§ Mr. MacGregorasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list in order the five largest British embassies in relation to cost and to numbers of employees.
§ Mr. Tomlinson:The information is as follows:
(a) In order of cost Embassy/High Commission Annual running costs*(1977–78) (£ millions) Washington 5.7 Paris 3.6 Bonn 2.8 Tokyo 2.5 Lagos 2.0 145W
(b)In order of numbers of employees Embassy/High Commission UK-based staff* Locally engaged staff* Total Washington 137 175 312 New Delhi 64 202 266 Paris 93 142 235 Bonn 80 120 200 Islamabad 70 93 163 *The numbers of staff shown are borne by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office Vote. Expenditure relates to that borne by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office together with relatively small expenditure borne by Her Majesty's Stationery Office and by the Property Services Agency for certain accommodation provided overseas.
§ Mr. Parryasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the Heung Yee Kuk's meeting with the Minister of State concerning New Territory matters in Hong Kong.
§ Mr. Luard:I would refer my hon. Friend to the reply I gave on 28th July 1977 when I said:
As my hon. Friend will be aware, my right hon. and noble Friend the Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office, met the delegation on 26th April. During the meeting, which was cordial and constructive, the delegation presented a petition on various aspects of the Hong Kong Government's policies with regard to the New Territories of Hong Kong. The Hong Kong Government have since sent a reply to the petition on the Minister of State's behalf ".—[Vol. 936, c. 510–11.]