§ LORD GREENHILLasked Her Majesty's Government:
What action they propose to take to safeguard the interests of officers serving local government and other non-governmental authorities in Commonwealth territories approaching or attaining independence.
§ THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR COLONIAL AFFAIRS (THE EARL OF PERTH)Her Majesty's Government has a special responsibility towards members of the Overseas Civil Service to whom it has given certain undertakings in Col. No. 306, which have recently been reaffirmed and extended in Cmnd. 1193. It is not possible for those undertakings to be extended to cover officers serving local government and non-governmental authorities, unless of course in individual cases they are Government officers seconded to such authorities. Any question of safeguards for persons in the service of non-governmental authorities can only be considered in the context of general safeguards and a constitutional settlement in particular territories.