TNAG-0593-FCO40-739-Maintenance-of-Government-houses-in-Dependent-Territories-1977 — Page 15

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expenditer subjutit

to brook

-brush" Tresory

لتكمه

Mr Winchester

29 JUL 1977

TIKA 364/50111. JW

Reference..

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HKA 364| Soill. hr millen ial?

Akaw Dex (an. Steamt)

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MAINTENANCE OF GOVERNMENT HOUSES,

in Jazre

NOTI- Mr Hall.

yees

1. Reference your minute of July below. I am afraid that the difference between sheep and goats would be very difficult to get away from, particularly if the Treasury have any thing to do with it. Provision and maintenance of all Governors' houses has always been regarded as the responsibility of the Dependent Territory concerned except in cases where its own budget was unviable, in which event the whole of its finances came under tight control from the UK. While some of the territories in the sheep category, eg Solomon Islands, Gilbert Islands and Gibraltar, are only fortuitiously able to balance their allocation budgets at the present time, others, such as Hong Kong, must be well able to provide for the Governor's residence.

2.

Gibraltar jealously guards its non-grant-aided status although it is only a spin-off from massive MOD inputs (much of which are "support and sustain" activities in the broad sense) which keeps the local budget balanced and out of grant in aid. I am sure that Gibraltar Ministers would not wish to be relieved of the cost of maintaining Government House if the price for this was to become treated as if grant-aided. Further, it suits the present Gibraltar administration to have a high-ranking Governor, and they may well feel that the cost of maintaining the Convent is well worth paying as part of the price for this.

3. However, there have been signs in this general connection or of the sort of embarrassment to Governors referred to in

paragraph 4 of the note enclosed with Mr Stewart's minute in that we were told that it would be unwise to risk political difficulties in the Assembly in connection with an extra £500 to be added to the Governor's salary. Moreover, the Convent could certainly do with some form of central heating, but I have heard of no proposals to install this.

4.

If this question is to be gone into thoroughly it will be necessary to find out from the Accommodation & Services Department and from the Gibraltar Government and possibly MOD just how the cost of maintaining the Convent is provided for.

The

5. In my experience this problem is not limited to Governors' houses but to quarters in Dependent Territories occupied by Diplomatic Service officers and also by other UK-funded officers such as those under Technical Co-operation. The latter used to be entitled to spend £1,000 (it is probably more now) to bring their "colonial" standard houses up to an appropriate level. house allocated in Gibraltar to the Deputy Governor may not equate with that which a DS4 would be provided with in a Mission, and this raises problems of attracting DS officers to secondments to Dependent Territories. Usually some ad hoc arrangements are negotiated between the individual DS officer and the Accommodation

CODE 18 - 77

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