CODE 18 77
Mr Austen
PPD
3M 310
MANAGEMENT IN CONFIDENCE
Reference
1.
Thank you for your minute of 19 October agreeing to the addition of a DS7D/8 slot to our authorised establishment.
2.
Pending the arrival of the DS7, which I understand will probably be at the end of this month or the beginning of November, POD have allocated a DS9, Miss Kay Marles, to us. Miss Marles, who joined us in the department on 13 October, has recently finished a full-time language course and is not due to take up her posting to Moscow until next May. It is apparent from the present and foreseeable volume of extra work that, even when the DS7 does arrive, we shall also need to retain Miss Marles' services at least beyond the end of this month. (She is, incidentally, happy about this).
3.
The reason for our needing to retain her services is that while the DS7 will be mainly concerned with the policy aspects of the subjects with which he will be dealing, there will also still be a substantial amount of work of an ancillary and supportive nature stemming both from his duties and also from Mr Morris's. Parliamentary Questions, MPs' letters and requests for briefing information etc, from No 10 and from Ministers on the future and related matters all entail deadlines, many of them extremely short ones. Hence we see the need for a DS9 to help with the research and timely compilation, collation and clearance of answers and briefs. In addition the DS9 will be able to answer more routine letters and enquiries from the public, assist with arrangements for visitors, and also deal with the less pressing but still relatively urgent tasks superseded by parliamentary and No 10 work. I should, therefore, be grateful for your approval to retain Miss Marles' services beyond the arrival of the DS7.
4.
I suggest that we could reveiw the situation periodically as the picture and workloads might become clearer in the light of experience. Naturally, if the work- load should unexpectedly fall off we should let you know. I attach a job description.
H McQuade
Hong Kong and General Department WH 306
233 4381
27 October 1982
cc:
Mr Parker, 9/10 Unit, POD
MANAGEMENT IN CONFIDENCE