Catalogue description Treasury: Imperial and Foreign Division: Registered Files (IF series)

Chronological within original subject classification (see Treasury Registration Systems)

The Imperial and Foreign (IF) Division was set up in 1938. Before 1948 records of the IF Division were dealt with as part of the Establishments and Supply series within the Central Registry system. In 1948 the division took over responsibility for United Nations questions from the Overseas Finance (OF) Division and for Foreign Office (German Section) Establishment from Government and Allied Services (GS) Division. In 1960 IF Division was renamed the Commonwealth and Foreign (CF) Division. IF dealt with the following subjects during the period 1948-1960:

• Foreign Office, Commonwealth Relations Office and Colonial Office: Home establishment questions and manpower questions generally;
• Inter-Parliamentary Union;
• Commonwealth Parliamentary Association;
• Foreign Compensation Commission;
• Foreign Office, Commonwealth Relations Office and Colonial Office: overseas establishment questions;
• Overseas subsistence (other than North America);
• Colonial Office supply questions: The Gambia, Sierra Leone, Nigeria, Northern Rhodesia, Nyasaland, Tanganyika, Zanzibar, Kenya and Uganda, Central African Federation, Falkland Islands Dependencies, Antarctic, Western Pacific (British Solomon Protectorate, Gilbert and Ellis Islands, Tonga, New Hebrides, Pitcairn, Fiji and South Pacific Commission);
• colonial development-general questions: Colonial Development and Welfare (CDW) Acts, CDW students, Colonial Development Corporation, Colonial Market loans;
• tariff questions and support for colonial industries;
• HM Overseas Civil Service-general questions;
• Colonial Office supply questions: British West Indies (including Caribbean Commission), St Helena, Tristan da Cunha, Mauritius and Seychelles, Imperial College of Tropical Agriculture, Trinidad, Colonial Development and Welfare schemes (all territories, except students);
• Commonwealth Relations Office supply questions including: India, Pakistan and Burma pension questions, relief of distressed British subjects, overseas settlement-assisted passages, Colombo Plan Technical Co-operation Scheme, technical assistance for Ghana;
• Foreign Office supply questions;
• Foreign Office Grants and Service vote;
• technical assistance in Africa, South of the Sahara International Migration question;
• relief of distressed British subjects;
• British refugees from Egypt;
• Colonial Office supply and development questions: Singapore, Hong Kong, North Borneo, Sarawak;
• Commonwealth Relations Office supply questions:Malaya;
• colonial and foreign military questions (including gifts of arms and training of foreign nationals in consultation with Defence Policy and Material Division of the Treasury);
• British assets in Egypt;
• Colonial Office supply questions: Aden, British Somaliland, Karaman;
• Imperial War Graves Commission;
• Commonwealth Relations Office supply questions: Basutoland, Bechuanaland, Swaziland;
• Foreign Office supply questions: Somalia;
• Commonwealth Agricultural Bureau;
• Commonwealth Economic Committee.

International questions:

• Treasury representation on Cabinet Steering Committee on International Organisations;
• United Nations-administrative and budgetary questions;
• Specialised agencies of the United Nations and other international organisations;
• general administrative questions in conjunction with the Treasury Supply divisions concerned with their budget expenditure;
• United Nations Technical Assistance Programme and Special Fund for Economic Development;
• Colombo Plan Technical Co-operation Scheme;
• Baghdad Pact-administrative and budgetary questions;
• South East Asia Treaty Organisation (SEATO)-civil administrative and budgetary questions;
• Organisation for European Economic Co-operation and Development (OEEC)-administrative questions;
• Council of Europe-administrative and budgetary questions;
• Western European Union.

Foreign Office supply questions:

• Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, Persia, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Sudan, Libya and Eritrea;
• general questions relating to the Middle East.

Colonial Office supply questions:

• Malta, Cyprus, Gibraltar;
• Colonial services vote;

Foreign Office supply questions:

• Jordan, Israel, Persian Gulf Sheikhdoms, Muscat and Oman;
• Palestine questions;
• Palestine refugees.