Chapter 13

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

The Government is securing a stronger position for Britain in the world. One aspect of this is modernising the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO), increasing its ability to respond to the needs of Britain and increase its impact abroad. A modern FCO will:

develop the UK's leading role in a modern, reformed and enlarged European Union;
help retain Britain's place as first choice for inward investment in Europe and improve the competitiveness of British industry by exploiting more trade opportunities in targeted markets;
provide improved delivery of services to British nationals abroad with access in the UK to travel advice 24 hours a day;
secure the ratification of the main UN human rights treaties by 60 additional states, agreement by 18 more countries to sign up to the Drug Conventions, and international agreement to combat climate change by ratification of the Kyoto Protocol;
provide for the BBC World Service to extend its on-line transmission and modernise its existing transmitters, reaching a global weekly audience of 153 million; and
enable the British Council to establish a network of technology-based knowledge and learning centres and reach 50,000 new young professionals.

13.1 Since the 1998 Comprehensive Spending Review, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) has made significant progress in modernising its role in Government. The establishment of British Trade International, which brings together the work of the FCO and the Department of Trade and Industry, has improved the support for British exporters and inward investors. The FCO has strengthened its posts in the Caucasus and Central Asia to increase the opportunities for business in the region. Britain has played a central role in NATO's enlargement and helped to set in train the organisation's modernisation. There has been a ten-fold increase in the use of FCO Internet websites worldwide. The FCO is on target to deliver its target of £90 million in overseas estates recycling.

13.2 The 2000 Spending Review will ensure that the modernisation programme continues and that the FCO can play a full and pivotal role in Europe and engage with the wider global community.

Investing in a modern international role for Britain

Box 13.1: Key PSA targets - Foreign and Commonwealth Office

A modern, reformed and enlarged European Union, in which the UK plays a leading role and whose policies reflect UK political, social and economic priorities and win public support for Europe.
Improved effectiveness of the UK contribution to conflict prevention and management as demonstrated by a reduction in the number of people whose lives are affected by violent conflict and a reduction in the potential sources of future conflict, where the UK can make a significant contribution to conflict prevention and management.
Maintain (with DTI through British Trade International) the UK as the prime location in the EU for foreign direct investment.
Improve delivery of effective and efficient consular services to British nationals abroad including the issue of 95 per cent of passports within five days, and access in the UK to overseas travel advice 24 hours a day.
13.3 As a key member of the International Community (a member of the UN Security Council, the European Union, the Commonwealth, NATO, and the Group of Eight), Britain will continue to play an important role in conflict prevention and resolution (see Chapter 36). The Government is investing in countering global threats such as drugs and international crime, working for the reform of international organisations and supporting efforts to bring war criminals to justice.

Investing in communications

13.4 The FCO will continue to modernise its operations to deliver services more efficiently for the UK. It will upgrade its information technology (IT) and communication systems, involving the provision of voice and data services over an integrated worldwide telecommunications network. This will provide the fast, secure communications needed to manage global foreign policy issues.

13.5 The FCO has set itself ambitious new efficiency targets. It will develop its internal market, compare performance between posts and identify best practice, and continue to implement a programme to rationalise its capital assets and dispose of under-performing or surplus properties. The FCO will be allowed to recycle assets worth £100 million over the next three years, producing significant savings for reinvestment in modernisation.

13.6 To complement the presence of British Missions overseas, the FCO, the BBC World Service and the British Council will all be making fuller use of the Internet.

13.7 Additional funding has been allocated by the FCO to the BBC World Service to invest in on-line transmission and to upgrade the transmitter sites in the UK, Singapore and Cyprus. The British Council will be funded to strengthen its activities in Russia and China, and to introduce knowledge and learning centres in its overseas offices.

13.8 The Government is also investing in the FCO's direct services to business and the public through trade and investment promotion services, consular services to British nationals overseas and through entry clearance. To this end the FCO is planning to convert its consular and visa issuing activities into self-financing operations. The FCO will exploit the Internet to provide faster and more timely information for UK travellers overseas.

Spending plans

13.9 The new spending plans provides annual average real growth in FCO spending over the three years of 1.9 per cent, and average real growth of 3.9 per cent a year in BBC World Service resources over the same period (excluding the effect of the global conflict prevention budget which is also shown in Table 13.1).

Table 13.1: Key Figures

£ million
	2000-01	2001-02	2002-03	2003-04
Foreign and Commonwealth Office	777	820	847	869
BBC World Service	174	180	199	210
British Council	136	143	152	159
Global Conflict Prevention	42**	60	68	78
Total FCO*	1129	1203	1266	1316
of which: Resource Budget	1007	1066	1104	1143
Capital Budget	122	137	162	173