Memorandum by Col S J Furness, DL (HON
48)
1. I believe very strongly that the honours
system should be retained. For every second rated poet that declines
an honour there are 100 recipients who are deeply grateful to
receive one.
2. The inclusion of the word "Empire"
in the Order of the British Empire is clearly outdated. I suggest
that the order should be re designated "The Order of British
Excellence". This would allow the style and abbreviation
to be common to both the old and new formats.
3. The five levels of the Order should be
retained. The three awards of MBE, OBE and CBE do reflect very
well the different levels of commitment required for efforts at
local, regional and national level. The awards of GBE and KBE
should be used rarely and sparingly.
4. The emphasis should be much more on rewarding
voluntary or charitable work, or work well beyond the normal call
of duty for those in paid employment. Well paid sportsmen, business
men and public entertainers should not be honoured unless it is
for notable charitable or voluntary work entirely outside their
paid employment.
5. Donors to political parties should not
be honoured in any shape or form, purely by virtue of their duration.
Politicians should rarely be honoured and only for exceptional
service, and not merely for long service and good conduct.
6. There is a case for awarding honours
to celebrate national values or achievements eg to winners of
medals at the Olympic games, but again this should be done sparingly
or the honour becomes devalued. To give awards to complete teams,
plus supporting staff, is not sensible.
7. The number of honours awarded each year
is about right. I am sure that there are many more nominations
than awards. To reduce the number of awards would put the system
beyond the reach of many deserving people. To increase it might
devalue the award. There should be some flexibility in that one
batch of nominations might contain many of high calibre, in which
case slightly more should be awarded. The reverse should also
apply.
8. I do not feel that distinction in a particular
field is a reason, per se, to give an award. Most people at the
top of their profession are well rewarded. There will always be
those, who for a variety of reasons, stand head and shoulders
above their fellows who deserve recognition. For those knighthoods
(KBE or DBE) should be retained. There is a case for abolishing
the award of "Knight Bachelor" which is now largely
meaningless. Knighthoods should no longer be given automatically
by virtue of rank or appointment eg judges, senior civil servants
and service personnel. Again, most exceptional services would
be required before recognition by an honour being granted.
9. The award of honours should be entirely
separated from the political arena. In particular it should be
divorced from 10 Downing St. A separate, independent commission
should be set up to oversee the granting of honours. The Prime
Minister, politicians and the Civil Service would still be able
to suggest names to the commission, as would all other bodies
who do so at present eg Lords Lieutenant. Lord Lieutenant, with
their network of deputies, are uniquely placed to hear about,
evaluate and nominate, those who would not come to public notice
in other ways. To this end, the system of nominations by members
of the public is to be encouraged.
10. I am absolutely certain that the honours
system should be retained as a means of recognising and rewarding
public and charitable service. It may be one reason why people
work so hard for no other reward. There is little wrong with the
system as it is perceived out in the country away from the murky
waters of Whitehall. It is the attempt to manipulate the system,
as recently reported, that bring it into disrepute.
February 2004
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