TNAG-0694-FCO40-844-Inspection-of-Hong-Kong-Department-1977 — Page 138

E.B. & Co. 56-3197 9/75

Registry No.

SECURITY CLASSIFICATION

Top Secret.

Secret.

1

Confidential.

Restricted.

Unclassified.

PRIVACY MARKING

сс

...................... In Confidence |

Mr Lewis (G&GD)

Mr Winchester

(SED)

Mr Morgan (Home Inspector

Mr Kirkness, ODM Mr Stewart, (HKD)

DRAFT

'To:

Pus

Type 1 +

FROM

Chief Clerk

Telephone No. Ext.

Department

TRANSFER OF GIBRALTAR INTERNAL SECTION FROM GIBRALTAR AND

GENERAL DEPARTMENT TO SOUTHERN EUROPEAN DEPARTMENT:

ADMINISTRATIVE ASPECTS

PROBLEM

1

Following his inspection of the Joint Departments and

Southern European Department, the Home Inspector recommended

that:

(a) responsibility for both the internal and external

affairs of Gibraltar should be brought together

in Southern European Department;

(b)

the remaining sections of G&GD should join

Hong Kong Department;

(c) Gibraltar and General Department should then

ARGUMENT

2

be disbanded.

Although involving a purely internal administrative

re-organisation, these recommendations have political snags

both in the United Kingdom and in Gibraltar. This minute is

concerned only with the administrative arguments for re-

organisation. If they are accepted, a separate submission

to Ministers on the political implications will be made by

SED along the lines of the attached draft, which they have

prepared with G&GD.

3

Administratively, it is convenient to handle the whole of the Gibraltar problem within one Department. The present system results in there being desks in both G&GD and SED handling Gibraltar matters. This involves duplication of

/papers