LIV
independence. PPD are in correspondence with the ODM about this. Their departure will leave a small body of Hong Kong aid work which can readily be taken over by the Hong Kong section. The aid comprises the supply of books and equipment to a value of £900,000 for a polytechnic and 4 technical institutes in Hong Kong. The Crown Agents are arranging purchase and the desk officers' responsibility consists only in processing their reports. Mrs Johnson and Mrs Birch hope to have obtained all necessary trade waivers (ie Treasury agreement for the purchase of non- British books and equipment) before leaving the department. The aid programme for Hong Kong should be complete by early 1978. B.
Secretarial Staff
20.
The department have four $2/3s including the PA and an $2 working with the Indian Ocean section who came to the department as supernumerary with the Seychelles Independence Unit and has stayed on.
21. We have counted a month's output of the Personal Assistant and two $2/3s working for the Hong Kong section. The PA had a total of 10.5 units per day (CSD norm is 9-114 units per day) and the other two girls had 10.87 and 10.18 respectively (CSD norm is 12-15 for a shorthand-typist). Miss Graham,
the S2 working in the Indian Ocean section, had failed to keep a month's float and we were unable therefore to count her output. The shorthand pool have told us that the department make little MILTON' use of their services. Mr Duffy, however, uses an audio machine
JANUR!!
'on occasion and sends tapes to the audio pool. On the face
of it therefore both $2/3s in the Hong Kong section are under- employed and the present workload should not justify more than a total of three $2/3s in the department. We shall not recommend any immediate cuts because all the other girls are changing shortly and there is obvious advantage in Miss Graham continuing to handled the Seychelles work until independence. It would in any case be inconvenient for the Seychelles section to have to depend upon typists housed on the floor below them. We recommend, however, that with effect from 1 July Miss Graham's post should be cut.
22. The Head of department, Assistant and two desk officers in the Hong Kong section do not and are unlikely to provide a full load for a Personal Assistant and two shorthand-typists. Our count indicates, however, that whilst not providing a full load
Xfor three girls they provide too much for two. We shall not,
therefore, recommend any further cuts in the expectation that
7.
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