TNAG-0694-FCO40-844-Inspection-of-Hong-Kong-Department-1977 — Page 139

papers and effort and a good deal of consultation between

two Heads of Department and two Under Secretaries.

discussed. the proposed move with Sir D Tebbit and

You

t

the Home Inspector in February last year. At that time the

transfer of Gibraltar to SED was linked with the split of

the latter into a South East European Department and South

West European Department in order to avoid overloadking SED.

You considered the resulting two departments might be too

small and requested a review of the possibilities of re- allocating the European work as a whole among four departments (including the new SEED and SWED) rather than the present

three departments. The Home Inspector reviewed the

possibilities but concluded that there would be no advantage

in transferring responsibilities from EESD or WED and that the load on SED had by then (March last year) diminished to a

point where it should be possible for SED to absorb G&GD's

Gibraltar section without a split. This has since been

accepted by all those concerned, subject to a review of SED's worklagd and staffing six months after the transfer takes place.

4

The administration of aid presents a problem. Our aid (£2.5 million per annum) represents an integral part of our commitment to support the Gibraltarians against the Spanish restrictions and in that sense it is unlike a more 'normal' aid programme, although it is used to support developments which we and the ODM regard as being in the social and economic interests of the local populace and has to be used in a cost effective manner. Because of the

political context, responsibility for the administration of aid should ideally go with the rest of the Section to SED, and this was the Inspector's original recommendation.

/However