§ Mr. Andrew Bowdenasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs why certain public servants who served in British colonies during their transition to independence in various capacities, including as university lecturers, and are now regarded as quasi-Government officers for the purposes of section 12 of the Pensions Increase Act 1971, are not eligible for index-linked pensions.
§ Mr. Raison[pursuant to his reply, 9 April 1984, c. 2]: Successive British Governments have taken the view that they could not be responsible for awarding British pensions increases on the pensions of all who have been, employed in the public services of the dependent territories. The principle followed is that these arrangements extend only to former overseas officers for whom the British Government have a special responsibility by virtue of their having been recruited by or under the auspicies of the Secretary of State for employment on expatriate terms in the central Governments of the dependent territories.
Pensions earned in service with quasi-Government institutions are only covered where the pensioner was an officer, as defined above, who before independence transferred with his work to a newly-created quasi-Government body. This extension to certain quasi-Government pensioners was announced by my predecessor on 17 October 1973 at columns 187–88 following a careful review of the position. There are no plans to amend the rules on eligibility.