§ Mrs. GillanTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs on what dates the diplomatic posts will be closed in(a) Chaing Mai (b) Cleveland, (c) Kuching, (d) Pusan and (e) Seville. [63824]
§ Mr. FatchettKuching was closed on 28 November 1998.
No date has been set for the closure of Chiang Mai, Cleveland, Pusan and Seville. They will take place towards the end of this financial year, or in financial year 1999–2000.
§ Mrs. GillanTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has received from(a) Governments, (b) industry and (c) other interested parties on the proposed closures of the diplomatic posts at (a) Chaing Mai, (b) Cleveland, (c) Kuching, (d) Pusan and (e) Seville; and what consultation he has undertaken in each case. [63825]
§ Mr. FatchettThere has been no representation received in either the host countries or in London from governments or any other party over the proposed closures of Kuching, Pusan and Chiang Mai. DTI have received inquiries about these closures from British companies asking for clarification.
The issue of the closure of Seville was raised informally with our Ambassador in Spain by the Spanish Government, and we have received some representations from members of the public concerned that there would be sufficient consular cover from Malaga.
403WThirteen Congressmen, a Senator and the Governor of Ohio have petitioned our Embassy in Washington over the closure of Cleveland. There have been representations to the FCO and our embassy in Washington from some US politicians and by various British companies and members of the public.
In each case, we took representations into consideration before taking a final decision.
§ Mrs. GillanTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list(a) the selling agents, (b) the sale price and (c) the reserve price of each of his Department's properties currently for sale in (i) Dublin, (ii) Bonn and (iii) Casablanca. [63819]
§ Mr. FatchettThe Selling Agents in Dublin are Hamilton Osborne King and F.P.D. Savills. In Bonn we are being advised by Colliers Erdman Lewis, although they are not appointed in the capacity of agents. In Casablanca our agents are Gerald Cantarel.
The remainder of the information requested is commercially sensitive.
§ Mrs. GillanTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what plans he has to close the High Commission in Port Vila in Vanuatu. [63822]
§ Mr. FatchettThere are no plans to close the High Commission in Port Vila, Vanuatu. However we are looking at a more flexible approach to our representation there.
§ Mrs. GillanTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what plans he has to reduce the British diplomatic presence in Papua New Guinea. [63820]
§ Mr. FatchettOf the three UK-based staff currently in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea, one will not be replaced when his tour ends (March 1999). The remaining two positions will be retained.
§ Mrs. GillanTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many(a) departmental officials, (b) locally—engaged staff and (c) officials from other departments are currently engaged in the diplomatic posts in (i) Chaing Mai, (ii) Cleveland, (iii) Kuching, (iv) Pusan and (v) Seville. [63823]
§ Mr. FatchettThe following table shows the number of staff employed in the Missions listed.
Post staff UK-based FCO staff LE staff Other department staff Chiang Mai 1.0 1.0 0.0 Cleveland 1.0 4.5 0.0 Kuching 1.0 1.0 0.0 Pusan 0.0 2.0 0.0 Seville 0.0 5.0 0.0 Total 3.0 13.5 0.0