CODE 18-77
Reference..
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In particular he would be interested to know of examples where activities in the DTS (eg training activities, criminal investigations, surveys, contingency plans, attendance by FCO officials at conferences, establishment of special advisers) have been curtailed or abandoned on account of lack of funds. I should therefore be pleased to receive details of any cases where SED, FID or SPD have experienced frustrations similar to those outlined in paragraph 3 above, and which might be included to add strength and substance to the case for establishing a DT contingency fund.
6.
I should also be interested to hear your views on whether a DT Contingency Budget would necessarily prove the best answer to this problem. It could be argued that its establishment would encourage ODA and Home Civil Service departments to withold funds from the DTS on the grounds that the FCO now possessed a special DT budget and had acknowledged its own full responsibility towards the Dependent Territories. As a result, the DTS might end up with less overall access to Whitehall funding than currently. One way of squaring this circle might be to approach the Home Departments at high level, emphasising HMG's collective responsibility for the good government of the DTs and suggesting that they too should set up contingency funds from existing resources. In this way the the terms of reference of the FCO's Contingency Fund could be defined to cover areas lying outside the agreed remit of the similar Funds created by the Home Departments. But establishing such a network would be far from straightforward and the case would need to be put with cogency and persistence. I should welcome any other ideas.
14 July 1989
CC:
PS/Mr Eggar/ Mr Fearn Mr Footma
DT1AEF
HKD (fi)
P January
West Indian & Atlantic Department WH MZ 36
270-2631
CONFIDENTIAL