Government provides. The Immigration Department in Hong Kong has in any case been "local" for many years. But I will certainly draw to the attention of the appropriate authorities in Hong Kong Mr Allison's comments on the apparent difficulty of getting information on registration for voting in the United Kingdom elections.
The picture will obviously change significantly after 1997, when our intention is that there should be a sizeable British Consulate-General in Hong Kong which will look after all legitimate UK interests there. It will take over the consular and passport functions currently being performed on our behalf by the Hong Kong Immigration Department. We will aim to achieve a smooth transition in 1997 to avoid any disruption to the services offered to British nationals resident in Hong Kong. All this will require careful planning and preparation and we will need to ensure that we have ready for 1997 a fully British operation. But to adopt well in advance of 1997 the sort of arrangements advocated by Mr Allison would not be the right way to go about this.
I hope to see "Conservatives Abroad" during my next visit to Hong Kong, and would be happy to go over the ground in greater detail with Mr Allison on that occasion if he wishes to pursue the matter further.
Yem
fina
THE LORD GLENARTHUR
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