Other parliamentary topics the Lord President will pursue ilude the extent to which the drafting of legislation is solely the hands of the Government; the possible use of outside experts for drafting, or for commenting on, Bills; the possibility of carrying over Government Bills as well as private Bills from one session to another; and the extent of formal consultation on draft legislation with outside interest groups, professional lobbies etc and the wider public. He also plans to gather information on how the other countries' systems for direct public funding of Opposition parties (analogious to our own "Short money") work in practice and whether parliamentarians are content with them.
FCO support the principle of the visit and the proposed objectives. This will be the first senior ministerial visit to Australia for almost a year, and will provide a very welcome opportunity to renew bilateral contact at the highest level. The Lord President will therefore engage in a series of ministerial calls and make
and make two speeches in different centres. In New Zealand, his visit will also help to sustain the British profile, following up on visits from senior figures from the New Zealand Government to the UK. Particularly during the UK Presidency of the EC, when ministerial visits to other parts of the world will in general be less easy to arrange, both High Commissions welcome the prospect of a visit that will demonstrate in a practical way that the UK commitment to Europe will not be at the expense of other long standing friendships.
In Hong Kong, the focus for the Lord President's visit is the campaign against the misuse of drugs, and the Lord President plans a series of meetings in his capacity as Chairman of the Ministerial Sub Committee on the Misuse of Drugs, including visits to boost the morale of UK personnel on loan to the Hong Kong authorities.
I should be grateful for formal approval SO that our High Commissioners can make formal approaches to the Australian and New Zealand Governments and press ahead with detailed
preparations.
I am copying this letter to Richard Gozney and Murdo Maclean, and to Sonia Phippard.
Alex Allan Esq PPS/Prime Minister
TJ Sutton
Principal Private Secretary
No comments yet.
Private notes are available after approval.