Further supplementary memorandum submitted
by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office
SAN FRANCISCO RESIDENCE
Letter to the Chairman of the Committee
from the Permanent Under Secretary of State, Foreign and Commonwealth
Office, 28 October 2003
In the course of the Evidence Session on 14
October, the Foreign Affairs Committee requested some additional
information about the sale of the Consul-General's Residence in
San Francisco.
As requested, I attach a note (Annex A) summarising
the costs of ingoings for the new Residence at Presidio Terrace.
Both the work contracts and consultant's commissions were competitively
tendered. As you will see, a large proportion of the costs relate
to health and safety and security. Other costs were also necessarily
incurred in order to adapt the house to the representational needs
of he Consul-General. We have deliberately invested sufficient
resources in the new Residence to ensure that it achieves a high
representational standard, and also to reduce future maintenance
costs. The final cost outturn is likely to be in the region of
£640,000 compared to an earlier estimate of £680,000.
As you will know, both these figures are somewhat less than our
first estimate of the likely costs of ingoings contained in the
financial analysis which informed the decision to change Residences:
this initial estimate was £750,000.
The Committee also expressed interest in Sir
Christopher Meyer's views about the sale of the Residence. I attach
a note which sets these out in some detail (Annex B).
Finally, the Committee requested further information
on how disabled access to the new Residence compared with arrangements
at the old house. I can confirm that the old Residence (Pacific
Heights) made no provision for the disabled. The Committee will
recall that it is our intention to add a new conference facility
to our existing offices in San Francisco. Increasingly, we try
to achieve complementarily between the facilities offered by the
office amid Residence in any Post. This new conference suite will
cater fully for the needs of the disabled. Our new Consul-General,
Martin Uden, expects to use this facility extensively. So the
replacement of the conference facility in Pacific Heights with
a new conference suite in the offices will, in fact, improve our
ability to cater for the needs of the disabled.
Sir Michael Jay KCMG,
The Permanent Under Secretary of State, Foreign and
Commonwealth Office
October 2003
Annex A
SAN FRANCISCO: COSTS OF NEW RESIDENCE FIT-OUT
| £ |
| Works | |
| Health and Safety | 158,000
|
| Security | 20,000 |
| Refurbishment | 149,000 |
| New works | 53,000 |
| 380,000 |
| Other works | |
| Temporary accommodation for Consul General and moving costs
| 36,000 |
| Fees | |
| Project management and consultants | 116,000
|
| Furnishings | |
| Curtains, carpets, new furniture and repairs to old furniture
| 108,000 |
| Project Total | 640,000
|
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
October 2003
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Annex B
NOTE ON SIR CHRISTOPHER MEYER'S OBJECTIONS IN 2000 TO
THE SALE OF THE CONSUL-GENERAL'S RESIDENCE IN SAN FRANCISCO, AS
RECORDED IN FCO CORRESPONDENCE
1. Sir Christopher Meyer based his approach on three
principles: public diplomacy formed a large part of the diplomatic
effort across the United States; both offices and Residences mattered;
and we needed real value for money from capital assets.
2. Sir Christopher drew attention to the importance of
San Francisco, deriving from its proximity to Silicon Valley,
and as a financial services centre. He thought it would be "irrational"
to undermine the ability of the Consul-General and his team to
achieve their objectives. A move to the suburbs would be hard
to explain; he objected to any suggestion of choosing a house
located across the Golden Gate Bridge. He was concerned about
the amount of time already spent by the then Consul-General in
looking for alternative accommodation; and that the then Consul-General
not be moved before his retirement in July 2001. He agreed, however,
that there was potentially a resource accounting and budgeting
case for selling the current house and renting an adequate "downtown"
alternative.
3. After the Board meeting in October 2000, Sir Christopher
confirmed his willingness to examine alternatives to the then
residence in San Francisco but only if a suitable property could
be found. He was pessimistic about the time needed to do so.
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
October 2003
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