British Embassy Expected To Name New Honorary Consul To Pattaya

[webfact]

British Embassy expected to name New Honorary Consul to Pattaya

By Staff Reporter

The now deserted British Consulate in Pattaya

PATTAYA: -- We have been told that the British Embassy is expected to name the new Honorary Consul to Pattaya very soon, after extra ordinary delays and a year that has seen the city enjoy an Hon Con, a Vice Con and then nobody at all.

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With No chances of the actual Consulate re-opening, We have also been told that several people were offered the position, only to see them turn it down once they were fully acquainted with the very limited duties that are to be involved following a series of issues that have resulted in the position being emasculated by the Embassy.

Meanwhile, our source tells us that the FCO in London HAS approved a number of posts in BANGKOK for staff who will be responsible for the remote running of the Pattaya region.

Whether a requirement for those jobs was experience with Nintendo and Xbox is unclear but they will be be expected to do most of the work previously assigned to the Vice Consul and her predecessors in the, now closed, Pattaya Consulate. The details of the new posts are now on the Embassy web site, including their responsibilities which exactly match all those previously done by Honorary and Vice Consuls.

The operation of a remote control aside, they will be expected to cover all prison/custody visits and all hospital visits along with the usual contacts and emergencies the region generates..

Most hospital contact will be by telephone, and the new Honorary Consul will assist in these by holding a phone to the ear of any distressed Brit who is incapable or, in cases where he or she is unable to speak, to relay the messages back and forth in true carrier pigeon style.

The new, Bangkok based, positions will raise a few eyebrows as the Embassy has been advertising not 1 but 4 Jobs, including a full time Senior Pro Consul, two Pro Consuls and at least one Consular Assistant, with salaries of between 240,000 and 400,000 baht a year, ( most will be available to Local Nationals as well). Making a slight but significant mockery of previous claims that the Pattaya Consulate was financially not making a good enough profit. [more...]

Full story: http://www.pattaya10...consul-pattaya/

--Pattaya 103 FM 2013-01-28

[Theboy]

Remember the people who run the emabassies are Civil Servants and are only in the job because they can find no other

[stiggy]

Remember the people who run the emabassies are Civil Servants and are only in the job because they can find no other

Or are in the job as they are decent people, that genuinely like to help people.Despite all the negativity and bitching they have to put up with.

Statements like yours always make me grin.As the first people they call when in trouble in a foreign land and need there hand holding, is always the very people they have just put down.

[evadgib]

Phuket and Koh Samui, however, are being treated somewhat differently. No changes are expected in their current method of operation and the paid positions at their consulates will remain in place, with duties continuing as in the past.

There aren't any!

Edited January 28, 2013 by evadgib

[david555]

Keep posting like this ....and i think you can drive a bustrip to BKK for the even minor thing

[Rinrada]

Great meeting yesterday morning with the CMEC in Le Meridian where the guest speaker was H.M.Consul Michael Hancock who gave an excellent...first class... presentation on the workings of the Embassy and indeed also qualified the report regarding a new Hon Consul for Pattaya.

Should anyone and not just Brits get the opportunity to meet and discuss with him I would suggest you jump at the chance..

[billd766]

Great meeting yesterday morning with the CMEC in Le Meridian where the guest speaker was H.M.Consul Michael Hancock who gave an excellent...first class... presentation on the workings of the Embassy and indeed also qualified the report regarding a new Hon Consul for Pattaya.

Should anyone and not just Brits get the opportunity to meet and discuss with him I would suggest you jump at the chance..

He won't come out to rural Thailand though there are a lot of Brits out here.

[jacko45k]

Deserted consulate...... I thought it was a cafe.

[harrry]

Deserted consulate...... I thought it was a cafe.

lookss as if it has great disabled access.

[Rinrada]

Great meeting yesterday morning with the CMEC in Le Meridian where the guest speaker was H.M.Consul Michael Hancock who gave an excellent...first class... presentation on the workings of the Embassy and indeed also qualified the report regarding a new Hon Consul for Pattaya.

