HC Deb 12 December 1956 vol 562 cc45-6W
59. Mr. Teeling

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs why the Consulate-General, Nice, is being closed down; whether he is aware that the railway journey from Nice to Marseilles, the nearest existing consulate, takes five hours and costs 3,000 francs; and how many British subjects, other than tourists, are registered at the Nice consulate.

Mr. Ormsby-Gore

It has been decided that Her Majesty's Consulate-General at Nice should be closed at the end of January next in view of the pressing need for economies in Government expenditure. My right hon. and learned Friend is aware that some degree of inconvenience and expense may result for British subjects on the French Riviera; but arrangements will be made to reduce this inconvenience by means of periodic visits to the Riviera by a member of the staff of Her Majesty's Consulate-General at Marseilles.

The Answer to the last part of the Question is, approximately three thousand.