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PARLIAMENTARY QUESTION TO RT HON DEREK TWIGG MP
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Post PARLIAMENTARY QUESTION TO RT HON DEREK TWIGG MP 
THEY WORK FOR YOU; PARLIAMENTARY QUESTIONS 21ST FEBRUARY 2008; MY COMMENTS;

David Dilley
Posted on 24 Feb 2008 3:08 pm

Why was this particular question asked? Was it in support of a criticism of Senior Civil Servants receiving Awards and Decorations automatically on a buggins turn for simply doing their jobs, or was it denying that such Awards and Decorations to Civil Servants over a period of 6 years was excessive.

The House of Commons, Session 2003-04 published a report of the Public Administration Committee on the 7 July 2004. It was scathing of the present Imperial Honours System, so loved and protected by the HD Committee which is comprised of Senior Civil Servants in the Ceremonial and Awards Departments of the FCO, Cabinet Office and MoD DS Sec who appear to apply strict and rigorous rules, some retrospectively, to all awards other than those given to Senior Civil Servants, indeed, one eminent person has received four knighthoods, two actual knighthoods and two promotions within an order! However, veterans who campaigned for the Suez Medal, and the Arctic Medal (which finished up, after a struggle, as an emblem) were
treated with disdain. A different case is the Pingat Jasa Malaysia, a commemorative medal which was accepted by Her Majesty, after being conferred by the King of Malaysia in Jan 2006. A foreign and commemorative medal which has been subjected to the rules which govern the acceptance and wearing of BRITISH MEDALS, deliberately, by MoD DS Sec, and continued by the Cabinet Office and FCO, indeed, Part C of the FCO revised 2005 rules appears to have been written solely to preclude the formal wearing of the PJM.

Press Notice 17

Updated 10/11/07, informs that a report entitled A Matter of Honour: Reforming the Honours System (HC 212-1), PASC says that the system unfairly favours civil servants, diplomats and members of the armed forces, and calls for fundamental reforms in its structure and the way it operates.

I have the following comments on this: 1) It seems that only because of public outcry regarding the treatment of the armed forces, medals for bravery are being awarded with slightly more generosity than heretofore. 2) The Secretary of the HD committee (the Cabinet Office Ceremonial Officer) denied an award to all but one of the gallant members of the public who assisted in the recent, very dangerous incident at Glasgow Airport on the grounds that their action was an automatic reaction rather than a considered risk to themselves; i.e., the rigour or risk was less than required for the medal; an assessment made from the comfort and safety of a Whitehall office.

My view of that decision; it appears less difficult for the HD committee to award decorations to colleagues in the civil service than to take an intelligent and sympathetic approach, and the implementation of the correct set of rules, to the PJM and for awards for civilian bravery.



Last edited by GLOman on Sun Feb 24, 2008 4:15 pm; edited 3 times in total
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Well said David


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HD Committee: Amateurs in a Professional World
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Nice one David.....


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...................'Jock'
Paroi...Rasah...Batu Signals Troop.
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Straight to the point David.Unfortunately the "suits" do not speak in your language.If only I was as articulate as you and others on this site I would be at the HD 24/7.Well done.

Rgds Ray

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Post Honours to our friends 
I thought that I should add a little bit about Parliamentary Democracy; so I did:

David Dilley
Posted on 24 Feb 2008 5:41 pm

To be absolutely fair, The RT Hon Derek Twigg MP, Minister for Veterans, and the Rt Hon Ian McCartney MP, formerly a FCO Minster and now a Minister of another Department, jointly wrote a letter to the HD committee prior to what they (the HD Committee) claimed was a third review, requesting that they favourably reconsider their previous decision and grant formal permission fo the Pingat Jasa Malaysia (PJM) to be worn; this joint appeal was rejected by the HD Committee. During a Debate in Westminster Hall on the 11th December 2007, Dr Kim Howells,FCO Minister for the Middle East, replying for HMG stated ".....The committee's members were not sufficiently exercised by that correspondence to change their minds.......I am told, nevertheless, that arguments for exceptions to our rules on the acceptance and wear of decorations and medals are considered carefully -that it what the committee says - to preserve the integrity of the honours system. In his summing up (referring to the HD committee's plan not to consider the matter further), he states that "The HD committee's plans will ultimately be determined by decisions of Parliament".

Let us hope that Parliamentary Democracy will prevail over this present archaic system.

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