Registry
No. HKA 363/1
DRAFT
SECURITY CLASSIFICATION
Top Secret,
Secret.
1
Confidential.
Restricted.
Unclassified.
PRIVACY MARKING
In Confidence
DSR 11
To:-
CIRCULAR LETTER
Mr CH Godden, ANGUILLA
Mr J A Davidson OBE, BRITISH
VIRGIN ISLANDS
Mr G W Jones CBE, MONTSERRAT Mr G C Guy CMG, CVO, OBE
ST HELENA
Mr JC Strong, TURKS AND CAICOS
*
MAINTENANCE OF GOVERNMENT HOUSES
Type 1 +
From
RJT McLaren
Telephone No. Ext.
Department
HK and General Dept.
1. On 21 February 1978, my predecessor sent you a circular letter telling you that we were looking onto the possibility of making UK funds available to cover the costs of maintaining Government Houses. You all subsequently wrote giving an assessment of the funds required, firstly to bring the house you occupy up to a reasonable standard of repair, and secondly to give the annual cost of maintaining its fabric, furniture and furnishings in this condition.
2. I am sorry to have taken so long before coming back to you on this problem, but I hope that what we are now proposing will go some way towards providing a solution. First of all, you will be glad to learn that there is no problem about making the actual money available from UK funds. This has been agreed by ODM. Once this was established, we have been deliberating over the best method of getting the money to you. We have concluded that the only feasible way for this to be done is through your Territories 'budgets In the case of Caribbean territories, the Development Division will of course
be involved. I realise that this may resurrect the old objections from Governments that the money thus voted could be far better used on the poor of the territory. However, we think this argument might be combatted by pointing out that Government House. is part of the territory's assets and heritage and that it will one day, in all probability, be used as the Head of State's Residence. It is therefore in the
territory's own interest that it should be properly maintained It is our intention that the money agreed for this purpose should be identified entirely separately from the rest of the Governor's vote and should therefore be additional to the
/territory's