TNAG-1112-FCO40-1371-Possible-appointment-of-a-Dependent-Territories-Adviser-1982 — Page 3

HKA 431/9.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

MPEX

BRR

ية

Sir Richard Posnett KBE CMG BERMUDA

London SW1A 2AH

20 January 1982

1.

(27) HMC 025/1 (81)

Hra

Thank you for your letter of 8 December to Teddy Youde who has just relinquished his FCO duties following his desig- nation as the next Governor of Hong Kong.

2. The possible need for a Dependent Territories Adviser was indeed raised at the Caribbean Governors' Conference in Barbados last January. It was considered in a paper on Future Staffing in the Dependent Territories. This paper put for- ward a number of recommendations for dealing with the problem of staffing senior DT posts and ensuring a repository of colonial experience, as the pool of HMOCS experience dried up. The Conference noted the recommendation on a possible DTA appointment, which stated 'In 1982, depending on the economic restraints at the time, consideration should be given to the appointment of a senior ex-Governor to act as itinerant Dependent Territories Adviser ('HM Inspector General of Dependent Territories')'. Your letter therefore came as a timely reminder to us to examine the matter and it was helpful to have your views.

3.

As you know, WIAD are responsible for the majority of the remaining Dependent Territories. They already have an ex- Governor as a member of the Department on whose expertise they can draw. Hong Kong and General Department also have a very experienced ex-HMOCS officer to advise on general matters relating to the Dependent Territories and, of course, some of our FCO Legal Advisers also have considerable experience on colonial matters. We find that the expertise at our disposal is in practice sufficient. We also consider that the present link between Governors and Ministers provided by the FCO departments, e.g. WIAD, is wholly appropriate and works satis- factorily. Indeed, the Department is happy to be - and should be in constant dialogue with Governors. We recognise that some Governors, maybe those with limited Dependent Territory experience, might on occasion feel a sense of isolation. This is, I fear, something that has to be accepted. But Governors on the whole now enjoy leave at least every 18 months, in some cases every 12 months, there is the facility for calling them home for consultation if necessary, and an FCO departmental representative usually pays at least one visit a year to the

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