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Trade Commission's objectives. The correspondence has
culminated in the attached letter from Mr Day to the Chief
A Clerk, which asserts in effect that the Consulate-General
project has been mis-managed from the start, and that the
BTC's current objectives are misconceived. In the light of these allegations, it is worth recalling the process of decision making. The first step was a definition of the
functions of a post-1997 Consulate-General followed by
detailed staffing forecasts, and as a result a design brief.
4.
Ministers agreed in 1988 that we would need a
Consulate-General which would have the right "presence":
meet Britain's operational requirements in the territory
after 1997: and be affordable without distorting the FCO's spending programmes. An establishment forecast was drawn up in 1988 on the basis of a careful analysis of the probable
core functions of the Consulate-General after 1997 and of
the requirements of the British Council and the Immigration
experts. This forecast formed part of the briefing for the
inspection in 1990: the Inspectors report contains an ideal
staff establishment for the Consulate- General in 1997.
This was in turn one of the inputs to the detailed Schedule
of Requirements drawn up by the OED Planning Unit. This
document, refined in consultation with all interested
departments, was incorporated into the design brief prepared for the limited architectural competition. The BTC have been involved at all stages of this process.
5. There was also exhaustive analysis, in which the BTC
were fully involved, as to what kind of site and building
was required. The eventual outcome was an offer from HKG of
a private treaty grant at nominal premium on the "Colvin
House" site. Ministers accepted this offer. HMG would bear the construction costs (we have Treasury agreement to £20 million of funding at 1990 prices).
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