TNAG-1111-FCO40-1362-Notification-of-Governors--appointments-in-the-London-Gazett-1982 — Page 5

ADMINISTRATION IN CONFIDENCE

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36. Miss Pippet prepares for signature by The Queen all documents required for appointments of Ambassadors, High Commissioners, Governors General, Governors, Consular fficers, Diplomatic Service Officers and certain foreign Consular Officers appointed to the UK. This is a job peculiarly suitable to the talents of an ex-PA. Miss Pippet is also responsible for correspondence with the Home Office concerning Consular appointments to the United Kingdom and correspondence with dependent territories (primarily Hong Kong) concerning appointments to them and keeping an index file of these appointments and gazetting them. Career Consuls are notified to the department in form TX 37 (to Appointments Section). They are also notified in the third person note which is forwarded to Miss Pippet, which gives exactly the same information as in the TX 37 except that it does not define the consular district, nor does it give a curriculum vitae for honorary consular officers. I recommend that the TX 37 be redesigned so as to contain a space which will give such information, where necessary and that missions be informed that in future all the necessary information can be inserted on the TX 37 and the third person note done away with.

37.

Commissions for members of the Service, together with exequaturs for foreign consult, where appropriate, and notices of first calls by Heads of Mission on The Queen are published in the London Gazette. This used to be free of charge but under new arrangements it is costing rather more than £2,000 each year. There is no practical value from such gazetting nor any legal obligation. (apart from Orders in Council coming into force). I therefore recommend, unless the Head of Department is aware of any strong argument against, that such gazetting be abandoned. There is no practical value obtained from it - in the case of audiences to The Queen these are already published in The Times Court Circular. In the case of consular appointments all the appropriate bodies including the Home Office and the local authority are informed. Miss Pippet is also responsible for editing the list of "modes of address" for heads of state and heads of government and undertakes an annual amendment checking with the political departments. As a check is also made on each occasion when a formal letter is sent to a head of state, or a head of government there seems no need to have such an annual revision. I therefore recommend that it be abandoned and simply updated ad hoc as the need arises.

38. Miss Pank runs, with four Clerical Officers, the preparation of the "London Diplomatic List" (3 editions a year), and the three "In Confidence" Volumes of staffs in missions in London, staffs of consular posts and staffs of international organisations (2 editions of each a year). This involves the maintenance of records of appointments and changes of staff at missions, consular posts and international organisations and the circulation of this information to certain government departments and the police. It also involves issuance of certificates of identity to the persons entitled.

39. The London Diplomatic List was published four times a year. This was changed during the course of 1980 to three editions. Before deciding to make a switch the section consulted 21 major posts overseas as to how often their local Ministry of Foreign Affairs produced a local diplomatic list and what the charging arrangements were. Only one (Washington) produced every 3 months, and only 2 others produced every 4 months; 8 produced editions every 6 months; 9

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