Foreign and Commonwealth Office Annual Report 2007-08

Foreign and Commonwealth Office Annual Report 2007-08 PDF Author: Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Foreign Affairs Committee
Publisher: The Stationery Office
ISBN: 9780215526274
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 320

Get Book Here

Book Description
This report is the Committee's annual review of how the FCO is managing its resources, examining the departmental annual report for 2007-08 (Cm. 7398, ISBN 9780101739825). Chapters cover: new strategic framework; performance measurement; global network; essential services; FCO Services; personnel issues; transparency and openness; financial management; public diplomacy and communication; the British Council; the BBC World Service. The Committee is concerned that the FCO is facing serious financial pressures in this financial year due to the Treasury's withdrawal of its support for the Overseas Pricing Mechanism (OPM) which used to protect departments from the weakening of sterling. There is a risk that the FCO may not be able to meet higher international subscriptions over the next two financial years, causing its performance against Public Service Agreement targets to suffer. The likely increase in the UN Regular Budget and other international subscriptions will push this figure even higher. The FCO should have to shoulder the financial burden from within its already tight budget to pay for subscriptions which also benefit other Government departments. The Committee recommends that additional nondiscretionary costs should properly be met by the Treasury.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office Annual Report 2007-08

Foreign and Commonwealth Office Annual Report 2007-08 PDF Author: Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Foreign Affairs Committee
Publisher: The Stationery Office
ISBN: 9780215526274
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 320

Get Book Here

Book Description
This report is the Committee's annual review of how the FCO is managing its resources, examining the departmental annual report for 2007-08 (Cm. 7398, ISBN 9780101739825). Chapters cover: new strategic framework; performance measurement; global network; essential services; FCO Services; personnel issues; transparency and openness; financial management; public diplomacy and communication; the British Council; the BBC World Service. The Committee is concerned that the FCO is facing serious financial pressures in this financial year due to the Treasury's withdrawal of its support for the Overseas Pricing Mechanism (OPM) which used to protect departments from the weakening of sterling. There is a risk that the FCO may not be able to meet higher international subscriptions over the next two financial years, causing its performance against Public Service Agreement targets to suffer. The likely increase in the UN Regular Budget and other international subscriptions will push this figure even higher. The FCO should have to shoulder the financial burden from within its already tight budget to pay for subscriptions which also benefit other Government departments. The Committee recommends that additional nondiscretionary costs should properly be met by the Treasury.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office annual report 2006-07

Foreign and Commonwealth Office annual report 2006-07 PDF Author: Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Foreign Affairs Committee
Publisher: The Stationery Office
ISBN: 9780215037305
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 300

Get Book Here

Book Description
This report is the Committee's annual review of how the FCO is managing its resources. This year a key area off interest has been the 2007 Comprehensive Spending Review because the Committee think it is one of the tightest in Whitehall and it risks jeopardising some of the FCO's important work. Apart from this the other subjects covered are: measuring performance; operational efficiency; management and leadership; FCO services; diplomatic representation overseas; transparency and openness; public diplomacy; British council; BBC World Service.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office Annual Report 2008-09

Foreign and Commonwealth Office Annual Report 2008-09 PDF Author: Great Britain. Parliament. House of Commons. Foreign Affairs Committee
Publisher: The Stationery Office
ISBN: 9780215544940
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 276

Get Book Here

Book Description
The FCO departmental report and resource accounts 2008-09 published as HC 460-I,II (ISBN 9780102961614)

Human Rights Annual Report 2007

Human Rights Annual Report 2007 PDF Author: Great Britain. Parliament. House of Commons. Foreign Affairs Committee
Publisher: The Stationery Office
ISBN: 9780215521934
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 214

Get Book Here

Book Description
The Human rights annual report 2007 from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office published as Command paper Cm. 7340 (ISBN 9780101734028)

The work of the Committee in 2007

The work of the Committee in 2007 PDF Author: Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Foreign Affairs Committee
Publisher: The Stationery Office
ISBN: 9780215513335
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 36

Get Book Here

Book Description
Work of the Committee In 2007 : Fourth report of session 2007-08, report, together with formal Minutes

The work of the British Council 2008-09

The work of the British Council 2008-09 PDF Author: Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Foreign Affairs Committee
Publisher: The Stationery Office
ISBN: 9780215543813
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 52

