amount of about £46,000 will be laid before the House in due course. An advance will be obtained from the Civil Contingencies Fund as required.
In making this arrangement Her Majesty's Government do not agree to relieve the Somali Government of their liability in this matter.