Should anyone and not just Brits get the opportunity to meet and discuss with him I would suggest you jump at the chance..

He won't come out to rural Thailand though there are a lot of Brits out here.

Possibly not and with an estimated 50,000 UK subjects scattered around this fair land I would not expect him on my doorstep..unless invited for maybe a spot of tiffin...of course . Would need a sat conn to find our place here in the jungle.

I think its a case of one simply has to make the effort and yesterday about 200 hardy souls did and were well rewarded for their adventure information and conversation wise...

coffee and buns were rather good also

[harrry]

Great meeting yesterday morning with the CMEC in Le Meridian where the guest speaker was H.M.Consul Michael Hancock who gave an excellent...first class... presentation on the workings of the Embassy and indeed also qualified the report regarding a new Hon Consul for Pattaya.

Should anyone and not just Brits get the opportunity to meet and discuss with him I would suggest you jump at the chance..

He won't come out to rural Thailand though there are a lot of Brits out here.

Possibly not and with an estimated 50,000 UK subjects scattered around this fair land I would not expect him on my doorstep..unless invited for maybe a spot of tiffin...of course . Would need a sat conn to find our place here in the jungle.

I think its a case of one simply has to make the effort and yesterday about 200 hardy souls did and were well rewarded for their adventure information and conversation wise...

coffee and buns were rather good also

One must also note the rarified venue of the meeting and consider if it is representative of the people for whom he is appointed to serve. I am not suggesting a Soi 6 bar but a more representative venue would surely more apropriate if he really was there to serve all.

Edited January 28, 2013 by harrry

[Arkady]

Remember the people who run the emabassies are Civil Servants and are only in the job because they can find no other

Entry to the administrative grade of the FCO is still by extremely competitive examination. Successful candidates could in most cases go into more highly paid fields, if they chose. Problems, which I admit are legion from the perspective of expats, arise mainly from budgetary issues and the policies of the UK government which is elected by guess who.

[lounger]

Deserted consulate...... I thought it was a cafe.

lookss as if it has great disabled access.

One thing at a time. Does the bangkok bus have disabled access? Some people astonish me with their inability to see progress, which in this case is talking about getting an Hon Con back

[harrry]

Deserted consulate...... I thought it was a cafe.

lookss as if it has great disabled access.

One thing at a time. Does the bangkok bus have disabled access? Some people astonish me with their inability to see progress, which in this case is talking about getting an Hon Con back

DOes every government building in the UK have public access? A much more relevent ccomparison than Bangkok busses.

[Rinrada]

In compliance with the DDA...yes

[Osiris]

Lets hope the new dude or dudette has a phat pair...

[Ian Curtis]

Great meeting yesterday morning with the CMEC in Le Meridian where the guest speaker was H.M.Consul Michael Hancock who gave an excellent...first class... presentation on the workings of the Embassy and indeed also qualified the report regarding a new Hon Consul for Pattaya.

Should anyone and not just Brits get the opportunity to meet and discuss with him I would suggest you jump at the chance..

How and where?

[siberianwarcat]

If it's true, that would be good. I telephoned the Embassy this morning and asked Jeff Mitchell about Pattaya specifically. He confirmed that the Consulate in Pattaya is closed and there are no plans for that to change.

All positions advertised on the Embassy are Bangkok based.

http://ukinthailand.fco.gov.uk/en/about-us/our-embassy/working-for-us/

There appears to be a difference between the story headline (implying a Pattaya focus to the role) and what the Embassy is saying the job is about.

[Rinrada]

Just got a new DTAC Aircard and can now for first time get pics and video..utube and up 2 date info....etc....getting better

Not a bad interview with the new UK Ambassador Mark Kent on Thai PSB...bit of stuff about Davos /uk but mostly from our Embassy..he gets around...

