Download or read book Foreign and Commonwealth Office Annual Report 2007 08 written by Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Foreign Affairs Committee and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2009 with total page 320 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 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.
Download or read book Foreign and Commonwealth Office annual report 2006 07 written by Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Foreign Affairs Committee and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2007-11-19 with total page 300 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 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.
Download or read book Foreign and Commonwealth Office Annual Report 2008 09 written by Great Britain. Parliament. House of Commons. Foreign Affairs Committee and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2010 with total page 276 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The FCO departmental report and resource accounts 2008-09 published as HC 460-I,II (ISBN 9780102961614)
Download or read book Human Rights Annual Report 2007 written by Great Britain. Parliament. House of Commons. Foreign Affairs Committee and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2008 with total page 214 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Human rights annual report 2007 from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office published as Command paper Cm. 7340 (ISBN 9780101734028)
Download or read book The work of the Committee in 2007 written by Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Foreign Affairs Committee and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2008-01-30 with total page 36 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Work of the Committee In 2007 : Fourth report of session 2007-08, report, together with formal Minutes
Download or read book The work of the British Council 2008 09 written by Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Foreign Affairs Committee and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2010-02-04 with total page 52 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 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.
Download or read book Human rights annual report 2008 written by Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Foreign Affairs Committee and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2009-08-09 with total page 276 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This report examines the Government's record in relation to securing the human rights of British citizens and others overseas and its work in promoting human rights in other countries. The report covers rendition, allegations of UK complicity in torture, transfers of detainees in Iraq and Afghanistan and the regulation of private military and security companies. It also provides an examination of the international human rights framework and human rights abuses in individual countries of concern including Burma, China, Colombia, Iran, Iraq, North Korea, Pakistan, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Zimbabwe and also in the UK's overseas territories.
Download or read book FCO performance and finances written by Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Foreign Affairs Committee and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2011-02-11 with total page 128 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This report focusses on the FCO's financial situation and the implications of the Spending Review 2010 for its work and performance, and that of its associated body, the British Council. The FCO is one of the major departmental 'losers' in the Spending Review. Reductions in spending on the FCO, if they result in shortfalls in skilled personnel and technical support in key countries and regions, can have a serious effect in terms of the UK's relations with foreign countries, out of all proportion to the amounts of money involved, especially in relation to the UK's security and that of its Overseas Territories. Cuts to the core FCO budget of even 10% may have a damaging effect on the Department's ability to promote UK interests overseas. The FCO will also face cuts of 55% to its capital budget. The target of raising £50 million per year through selling existing buildings may be difficult to achieve, and may not secure savings in the long-term. A further reduction in the opportunities for more junior UK-based staff to serve in overseas posts, and a consequent diminishing of experience and morale among FCO employees, could over time have a damaging effect on the quality of British diplomacy and the effectiveness of the FCO. The British Council, facing a 25% cut in spending, should give detailed information on its strategy for implementing the cut, which may well trigger fundamental rethinking of the role and work of the Council.
Download or read book British Foreign and Defence Policy Since 1945 written by Robert Self and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2010-06-23 with total page 288 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 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.
Download or read book Global security written by Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Foreign Affairs Committee and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2010-03-28 with total page 244 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 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.
Download or read book The role of the FCO in UK government written by Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Foreign Affairs Committee and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2011-05-12 with total page 234 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 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.
Download or read book Financial management in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office written by Great Britain: National Audit Office and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2009-06-03 with total page 36 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) has made good progress in its financial management, aiming to establish itself as one of the best departments in Whitehall in this respect. It has shown strong leadership in raising the profile of good financial management across the Department. Up to 2007-08, however, the FCO has underspent consistently against its budget. The Department has introduced a financial management improvement programme "Five Star Finance", the aim of which is for the department to be a Whitehall leader in financial management. It currently rates itself at three and a half stars on a 1(low) to 5 (high) scale, a rating confirmed by NAO. The FCO operates in a challenging environment in terms of the global nature of its operations. The fluctuations of global currency markets pose particular difficulties for the Department. Until 2007-08, its budgets were protected by the Treasury from exchange rate fluctuations. When this protection was withdrawn, the FCO introduced alternative measures to manage its exposure, principally the forward purchase of major foreign currencies. It needs to ensure that its finance team has the right skills and experience to manage the financial risks it now faces. The FCO is taking action to avoid future underspends against its budget. In other respects, FCO's financial management has improved. The accuracy, reliability and timeliness of its financial reporting have all been enhanced. In 2007-08 it laid its accounts on 30 June, the earliest date it has ever achieved after the March year-end.
Download or read book British Foreign Policy written by O. Daddow and published by Springer. This book was released on 2011-06-21 with total page 292 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 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.
Download or read book The work of the BBC World Service 2008 09 written by Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Foreign Affairs Committee and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2010-02-05 with total page 60 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Committee welcomes a strong performance by the BBC World Service across all media in 2008-09, particularly the unprecedented growth in online audiences. The report examines the overall performance, noting a global reach in radio and television of 185 million adults a week and the high regard for objectivity and relevance achieved by the Service in surveys of customers. Ratings for value and loyalty were also high in some countries. The report then reviews specific successes and problems in particular countries or services: BBC Arabic television; BBC Persian television; other language services; online and mobile technology; China; Russia; Sri Lanka; Rwanda; Azerbaijan; and administration. The Committee concludes that 2009-10 will be a difficult year for the BBC World Service and that further cuts in staff and services should be avoided. The World Service is of key importance in providing a source of high quality and politically independent broadcasting worldwide.
Download or read book British Foreign Policy written by Jamie Gaskarth and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2013-07-11 with total page 339 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Britain has been a significant voice in global politics in the last two decades and its impact on world events far outweighs its material resources. But how does a small island on the edge of Europe continue to exercise this level of power on an international scale? What kind of actor is Britain internationally? And what future challenges will confront British foreign policymakers in a multi-polar world of emerging powers? In this comprehensive introduction to British foreign policy today Jamie Gaskarth addresses these and other key questions. Against a rich historical backdrop, he examines the main actors and processes involved in British foreign policy-making as well as the role played by identity in shaping such choices. Later chapters focus on the relationship between economics and foreign policy, what it means to be ethical in this policy sphere, and the justification for and benefits of the UK’s continued use of force to achieve its foreign policy goals. Combining interview research, theoretical insight and analysis of contemporary and historical trends, this book charts how British foreign policy has come to be understood and practised in the 21st Century. It will be an invaluable guide for students of British politics, foreign policy, international relations and related courses.
Download or read book Human Rights Annual Report 2007 written by Great Britain. Foreign and Commonwealth Office and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2008 with total page 216 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This is the 10th Foreign and Commonwealth Office annual report on human rights. Publishing just a few weeks after the FCO's new strategic framework and mission statement this report shows how human rights will remain fully integrated with the their four new policy goals. These goals cover: counter-terrorism, weapons proliferation & their causes; promotion of a low-carbon, high-growth global economy; prevention & resolution of conflict and development of effective international institutions, particularly the UN & EU. The report also covers human rights in the overseas territories & of British nationals abroad; and key human rights themes including equality, democracy & rule of law. It also gives indepth reports on 25 countries of particular concern, setting out the main human rights problems and how they have been, and will continue to be, addressed.
Download or read book The Stationery Office Annual Catalogue written by Stationery Office (Great Britain) and published by . This book was released on 2010 with total page 564 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
