AIR MAIL
Ref: ADM/COMM/01
GOVERNMENT SECRETARIAT.
HONG KONG.
25th October, 1978.
Year Robni.
It was good of you to fit me into your programme when you were here earlier this month even though I had not at that point in time taken over as Director of Administration and Management Services from Morris Morgan.
I am now "in post" and I see that one of the things which was raised at Government House before you left was the issue of the Executive Council papers to FCO. I should like to confirm that our current procedure is for papers to be sent to you at the same time as they are issued to Members prior to discussion. This usually means on the Friday next but one before the date on which the item is to be discussed. This gives Members two clear weekends to study the papers. After the meeting, the minutes of Executive Council are sent to you together with a full set of papers discussed at the relevant meeting. This, in effect, means that you receive at FCO two sets of all Executive Council papers; one in advance of the discussion and one with the record of the meeting.
On the question of background information, I am writing to all Secretaries and Heads of major Departments here asking them to send you (and Denis Bray) background telegrams or, if appropriate, a letter on anything of particular interest which may be boiling up or on which an important Executive Council paper will be issued in the near future. Letters would be addressed personally to you and telegrams would be marked for you to see so that you will have as much advanced warning as possible.
As a quid pro quo, I should be grateful if you would copy to Denis Bray any telegrams to or from Hong Kong which pass across your desk but which have not been copied to him and which may be of interest to him.
If any of these arrangements is not satisfactory,
perhaps you would let me know.
Your year
sever.
lan.
(I.F.C. Macpherson)
R.J.T. McLaren, Esq.,
Head of Department,
Hong Kong & General Department, Foreign & Commonwealth Office, LONDON, SW1A 2AH
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