[LeCharivari]

Remember the people who run the emabassies are Civil Servants and are only in the job because they can find no other

Entry to the administrative grade of the FCO is still by extremely competitive examination. Successful candidates could in most cases go into more highly paid fields, if they chose. Problems, which I admit are legion from the perspective of expats, arise mainly from budgetary issues and the policies of the UK government which is elected by guess who.

You are confusing "A" stream and "B" stream FCO employees (and these are official gradings).

"A" streamers are those who may go on to be Ambassadors and "flyers"; "B" streamers are not. Consular staff are "B" streamers.

[LeCharivari]

Great meeting yesterday morning with the CMEC in Le Meridian where the guest speaker was H.M.Consul Michael Hancock who gave an excellent...first class... presentation on the workings of the Embassy and indeed also qualified the report regarding a new Hon Consul for Pattaya.

Should anyone and not just Brits get the opportunity to meet and discuss with him I would suggest you jump at the chance..

CMEC?

Conservative Middle East Council? Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission? China Machinery Engineering Corporation? Chonburi Medical Educational Center?

Michael Hancock was the person who personally selected the last and very short-lived Vice Consul, so sealing the fate of the Consulate - something he somehow overlooks when explaining why the Consulate was closed, etc, etc. Under those circumstances a certain economy with how he "qualifies" reports is understandable. Maybe you could tell us exactly what he said?

[LeCharivari]

.... with an estimated 50,000 UK subjects scattered around this fair land ...

A figure frequently quoted by the British Embassy, presumably at least in part to justify the number of Consular staff. Surprising how few of them die every year (less than 300, including a few unfortunate tourists). Like most things from the British Embassy the numbers just don't add up.

[TommyDee]

.... with an estimated 50,000 UK subjects scattered around this fair land ...

A figure frequently quoted by the British Embassy, presumably at least in part to justify the number of Consular staff. Surprising how few of them die every year (less than 300, including a few unfortunate tourists). Like most things from the British Embassy the numbers just don't add up.

yes, I just worked it out and, by their figures, we can all expect to liveunitl we are 997 years and 3 months, 2 days old

[Rinrada]

Great meeting yesterday morning with the CMEC in Le Meridian where the guest speaker was H.M.Consul Michael Hancock who gave an excellent...first class... presentation on the workings of the Embassy and indeed also qualified the report regarding a new Hon Consul for Pattaya.

Should anyone and not just Brits get the opportunity to meet and discuss with him I would suggest you jump at the chance..

CMEC?

Conservative Middle East Council? Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission? China Machinery Engineering Corporation? Chonburi Medical Educational Center?

Michael Hancock was the person who personally selected the last and very short-lived Vice Consul, so sealing the fate of the Consulate - something he somehow overlooks when explaining why the Consulate was closed, etc, etc. Under those circumstances a certain economy with how he "qualifies" reports is understandable. Maybe you could tell us exactly what he said?

Happy to but if you wish to pm me I will give you his private number and you can clarify with him in person.

Should have put an XP after the E in the title of The Chiang Mai E Club.....can be confusing...always thought that The IRA was a tax service...?

[LeCharivari]

Great meeting yesterday morning with the CMEC in Le Meridian where the guest speaker was H.M.Consul Michael Hancock who gave an excellent...first class... presentation on the workings of the Embassy and indeed also qualified the report regarding a new Hon Consul for Pattaya.

Should anyone and not just Brits get the opportunity to meet and discuss with him I would suggest you jump at the chance..

CMEC?

Conservative Middle East Council? Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission? China Machinery Engineering Corporation? Chonburi Medical Educational Center?

Michael Hancock was the person who personally selected the last and very short-lived Vice Consul, so sealing the fate of the Consulate - something he somehow overlooks when explaining why the Consulate was closed, etc, etc. Under those circumstances a certain economy with how he "qualifies" reports is understandable. Maybe you could tell us exactly what he said?

Happy to ....

Then why don't you do so, so those of us in Pattaya can be as well informed about the position of the Pattaya Honoray Consul (designate) as you appear to be in Chiang Mai?

