Travel Advice: Memorandum from the FCO
and response to the Clerk's letter of 19 December.
1. This memorandum follows up that submitted
to the Committee on 28 October 20[2]
which described the FCO's Travel Advice Unit, the scope of Travel
Advice, the way in which advice is distributed, and our campaigns
to maximise public awareness of FCO Travel Advice.
2. Before responding to the Committee's
specific questions, it may be worth setting our Travel Advice
in the context of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office's overall
consular work. Britons made an estimated 58 million trips overseas
in 2001 and 60 million in 2002. In addition, some 15 million individuals
living permanently abroad are entitled to British nationality
and thus to our consular protection.[3]
3. We also provide consular assistance to
dual nationals in third countries (and in the country of their
second nationality—to the extent permitted by the local
authorities): to unrepresented Commonwealth and EU nationals:
and, in practice in crises, to the non-British families of all
the above. Consular staff provide assistance to approximately
53,000 British travellers in distress each year.
4. In the wake of the bombing of a nightclub
in Bali on 12 October 2002, the Foreign Secretary instructed officials
to conduct a thorough review of the policy on and mechanisms for
Travel Advice. As a result of this review, recently approved by
Ministers, the arrangements described in this memorandum have
been set in place. Some are already well-established: others will
take time to bed down. The review has taken account of recommendations
made by Parliamentary Committees (the Foreign Affairs Committee
and the Intelligence and Security Committee); comments by Members
of Parliament; and the views of relatives of those who died in
the Bali bombing and of other members of the public.
5. The review was led by the Director for
Information in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, working closely
with the Director-General for Defence and Intelligence, and involved
liaison with the agencies and departments concerned, and with
EU and other close allies. We attach at Annex A[4]
a copy of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office telegram of 16th
December 2002 which set out for all Embassies and other UK diplomatic
posts worldwide, and for all FCO Departments, the key results
of that review, including detailed instructions for changing and
then disseminating Travel Advice.
6. The attached Annex B[5],
a substantial but confidential review undertaken by officials
in 1999, sets out the basic principles which have guided Travel
Advice for many years. This remains a confidential document, but
the Foreign Secretary is content for this to be passed to the
Committee on a confidential basis.
7. In the light of the review last autumn,
the Foreign Secretary instructed officials to reconsider each
of the 209 notices of Travel Advice which the Foreign and Commonwealth
Office issue. Some are being substantially re-written, in consultation
with the Plain English Campaign and Association of British Travel
Agents. A pack of revised texts will be submitted to the Committee
when completed.
8. Annexes A[6]
and B[7]
provide the bulk of information on the policy and mechanics of
Travel Advice. But this memorandum is also designed to answer
the specific questions raised by the Committee in the letter from
the Clerk of the Committee of 19 December[8].
i. What are the terms of reference of the
FCO review?
Covered in paragraphs two and three above.
ii. What are the sources of information for
Travel Advice?
Changes to Travel Advice are prompted in two
ways. First, for non-intelligence related changes, the British
post in the country concerned will, on the basis of its own knowledge
and its network of contacts, recommend changes. Secondly, for
intelligence related threats, the FCO receives reports and assessments
from the intelligence agencies, which may be the basis for changes
to our Travel Advice.
iii. What are the internal FCO procedures
for preparing and revising Travel Advice?
Annex A[9]
sets this out in detail. We also attach at Annex C[10]
a diagrammatic representation of the process within the FCO for
intelligence-related changes. This summarises the fuller instructions
set out in the telegram at Annex A. It is a restricted document.
iv. What procedures are in place for ensuring
that sources' assessments are translated promptly and accurately
into Travel Advice?
The procedures described in the Annexes are
designed to ensure that assessments are translated quickly and
accurately into Travel Advice. The speed with which the process
moves will depend on the nature of the information concerned:
a report suggesting a credible and imminent threat will be acted
on as soon as it is received in the FCO; an assessment reviewing
the situation in a particular country, but not based on any indication
of a particular change in the threat level, would be handled in
a matter of days rather than hours.
v. What guidance is issued on the preparation
of changes to Travel Advice?
This is set out in Annex A. There are also specific
instructions for desk officers in the FCO which are enclosed at
Annex D[11].
vi. At what level in the FCO is each revision
of Travel Advice signed off?
Much depends on the significance of the proposed
change. At a minimum, the relevant Head of Department must agree
to a change. But, as the instructions state, "Ministers should
be consulted if a proposed change to Travel Advice is likely to
attract public interest; impact upon the plans of a significant
number of British citizens; if opinion is divided on what action
to take; or if, despite a significant new risk or development,
there is a recommendation for no change to Travel Advice".
vii. What coordination is there of decisions
taken on post safety, expatriate safety, and Travel Advice?
Discussion of any one of these three automatically
prompts discussion of the other two—indeed our Travel Advice
is consciously designed to address some, at least, of the concerns
of UK expatriates. The geographical department concerned will
as a matter of course consider whether proposals for a change
to Travel Advice would have an impact on staff in post, and vice
versa. On the basis of agreed Travel Advice, posts on occasion
give supplementary information to the British community—whether
on their local website or through Warden networks. These networks
involve British nationals taking informal responsibility for regions
in which they are based to pass on messages received from the
Post to other UK citizens, and to feed back to Posts local concerns.
