CONFIDENTIAL/ADMINISTRATION IN CONFIDENCE
recommendations for the department will bring an increased workload. Since we consider that the General and Administrative sections of Gibraltar and General department produce work for 1 x S2/3, we have recommended an overall establishment of four $2/3 (including the PA) once these sections are incorporated in the department. If, however, the Planning paper necessitates an increase of Hong Kong desk staff further secretarial staff may be needed.
Registry
A copy of
23. The registry was inspected by Mr V E Day and Miss B M MacGregor of the Registrar's Branch. their report is attached at Annex C.
24.
The authorised establishment provides for one-third x DS 9 Head of a joint registry for FED, HKIOD and SWED, and 3 x DS 10s. The DS 10 posts are at present all filled by Clerical Officers.
25. We have recommended at para 13 that following Seychelles independence all remaining FCO responsibility for the Seychelles and BIOT should be transferred with Mr Major's DS 6 post to EAD.
The Registrar's Branch have established that 80% of the work of the HKIOD registry section clerk responsible for the Seychelles is concerned with aid work (which will be transferred to the ODM from 1 July) and that the remaining 20% of Seychelles papers, together with the BIOT papers, can be absorbed by the existing three DS 10s in EAD registry. We recommend therefore that wef 1 July the DS 10/C0 post responsible for Seychelles/BIOT work in HKIOD registry should be cut.
26. Once the BIOT work has been removed and responsibility for Seychelles aid work has returned to the ODM, it is possible that the remaining Hong Kong work could be covered by Mr Bailey, a Clerical Officer who has been with the department since it was in the Colonial Office and is an invaluable memory bank. We recommend that the Registrar's Branch should review the establishment in three months time. If it is then decided that Mr Bailey can cover the work, we recommend that he should be integrated with the two desk officers in room K 245, where there is ample space for a third officer and filing cabinets. The second remaining DS 10 post can then be cut.
27. We have recommended in Part I that the Administrative and General sections of Gibraltar and General department should be added to HKIOD. They should bring their two DS 10 registry clerks with them who should then be integrated with the sections. If it is necessary to provide additional desk officers for Hong Kong affairs following acceptance of the Planning paper for Hong Kong it may also be necessary to provide additional registry staff.
8.
CONFIDENTIAL/ADMINISTRATION IN CONFIDENCE
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