... but if you wish to pm me I will give you his private number and you can clarify with him in person.

While I have little regard for Michael Hancock, since although he played little part in the decision to close the Consulate which was taken well above his head he was directly responsible for the events justifying its closure and he has changed the reasons for its closure every time he has made a statement, I am sure that he did not give you his "private number" in order for you to give it to all and sundry whom you have never met in an open internet forum.

[LeCharivari]

Phuket and Koh Samui, however, are being treated somewhat differently. No changes are expected in their current method of operation and the paid positions at their consulates will remain in place, with duties continuing as in the past.

There aren't any!

Correct - no Consulates as the only remaining one is in Chiang Mai. There are still, however, Honorary Consuls who are still paid a "stipend" - which, for the amount of work involved (which has no relation to the amount of work previously done in Pattaya by HM and BK) amounts on an hourly basis to around double that paid to full time locally employed staff such as the new Senior Pro Consuls or the old Vice Consul in Pattaya. The Phuket Hon Con also has limited responsibility for notarial services (by appointment) and both will continue to visit hospitals, arrestees, etc on their own initiative and to have some leeway to be "pro-active". None of that, according to the Embassy's own website, will apply to the new Hon Con in Pattaya.

[LeCharivari]

.... with an estimated 50,000 UK subjects scattered around this fair land ...

A figure frequently quoted by the British Embassy, presumably at least in part to justify the number of Consular staff. Surprising how few of them die every year (less than 300, including a few unfortunate tourists). Like most things from the British Embassy the numbers just don't add up.

yes, I just worked it out and, by their figures, we can all expect to live unitl we are 997 years and 3 months, 2 days old

Yes, its absolute nonsense - and that "50,000" was actually the number of British expats touted by the Embassy as living in Pattaya, not in Thailand as a whole.

The death rate in the UK is around 1.3%, while 300 deaths out of 50,000 is only 0.6% - double the life expectancy of Brits in the UK. 50 deaths in Pattaya out of 50,000 is 0.1%, or around 13 times that of the UK or around 1,000 years old .... and that's not even allowing for most expats coming here when they are hardly in their first flush of youth.

The Embassy in Bangkok often draw parallels in numbers between the number of British tourists and expats in Thailand and in Spain, but there are over six times as many British deaths in Spain every year (around 1,800) as there are in Thailand.

Its just another example of the need to take anything the Embassy says about the amount of work it does (at least on the Consular side) with a rather large pinch of salt.

As I've said before, though, its really a storm in a very small teacup. There wasn't an Honorary Consul in Pattaya for several months after HM resigned in 2011 and before Ms Bennett too over in 2012, and apart from the "notarial service" of Proof of Pension Letters, etc, there hasn't been any Consular representation in Pattaya since July last year when she too resigned, nor have any Consular representatives had to visit Pattaya for Consular work (prison/police/hospital visits, deaths, etc) at all during either absence. Has anyone noticed, apart from those needing the pension letters, and will anyone notice when one is eventually appointed? I rather doubt it. HM and BK did a lot of work as Hon Cons because they wanted to, not because they needed to, (and in many cases it was work that the Consul in Bangkok didn't want them to do!) but the next Hon Con won't be able to whether he/she wants to or not.

[BlackPuddingBertha]

.... with an estimated 50,000 UK subjects scattered around this fair land ...

A figure frequently quoted by the British Embassy, presumably at least in part to justify the number of Consular staff. Surprising how few of them die every year (less than 300, including a few unfortunate tourists). Like most things from the British Embassy the numbers just don't add up.

I know of many more expats in Thailand who have gone home to die than have died here. I suspect that this is probably quite representative of the whole.

EU expats living elsewhere in the EU seem to be somewhat more likely to stay in their adopted country to die. Presumably because of the reciprocal health care arrangements.

[LeCharivari]

.... with an estimated 50,000 UK subjects scattered around this fair land ...

