Canaries to lose British Consulate

[Janet]

Nah, they don't respect their staff enough ... 

[Guanche]

True Janet, they certainly don't respect ex-pats or over 3 million British tourists! So (bear in mind I've had a whiff for the bar maids apron) there will be no consular office what so ever in the Canaries? I've probably miss understood sorry

[Janet]

S'OK

We'll still have a consulate, but it'll manned by staffers, no actual consul. Our consul will be based in Malaga, and his turf expanded to cover the whole of southern Spain and the Canaries.

[Janet]

The Foreign Office insists that this is not a cost-cutting exercise but a restructuring. Well, that restructuring is also affecting the Balearic Islands as well, with their consul now based in Barcelona. And if anyone thought the reaction here was excessive, the Majorca Daily Bulletin has laid into the decision, and just a glance at the front page above will show that any reaction in the Canaries has been mild by comparison. I don't think either archipelago is being unreasonable to ask why a "restructuring exercise" has been foisted on expatriates and holidaymakers alike in Britain's two most popular areas of Spain without any forewarning or consultation. I don't think either archipelago is being unreasonable, either, to say that "restructuring exercise" is not, actually, enough of an explanation. JA

[Guanche]

It is a cost cutting exercise the British government lies! Well we all know that! but I have to ask what does a consul do? How will it directly affect ex-pats and holiday makers? the absence of one person? I would suspect that the bulk of work done in a consulate is sorting out lost passports, visiting criminals in prison or jail and general tourist problems victims of crime etc.

If there will be people to do the above is it going to be that bad?

[Janet]

I was always dubious about plans to reduce the consulate presence here, and the replacement of Maria Leng with Steve Jones based in Malaga, and indeed the situation is again up in the air to the detriment of the Canaries with the news that Mr Jones is to be moved on within just five months of his appointment. Apparently he is now to head a new "Global Contact Centre" being set up by the FO. Only the other day I was contacted by someone who was getting nowhere trying to report a stolen passport. It will be interesting to see what the new arrangements will be for these islands. When will they realize that people don't want a "global" contact anything. They want an immediate contact in the Canaries. JA

[NAH]

....... to report a stolen passport....

Is that not simply the police station? That's where i reported mine when it was stolen in 1995.

[Janet]

Well yes, but the consulate's most recent communications essentially limited what they were interested in dealing with to ... stolen passports ...

[Janet]

The Foreign Office has issued the following press release about the departure of Steve Jones:

Steve Jones, British Consul for the Canary Islands and Malaga, appointed Global Contact Centre Manager for the Foreign Office

Search for new Consul for southern Spain begins – handover expected in May

Malaga Contact Centre to act as model for three further centres worldwide

Steve Jones, British Consul for the Canary Islands and Malaga, is to take up a new role as Global Contact Centre Manager for the Foreign Office's flagship Contact Centre programme.

After two terms as Consul for the Canaries and four years as Consul in Malaga, Mr Jones has been appointed to manage the expansion of the highly successful Malaga Contact Centre – which will soon handle consular enquires from across the whole of Europe and Africa – and the creation of three more centres in Hong Kong, Dubai and Ottawa. Once all four centres are established, Mr Jones will oversee the day-to-day performance of the global contact centre operation.

Dave Thomas, Consular Regional Director for Southern Europe, said:

"We will be sad to lose Steve as Consul, particularly after only five months in the Canaries.

"However in that time he has increased the number of customer-facing staff from eight to nine, including the Honorary Consul in Lanzarote, extended opening hours at the Consulate in Tenerife, and set-up a new process for seeking customer feed-back in Gran Canaria that we will now be extending across southern Europe.

"He has also successfully managed the development of the Malaga Consulate and Contact Centre over the last two years, increasing the number of staff delivering consular services from seven to 25, and recruiting and launching Honorary Consuls in Almeria and Jerez.

"The Vice Consuls and their teams in the Canaries and Malaga will continue to deliver exactly the same high quality of consular assistance. The new Consul will take over the responsibility for strategic issues and consular policy. Steve will remain in post until May before the handover to his replacement."

JA