31 March 2008 Better World, Better Britain Cm 7398
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Foreign & Commonwealth Offi ce Departmental Report 1 April 2007 – 31 March 2008 Better World, Better Britain Presented to Parliament by the Secretary of State for Foreign & Commonwealth Aff airs by Command of Her Majesty May 2008 Cm 7398 £33.45 © Crown Copyright 2008 The text in this document (excluding the Royal Arms and other departmental or agency logos) may be reproduced free of charge in any format or medium providing it is reproduced accurately and not used in a misleading context. The material must be acknowledged as Crown copyright and the title of the document specifi ed. Where we have identifi ed any third party copyright material you will need to obtain permission from the copyright holders concerned. For any other use of this material please write to Offi ce of Public Sector Information, Information Policy Team, Kew, Richmond, Surrey TW9 4DU or e-mail: [email protected] Departmental Report 1 April 2007 – 31 March 2008 3 4 Departmental Report 1 April 2007 – 31 March 2008 Contents ● Foreword by the Foreign Secretary, David Miliband . 6 ● Introduction by Sir Peter Ricketts, Permanent Under-Secretary . 8 ● FCO ministers and FCO Board . 10 ● The FCO’s work in context . 12 ● Map: global distribution of posts . 17 ● Executive summary: highlights of the year . 20 ● Part 1: Progress on our priorities . 24 ● A fl exible global network serving the whole of the British Government . 26 ● Support the British economy . 32 ● Support British nationals abroad . 40 ● Support managed migration for Britain . 46 ● Counter terrorism, weapons proliferation and their causes . 54 ● Prevent and resolve confl ict . 62 ● Promote a low carbon, high growth global economy . 70 ● Develop eff ective international institutions, above all the UN and EU . 76 ● How the new strategic framework relates to our Public Service Agreements (PSAs) . 84 ● New partnerships across Government . 86 BetterWorld, BetterBritain Departmental Report 1 April 2007 – 31 March 2008 5 About this Report ● Part 2 explains our ambitious programme of In common with many public-sector and private change, which will allow us to deliver our sector organisations, the FCO publishes an annual objectives in the future. Departmental Report. The Departmental Report is a ● Part 3 provides detailed fi nancial information key tool in our accountability to Parliament and the on our effi ciency programmes, a comprehensive public and it sets out how we are spending public assessment of our progress against our Public funds to meet our policy and service delivery Service Agreement (PSA) targets, and the ‘core objectives. The Foreign Aff airs Committee scrutinises tables’ data required by HM Treasury. this Report and calls on our Permanent Under- Secretary to give evidence on it each year. There are links to more information online throughout the report. Plain English Campaign’s This report summarises the FCO’s performance over ‘Crystal Mark’ covers this report for its intended the year, from April 2007 to March 2008. It explains audience and applies to Parts 1 and 2 only. how we are working to a new strategic framework and also covers the agenda of the past year. The report is This FCO Departmental Report 2007/08 is available structured around the following three sections: as a printed publication (hard copies are available from TSO – see details on the back cover) and online ● Part 1 sets out the FCO’s overall strategy and from our website at: www.fco.gov.uk/en/about-the- priorities and what we have achieved over fco/publications/publications/annual-reports/ the year. departmental-report/. ● Part 2: Organisation and change . 92 ● Corporate governance . 94 ● Communication and public diplomacy . 96 ● Change in the FCO . 100 ● The FCO’s major change programmes . 102 ● Part 3: Financing our work and PSA performance assessment . 112 ● Effi ciency . 114 ● Core tables . 118 ● Assessing our performance against PSA targets . 141 ● Annexes . 174 ● List of FCO’s previous Strategic International Priorities and linked PSA targets . 176 ● Better regulation . 177 ● Index . 179 Common abbreviations and acronyms used in this report: BERR Department for Business Enterprise and Regulatory Reform GOF Global Opportunities Fund BIA Border and Immigration Agency MoD Ministry of Defence DEFRA Department for Environment, Food and Rural Aff airs NATO North Atlantic Treaty Organisation DfID Department for International Development NGO Non-governmental organisation EU European Union OSCE Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe FCO Foreign & Commonwealth Offi ce TSO The Stationery Offi ce G7 the G7 countries are Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, UKTI UK Trade & Investment Japan and the United States UN United Nations G8 the G8 countries are the United States, Canada, Britain, UNSCR United