There are on occasions specific threats to our Posts, which max
oblige us to eg reduce staffing levels or temporarily close the
Post. In such cases we will include information on our decision
in our Travel Advice, even if we do not believe it involves an
increased risk for British travellers.
viii. Automatic reviews.
Posts are required to consider their Travel
Advice every month: and to communicate every three months to the
Foreign and Commonwealth Office a formal return, nil if appropriate.
If they believe a change is needed, they should recommend this
immediately. It is for the posts concerned to make a judgement
on changes in the local environment which need to be translated
into changes in the Travel Advice; and for Counter Terrorism Policy
Department (CTPD: the Department in the FCO which first receives
threat-related intelligence) to prompt consideration when intelligence
reports appear significant and credible enough to require changes
to Travel Advice. Advice will, of course, be kept under constant
review in times of actual or potential crisis.
ix. What comparative studies have been undertaken
of the Travel Advice systems used by other countries?
Annex B[12]
was based on a comparative look at the way in which other allies
compile Travel Advice. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office are
in regular touch with European Union and other allies over the
mechanics of the compilation and distribution of Travel Advice,
and over best practice.
x. What coordination is there of the assessments
of information and the preparation of Travel Advice by the FCO
and the Foreign Ministries of allies?
The UK intelligence agencies have well-established
liaison arrangements with our allies, through which intelligence
on terrorist threats is shared. More generally, informal arrangements
exist for Consular Division to discuss with EU, American, Australian
and other allies prospective changes to Travel Advice, both electronically
and by telephone. During discussions on 21 and 24 October 2002,
EU Foreign Ministers expressed their wish to enhance cooperation
on the exchange of information prior to changes to Travel Advice.
On 17 December 2002 officials, through the EU's COCON working
group, agreed the principles of cooperation under which we inform
each other rapidly of changes made, both through Foreign Ministries
and through EU groupings at Post: and, where possible, provide
an assessment of whether any threat may be relevant to the nationals
of other EU Member States. There is agreement that the aim is
not to bring all Travel Advice into line (since the threats to
different nationalities may be different), but to provide as early
a warning as possible of planned changes to national advice. The
Foreign and Commonwealth Office continues to liaise with the American
and Australian governments, among others, on developing structures
to ensure early warning of possible changes to Travel Advice.
xi. What consultation is there with the authorities
in the countries concerned?
There are no formal requirements to consult
the host government. In practice this will occasionally happen.
But it remains important that changes to Travel Advice are based
on objective changes to the environment, and are not influenced
by political factors. Sometimes, however, the right response to
a reported threat is to work with the government of the country
concerned to preempt it, rather than to change our Travel Advice.
We endeavour to give prior notice of any changes to the host government,
even if this has in some cases to be very short.
xii. What external advice has the Travel Advice
unit sought or received on the dissemination and presentation
of Travel Advice?
Annex B[13]
was based upon consultation with the Travel Industry, especially
the Association of British Travel Agents and the Federation of
Tour Operators. Feedback on the web-based dissemination of Travel
Advice has been almost entirely positive. We are also in touch
with representatives from the Plain English Campaign about specific
wording for Travel Advice.
xiii. What concerns have been raised in the
last two of the twice yearly meetings between Consular Division
and the travel industry?
These meetings cover a wide spectrum of issues,
where the government and the travel industry have a common interest.
On Travel Advice, in the meetings on 5 December 2001 and 3 July
2002, the industry raised Travel Advice for the subcontinent;
they continued to stress the importance of advice which is clear
and unambiguous; and they said that they appreciated both the
advance notice of major changes in advice to popular destinations
and the fact that Travel Advice had become more targeted.
xiv. What organisations receive faxed updates?
How often is the list revised?
We list at Annex F[14]
those who at present receive faxed updates of any changes to Travel
Advice. We send these when there are changes to Travel Advice,
rather than on a daily basis. The list of recipients is compiled
on the basis of requests from organisations. We now receive more
requests to be removed from the list than to be included, as organisations
develop the technology to receive automatic e-mail updates from
our website. Travel Advice has approximately 28,000 Subscribers,
including all the key organisations concerned. They automatically
receive by e-mail changes to Travel Advice for the countries in
which they are interested. We believe that we are disseminating
Travel Advice widely. But we always remain open to suggestions
of new ways both to increase awareness of our service among British
travellers and residents and to encourage them to use it.
2 HC (2002-03) 196, Ev 69-71. Back
3
Of this 15 million, the large British populations in Australia
(5m), Canada (3m), S Africa (0.5m) and New Zealand (0.4m) are,
by long established but informal convention, only given British
consular assistance when they travel out of their country of residence.
The same applies to the 3.4m British Nationals Overseas living
in Hong Kong. Back
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Ev 1. Back
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