reference: CF 837/81/02
Your reference:
MINISTRY OF OVERSEAS DEVELOPMENT
Eland House, Stag Place, London S.W.1 Telegrams: Ministrant, Sowest, London Telephone: VICtoria 2377, ext. 247
900 19.
2nd April, 1969
kieat drak
In the course of recent consideration of bids for overseas travel against the OD office travel vote for the period April to September, particular attention was drawn to a proposed visit by the Police Training Adviser to the Bahamas and to another by our Adviser on Social Welfare to Hong Kong.
2.
Our travel vote is intended for visits by ODM staff to countries in which we have substantial capital aid or technical assistance programmes, and in view of the pressures on the vote, authorities for such visits must perforce be strictly rationed. We should be most reluctant to consider visits at ODI expense to wealthy territories to whom we do not normally provide a significant measure of aid or for visits not directly connected with our current aid operations.
3. We have no regular programme of technical assistance to the Bahamas, and it appears that the visit by the Police Adviser is primarily an organisational visit to fulfil an FCO requirement. Our technical assistance to Hong Kong is confined to a tapering programme of mapping work by the Directorate of Overseas Surveys and some training at a cost of £30,000 a year which we hope eventually to reduce if not to eliminate in view of Hong Kong's relative affluence. Here again, the proposed visit by the Social Welfare Adviser does not appear to relate to our current programme, and we understand that the visit is primarily to serve FCO interests.
4. The visit to the Bahamas by Mr. Macoun is in conjunction with a visit to Washington and Ottawa to review police training programmes. This review is part of our aid effort and we would not wish to make any claim in respect of the additional cost of the Bahamas trip. However, we do not feel able to meet the cost of the visit to Hong Kong from our limited travel provision. I hope, therefore, that if the FCO attach importance to this visit you will be willing to sponsor it and to meet the travel and subsistence costs from FCO. Votes.
sincerely
J. H. Heath, Esq.,
Establishment and Organisation Dept.,
Foreign and Commonwealth Office,
London, S.7.1.
LAST
R°F
8.1.
(E. C. Burr)
RECEIVED IN REGISTRY No.51 ¡12 MAY 1969
"HICKS/D
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