Nations Security Council Resolution France, Germany, Italy, Japan and Russia 6 Departmental Report 1 April 2007 – 31 March 2008 Foreword by the Foreign Secretary, David Miliband “I’m in no doubt that we have the best diplomatic service in the world. I’ve seen your professionalism, creativity and energy. A professionalism that’s founded on expertise, but also on commitment beyond the call of duty. Thank you for the work that you do, and please keep up your eff orts to ensure that Britain has a pioneering and eff ective foreign policy.” The Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, speaking at the FCO Leadership Conference, March 2008 In an ever more inter-connected world, foreign to participate in shaping policy. And the need for policy is at the heart of the Government’s drive to global solutions to the great issues of our time, build a better Britain. As the pages of this report like climate change, terrorism or inequality, show, the FCO is engaged across the whole range of is moving power to a global level. the Government’s business, to help ensure that our country takes the opportunities, and manages the The United Kingdom (UK) is well placed to benefi t risks, of globalisation. from these power shifts. We are an infl uential member of all the key multilateral bodies starting To achieve this, it is important to be clear about the with the EU and the UN. We have strong bilateral profound shifts going on in the way power is links across the globe. Britain is emerging as a global dispersed in the modern world. Economic power hub, not just for fi nancial services, but for ideas, is moving east to Asia. The spread of democracy, for excellence in innovation, and for solutions to and the power of the internet, is giving non- global challenges. governmental groups and the citizen new power Departmental Report 1 April 2007 – 31 March 2008 7 The FCO and its worldwide network of posts is a As a result of careful prioritisation, we are able to unique national asset. Our diplomats have world- commit more resources to our four leading policy class skills in understanding, and infl uencing, what is goals. The challenge for the FCO now is to show that happening abroad. While preserving those strengths, it can deliver results on these goals, and across the it is crucial that the FCO changes to keep pace with whole strategic framework. For this the FCO needs changing circumstances and demands. to become more fl exible and more diverse, better refl ecting modern Britain. It needs to modernise This requires clarity on the FCO’s future role and how it works and where staff are deployed. As this priorities. That’s why, when I took over this job, I set Report shows, far-reaching reform is under way. in hand a strategic review to ensure that the FCO It needs to be pushed forward vigorously. was focused on the most important issues on which it could make the most diff erence. I’m confi dent that the FCO can succeed in this transformation. I’ve been impressed by the quality of The results are set out in this Report. After extensive staff , both UK civil servants and staff recruited locally consultations inside and outside Government, by our embassies, and by their dedication and sense I am satisfi ed that we reached sound conclusions. of public service. More are now serving in more We now have a more rigorous strategic framework diffi cult and dangerous places than ever before. This for the FCO’s action in three areas: Report sets out what they achieved over the last year. I off er heartfelt thanks on behalf of the Government, ● providing the global network delivering for the and I believe the country, for what they have done. whole of Government; ● service delivery to citizens and business and ● four foreign policy goals. We have in the process forged closer partnerships with a number of government departments which The Rt Hon David Miliband MP will, on certain issues, be taking the lead on The Secretary of State for international as well as domestic policy-making. Foreign & Commonwealth Aff airs 8 Departmental Report 1 April 2007 – 31 March 2008 Introduction by the Permanent Under-Secretary, Sir Peter Ricketts I’m proud of the achievements of FCO staff this year. On foreign policy, FCO staff in the UK and in our We delivered for Britain in diffi cult areas of foreign global network of posts have responded to crises policy and helped tens of thousands of British such as the upheavals in Burma, Pakistan and Kenya. people overseas. We’ve continued to modernise the They have worked in dangerous conditions helping way we work. And we thought deeply about the to bring stability in Afghanistan and Iraq. They have role of a foreign ministry in today’s interdependent lobbied and negotiated to reduce tensions in the world. Under the Foreign Secretary’s guidance, Middle East and to secure the release of hostages. we have developed a new strategic framework.