Proposed Appointment of Rt Hon Jack Mcconnell MSP as High Commissioner to Malawi

Proposed Appointment of Rt Hon Jack Mcconnell MSP as High Commissioner to Malawi
Author: Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Foreign Affairs Committee
Publisher: The Stationery Office
Total Pages: 32
Release: 2008
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 9780215521286

Proposed appointment of Rt Hon Jack Mcconnell MSP as High Commissioner to Malawi : Sixth report of session 2007-08, report, together with formal minutes, oral and written Evidence

Foreign and Commonwealth Office Annual Report 2008-09

Foreign and Commonwealth Office Annual Report 2008-09
Author: Great Britain. Parliament. House of Commons. Foreign Affairs Committee
Publisher: The Stationery Office
Total Pages: 276
Release: 2010
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 9780215544940

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

Foreign and Commonwealth Office Annual Report 2007-08

Foreign and Commonwealth Office Annual Report 2007-08
Author: Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Foreign Affairs Committee
Publisher: The Stationery Office
Total Pages: 320
Release: 2009
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 9780215526274

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.

Pre-appointment hearings by select committees

Pre-appointment hearings by select committees
Author: Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Liaison Committee
Publisher: The Stationery Office
Total Pages: 40
Release: 2008-03-05
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 9780215514035

Pre-appointment hearings by select Committees : First report session 2007 - 2008, report and annexes, together with formal Minutes

Visit to Cyprus

Visit to Cyprus
Author: Great Britain. Parliament. House of Commons. Foreign Affairs Committee
Publisher: The Stationery Office
Total Pages: 28
Release: 2009
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 9780215526335

Visit to Cyprus : Third report of session 2008-09, report, together with formal Minutes

Global security

Global security
Author: Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Foreign Affairs Committee
Publisher: The Stationery Office
Total Pages: 328
Release: 2009-08-02
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 9780215540744

This report into the global security concerns related to Afghanistan and Pakistan recommends that the UK Government should re-focus its wide-ranging objectives in Afghanistan and concentrate its limited resources on one priority: security. The UK has experienced mission creep, from its initial goal of countering international terrorism, into the realms of counter-insurgency, counter-narcotics, protection of human rights and state building. The Committee recommends that the lead international role on counter-narcotics should be transferred away from the UK. The Committee recognises that the security situation in Afghanistan will remain precarious for some time to come, but there can be no question of the international community abandoning Afghanistan. The issue at stake must be how best the UK and its allies can allocate responsibilities and share burdens so as to ensure that the country does not once again fall into the hands of those who seek to threaten the security of the UK and the West. The Committee says that a negotiated, Afghan-led political settlement with broad popular support represents the only realistic option for long-term security and stability in Afghanistan. There can be no serious prospect of meaningful discussions until Coalition Forces and the Afghan national security forces gain, and retain, the upper hand on security across the country, including in Helmand, and are then able to negotiate from a position of strength. The international effort by the UN, EU and individual countries in Afghanistan since 2001 has delivered much less than it promised and its impact has been significantly diluted by the absence of a unified vision and strategy, grounded in the realities of Afghanistan's history, culture and politics.

Overseas Territories

Overseas Territories
Author: Great Britain. Parliament. House of Commons. Foreign Affairs Committee
Publisher: The Stationery Office
Total Pages: 180
Release: 2008
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 9780215521477

This is the seventh report of the 2007-08 session from the Foreign Affairs Committee (HCP 147-I, ISBN 9780215521477) and focuses on the issue of Overseas Territories. Altogether 45 conclusions and recommendations are set out under the following headings, covering: constitutional relationships; governance; rule of law; human rights; environmental governance; contingent liabilities; sovereignty disputes. Specific recommendations include: that the Committee commends the Government's encouragement of Overseas Territories in reviewing their constitutions and setting out proposals for reform; that Gibraltar's presence on the UN list of non-self-governing territories is an anachronism; that territory governments should be given the opportunity to pass on their opinions of the candidates for Governor before appointments are made; that the FCO should ensure it takes Overseas Territories' interests into account in its relations with the EU; the Committee recommends that the FCO should strongly encourage all Overseas Territories to introduce freedom of information legislation; that the FCO must ensure that judicial decisions in Overseas Territories should not have any interference either from the Governor or the local government; that discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender status should be made illegal in all Overseas Territories; the Committee believes the Government has been highly negligent in not carrying out a strategic assessment of Overseas Territories funding requirements for conservation and ecosystem managment; that Governors within Overseas Territories should use reserve powers to deal with irregularities, such as money laundering, in offshore financial services (for a related publication, see HCP 4, session 2007-08 NAO: Managing Risk in Overseas Territories). The Committee states that the Government has acted decisively in some Overseas Territories but in some other cases, has been too hands-off (eg. the corruption allegations on the Turks & Caicos Islands). Also that the choice of Governor for a Territory is crucial. Finally, the Committee deplores any retaliatory measures taken against indivduals who have assisted the Committee. For Volume II, Oral and Written Evidence, see (HCP 147-II, session 2007-08, ISBN 9780215521507).

The work of the British Council 2008-09

The work of the British Council 2008-09
Author: Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Foreign Affairs Committee
Publisher: The Stationery Office
Total Pages: 52
Release: 2010-02-04
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 9780215543813

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.

The work of the BBC World Service 2008-09

The work of the BBC World Service 2008-09
Author: Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Foreign Affairs Committee
Publisher: The Stationery Office
Total Pages: 60
Release: 2010-02-05
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 9780215543820

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.