A figure frequently quoted by the British Embassy, presumably at least in part to justify the number of Consular staff. Surprising how few of them die every year (less than 300, including a few unfortunate tourists). Like most things from the British Embassy the numbers just don't add up.

I know of many more expats in Thailand who have gone home to die than have died here. I suspect that this is probably quite representative of the whole.

EU expats living elsewhere in the EU seem to be somewhat more likely to stay in their adopted country to die. Presumably because of the reciprocal health care arrangements.

I agree that a number do return to the UK for health reasons ("to die"), but for the numbers given by the Embassy claimed to be living and known to be dying in Pattaya to balance, assuming that the majority of expats living here are here for around 20 years in the latter part of their lives, that would need at least 95% of those living here to return to the UK to die, and in my experience that is way off - as it is when you look at the overall numbers of retirement visas, etc. Obviously there are quite a few people here who are on work permits or too young for a retirement visa (I was living here for 15 years before I was old enough), but again the proportion of those would have to be far higher than it is for their figure to be remotely correct.

When I raised this point directly with Michael Hancock (the Consul) he was unable to give any source for the figure and couldn't make any comment on it apart from saying that the numbers of Brits made no difference to the number of Consular staff - the opposite of what the last Ambassador (Asif Ahmad) said when he gave it as a reason for expanding the Pattaya Consulate.

I had a similar reaction when I questioned the validity of the financial argument for closing the Consulate (the only reason given, as the over-crowding issue, valid or not, is also a financial issue) he first confirmed that this was the reason but back-pedalled totally when I compared the cost with that of running a far better funded, better accommodated and better staffed Consulate and a fully staffed British Council in Chiang Mai. I'm not begrudging those in Chiang Mai their Consulate (good luck to them) but as it takes a small fraction of the Consular fees previously taken by the Pattaya Consulate and provides few services that are not available by post or elsewhere (by notary publics, etc) and those services are no more than those provided in Phuket to similar numbers who are a similar travelling time away from the Embassy in Bangkok by a lone Honorary Consul the reason for closure is very obviously NOT financial.

The Consul's "presentation on the workings of the Embassy" at various expat clubs may well be "excellent ...first class" as far as what they are supposed to do and what some fondly imagine they actually do are concerned, but scratch the surface and a very different story emerges - see the many reports of Gareth Evans' death in Bangkok to understand what a "hospital visit" and "contact" actually mean to Michael Hancock, who refused him any visit by Consular staff despite repeated requests by him and his brother in the UK and then justified it on the grounds that a visit was not necessary as the dying man had a mobile phone!

[LeCharivari]

If it's true, that would be good. I telephoned the Embassy this morning and asked Jeff Mitchell about Pattaya specifically. He confirmed that the Consulate in Pattaya is closed and there are no plans for that to change.

All positions advertised on the Embassy are Bangkok based.

http://ukinthailand....working-for-us/

There appears to be a difference between the story headline (implying a Pattaya focus to the role) and what the Embassy is saying the job is about.

Um ... the "story headline", as far as I can see, was British Embassy expected to name New Honorary Consul to Pattaya , which is obviously correct - just don't hold your breath while they do so ... and he does actually refer, twice, to "the new, Bangkok based, positions".

Since staff in all other areas who have previously been doing exactly the work that the jobs advertised entail and they are still doing the same work, unlike the departed Pattaya Consular staff and the yet-to-be-appointed Pattaya Honorary Consul, the link between the previous cost of running the Consulate and the additional cost of salaries for the new staff who will do the same job (and, hopefully, more) but be based in Bangkok seems a reasonable one to make, even without any supporting information.

Unfortunately with those salaries (25,000 to under 35,000 baht a month after tax for a full time job based in Bangkok) the posts are unlikely to appeal to any suitably qualified expats (they are around half the salary paid by the Australian Embassy for similar posts, for example) so they will probably all go to local (Thai) staff - don't expect to see a friendly British face bringing news from home in the unlikely event that you do get a visit.

Edited February 3, 2013 by LeCharivari