Mr. John D. TaylorTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many staff there are in the United Kingdom High Commission in Nicosia, Cyprus; how many of the staff are(a) Greek Cypriots and (b) Turkish Cypriots; and what steps are taken to monitor these proportions relative to the size of each of the communities on the island.
§ Mr. MaudeThere are 76 staff altogether in the High Commission. Of these, 40 are locally engaged, including six Greek Cypriots and four Turkish Cypriots.
Recruitment of locally engaged staff takes place on the basis of ability, not ethnic origin. There are, however, practical difficulties in recruiting members of one community to work in territory controlled by the other.