TNAG-2191-FCO40-3128-Hong-Kong-nationality-package-1990 — Page 12

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From: Sir Patrick Wright Date: 6 March 1990

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· RECEIVED PEGISTRY

1 1 MAY 1990

DESK OFFICER

REGISTRY

INDEX

PA

Action Taken

147

BRITISH COUNCIL BOARD MEETING: 6 MARCH

Thank you for your briefing for this morning's meeting of the British Council Board. The following points may be worth recording in advance of the Council's own minutes.

1.

2.

At an early stage, Sir David Orr mentioned the exclusion of British Council staff from the categories likely to benefit from the Government's right of abode package in Hong Kong, and reported that some concern had been expressed, both to Council staff and to other visiting members of the Board, by their employees in Hong Kong. I made no comment on this beyond saying that earlier expressions of concern at the Board had been drawn to Ministerial attention. Mr Timothy Raison pointed out that there might be an opportunity to table a suitable amendment when the legislation was being considered in the House.

3

There was also some discussion at the meeting this morning about the parallel exercises conducted by the House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee and the Foreign and Commonwealth office on British membership of UNESCO. The Director-General suggested that the Board might themselves wish to express a view, but acknowledged that they were not in a position to do so, since no papers had been circulated. He suggested that, when an opportunity had been found to seek the views of the Board, he might himself wish to give evidence to the Foreign Affairs Committee. I intervened merely to point out that the FCO enquiry had been addressed both to the Director-General himself and to other members of the Board on an individual basis (eg. Sir Ray Ricketts). I take it that there would be no objection to the Director-General circulating our own papers to the Board, although I assume that our deadline has now passed?

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The discussion on the British Council's European paper concentrated mainly on their arrangements in Brussels. the course of the discussion, I suggested that they might wish to ensure that Sir David Hannay was fully consulted on the future role of their European Community Liaison Unit (ECLU). The Chairman himself expressed some scepticism about the proposal in paragraph 14 of the paper that a standing UK Committee on EC interests should be set up in London.

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