Foreign and Commonwealth Office annual report 2007-08: second report of session 2008-09 report, together with formal minutes, oral and written evidence

House of Commons papers 195 2008-09

Corporate Author:: Great Britain Parliament House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee
Author:: Mike Gapes (chairman)
Publisher:: TSO (The Stationery Office)

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.

Extent	[2], 109, Ev 202p.	ISBN	9780215526274
Size	N/A	Price	£26.00
Binding	Paperback	Published	08 Feb 2009
Availability	Colour copy: 3 - 5 days	Delivery	Delivery options and charges