1.
16
Reference...
CONFIDENTIAL
Mr Champion
EXPENDITURE IN SUPPORT OF FOREIGN POLICY
I gather from your Department that you would like further material to support the notes which you took at our meeting on 28 February. I attach a minute by Mr Crowson which provides the background for what I said at our meeting. In summary I suggested that if expenditure was to be cut in Hong Kong the obvious target was the defence establishment, the cost of which far exceeds FCO expenditure there. However, if we had to concentrate solely on projects over which the FCO had some financial control, we could look into the possibility of retrenching the British Council office, at a saving of £43,000. I have not of course consulted the British Council or Cultural Relations Dept. or the Governor of Hong Kong. Beyond that there is the Regional Information Office, which is associated with IRD. We have, however, recently considered this within the FCO in the context of a replacement for the present Regional Information Officer. We then concluded that the .. office fulfils a useful function and should be continued.
2.
There is a BBC operation in Hong Kong as well as a BBC Cantonese programme which is at least partly aimed at Hong Kong. But we have no figures for this.
3.
In the case of BIOT and Seychelles I mentioned the staff in the Seychelles Governor's office who are described in Mr Crowson's minute. I also spoke of the possible saving on the BIOT estimates of £20,000. This is the current cost of operating the Nordvaer, an inter- island ship which was bought for BIOT in the days when some of the BIOT islands still held a measureable population. Now however that the Ilois from the plantations in the Chagos Archipelago have returned to Mauritius, the Nordvaer is mainly employed on Seychelles business and should properly be paid for by the Seychelles Government.
March 1974
DCSZ
A C Stuart
Hong Kong & Indian Ocean
Dept.
No comments yet.
Private notes are available after approval.