By Jaimie Kaffash
21 March 2010
Cuts at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office are affecting the UK’s global standing, according to a select committee report out today.
MPs on the Commons foreign affairs select committee say that the FCO has shown improvement in many areas, including communicating with Parliament and accounting. But cuts in overseas posts – which have been ‘largely beyond the department’s control – have put a severe strain on their work, ‘leaving potentially damaging gaps in UK information-gathering, provision of assistance and exercise of influence’.
The committee says the FCO suffered from the withdrawal of the Overseas Price Mechanism, which had protected it from the effects of exchange rate changes. The report adds that the committee had warned about the dangers of the withdrawal a year before and expressed concern about the 2007 Comprehensive Spending Review settlement because of this.
It adds that sterling's weakness leaves the UK in a tough position in international organisations, such as the United Nations, as its policy to strengthen the bodies would leave it with even higher costs. The report recommends that, as other government departments benefit from the UK’s involvement in these organisations, costs should be shared more equitably across Whitehall.
The MPs add: ‘We appreciate that all government departments face a major squeeze on spending, and that the FCO’s work may not be at the top of the British public’s list of priorities. Nevertheless, we conclude that the FCO has a strong case to make about the value of its work in the national interest, about the extent to which it has already made cuts, and about the severity of the budgetary situation in which it finds itself, largely for reasons beyond its control.’
Committee chair Mike Gapes said: ‘The FCO’s financial situation has come to represent an unacceptable risk to the department’s ability to perform its functions. The cuts that the FCO has been forced to make have led to unacceptable disruption and curtailment of operations at some key overseas posts.
‘Exchange rates should not drive UK foreign policy. At a time when globalisation is acknowledged as the key phenomenon of our times, it is incongruous that the position of the only government department with a global reach is threatened with erosion. There continues to be a vital need for the FCO to have sufficient resources to enable it to carry out its traditional policy-making functions.’
A spokesman for the FCO said: ‘We welcome the publication of this wide-ranging and comprehensive report. We shall carefully consider the recommendations and we will be reporting back to Parliament shortly.’
21 March 2010
Cuts at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office are affecting the UK’s global standing, according to a select committee report out today.
MPs on the Commons foreign affairs select committee say that the FCO has shown improvement in many areas, including communicating with Parliament and accounting. But cuts in overseas posts – which have been ‘largely beyond the department’s control – have put a severe strain on their work, ‘leaving potentially damaging gaps in UK information-gathering, provision of assistance and exercise of influence’.
The committee says the FCO suffered from the withdrawal of the Overseas Price Mechanism, which had protected it from the effects of exchange rate changes. The report adds that the committee had warned about the dangers of the withdrawal a year before and expressed concern about the 2007 Comprehensive Spending Review settlement because of this.
It adds that sterling's weakness leaves the UK in a tough position in international organisations, such as the United Nations, as its policy to strengthen the bodies would leave it with even higher costs. The report recommends that, as other government departments benefit from the UK’s involvement in these organisations, costs should be shared more equitably across Whitehall.
The MPs add: ‘We appreciate that all government departments face a major squeeze on spending, and that the FCO’s work may not be at the top of the British public’s list of priorities. Nevertheless, we conclude that the FCO has a strong case to make about the value of its work in the national interest, about the extent to which it has already made cuts, and about the severity of the budgetary situation in which it finds itself, largely for reasons beyond its control.’
Committee chair Mike Gapes said: ‘The FCO’s financial situation has come to represent an unacceptable risk to the department’s ability to perform its functions. The cuts that the FCO has been forced to make have led to unacceptable disruption and curtailment of operations at some key overseas posts.
‘Exchange rates should not drive UK foreign policy. At a time when globalisation is acknowledged as the key phenomenon of our times, it is incongruous that the position of the only government department with a global reach is threatened with erosion. There continues to be a vital need for the FCO to have sufficient resources to enable it to carry out its traditional policy-making functions.’
A spokesman for the FCO said: ‘We welcome the publication of this wide-ranging and comprehensive report. We shall carefully consider the recommendations and we will be reporting back to Parliament shortly.’
