§ Mr. CouchmanTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he expects the agreement on the future sharing of defence costs between the Hong Kong Government and Her Majesty's Government to be finalised.
§ Mr. Ian StewartThe Governor of Hong Kong and I yesterday signed in London an agreement on the future sharing of defence costs in Hong Kong. This new defence costs agreement will run from 1 April 1988 to 30 June 1997. Under the new agreement, some items of garrison costs previously shared between the two Governments will be fully funded by one or the other, and the balance of the cost of the garrison will be apportioned between the Hong Kong Government and Her Majesty's Government on a 65:35 basis. I believe that this agreement represents a sound and equitable financial basis for meeting the costs of the garrison from now until 1997.