Get Book Here

Book Description
The British Council is the UK's international organisation for educational opportunities and cultural relations. Its purpose is to "build engagement and trust for the UK through the exchange of knowledge and ideas between people worldwide." As well as education, it runs programmes in the arts, science, sport, governance and English language in 110 countries and territories worldwide. 2009 marked the 75th anniversary of the establishment of the Council. It receives Grant-in-Aid from the FCO for its public diplomacy activity: £209 million 2008-09, a 6% increase from 2007-08. The Committee concludes that the change in extent of data provided and the presentation of that data in the British Council's 2008-09 annual report makes it more difficult to track and evaluate the Council's performance over a period of years. In future the annual report should include fuller performance data, including corporate performance scores and reach, to facilitate year-on-year analysis. The recent decline in some of the scores achieved in relation to quality of service, particularly in that relating to engagement with decision makers and senior influencers, gives cause for concern. The Committee welcomes the Council's efforts to re-establish itself in Iran and Zimbabwe, its increased focus on China, and its progress in implementing NAO suggested administrative reforms (HC 625, session 2007-08, ISBN 9780102954173). 2009-10 will be a difficult year for the British Council and further cuts in staff and services may be unavoidable. In these circumstances it is important that the Council concentrates its activities on its core business and key objectives.

British Foreign and Defence Policy Since 1945

British Foreign and Defence Policy Since 1945 PDF Author: Robert Self
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 0230313531
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 288

Get Book Here

Book Description
Foreign policy has dominated successive governments' time in office and cast a consistently long shadow over British politics in the period since 1945. Robert Self provides a readable and incisive assessment of the key issues and events from the retreat from empire through the cold war period to Humanitarian Intervention and the debacle in Iraq.

Global security

Global security PDF Author: Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Foreign Affairs Committee
Publisher: The Stationery Office
ISBN: 9780215545442
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 244

Get Book Here

Book Description
The Foreign Affairs Committee concludes that the UK has an extremely close and valuable relationship with the US in specific areas of co-operation, for instance in the fields of intelligence and security; that the historic, trading and cultural links between the two countries are profound; and that the two countries share common values in their commitment to freedom, democracy and the rule of law. However, the use of the phrase 'the special relationship' in its historical sense, to describe the totality of the ever-evolving UK-US relationship, is potentially misleading, and its use should be avoided. The report examines key areas of co-operation: military and defence; intelligence; security; nuclear. Other sections cover: the FCO's US network (under unacceptable financial pressure); the British political approach to UK-US relations; the future of the relationship. The Committee believe the UK must continue to position itself closely alongside the US in the future, recognising the many mutual benefits which flow from close co-operation in particular areas. But the UK needs to be less deferential and more willing to say no to the US on those issues where the two countries' interests and values diverge.

The role of the FCO in UK government

The role of the FCO in UK government PDF Author: Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Foreign Affairs Committee
Publisher: The Stationery Office
ISBN: 9780215559470
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 234

Get Book Here

Book Description
The Foreign Affairs Committee believes the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) will not be back at the centre of Government and able to lead UK foreign policy, in line with the Foreign Secretary's ambitions, unless it can provide deep foreign policy expertise and judgement to underpin and implement Government decision-making. The FCO must have the resources and skills required to fulfil this role, especially specialist geographical expertise and knowledge of foreign languages. The FCO has a vital role to play for the Government, namely the timely provision of world-class foreign policy information, analysis, judgement and execution. Finances, people and buildings must be well-managed, but managerial requirements must not divert time and focus disproportionately from the FCO's core foreign policy functions. Given the resource constraints facing the FCO, however, there is doubt whether the department can achieve the Government's ambitions for enhanced commercial work while maintaining its core foreign policy functions at the required standard. The committee regards the FCO's network of overseas posts as integral to the department's ability to discharge its functions, and recommends that the FCO should seek to maintain a global UK presence. The committee also called "confusing" the fact that under the current Government the FCO has three sets of priorities: the Foreign Secretary's, the Cabinet Office's Business Plan for the department, and the 2010 Strategic Defence and Security Review.

British Foreign Policy

British Foreign Policy PDF Author: O. Daddow
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 0230307310
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 292

Get Book Here

Book Description
A major review of New Labour's foreign policy from leading experts. This book re-imagines policy thinking, away from Churchill's idea of Britain as at the intersection of 'three circles' (the English speaking world, Europe, and the Commonwealth) and towards a new conceptual model that takes into account identity, ethics and power.