Annex D
CHANGING TRAVEL
ADVICE: A
GUIDE FOR
DESK OFFICERS
[Current as of January 2003. The FCO advises that
the Guide is under review in the light of the six months experience
since it was introduced in January]
Travel Advice is the public face of the Foreign
Office. It's the responsibility of the geographical department
to make sure it remains up-to-date, clear, and consistent.
Up-to-date. Posts must look at their travel
advice at least once a month to check that it remains accurate.
Every three months they should confirm to geographical departments
that no changes are needed. But it is also up to you to keep in
touch with posts, and if necessary, ask them whether changes are
needed. (Terrorist threats are dealt with separately—CTPD
will be in touch if there is a threat which they believe may be
relevant to Travel Advice).
Clear. Travel Advice is not about elegant
but opaque prose. It's about plain English, which helps visitors
and residents decide whether to visit, and how to behave when
in country.
Consistent. Your Deputy Head should have
it as a personal objective to ensure that the Travel Advice given
for countries across the department is consistent. And Travel
Advice Unit in Consular Division, and CTPD, can help with advice
on wording which is consistent across the office.
How should you go about changing Travel Advice
for your country? These are the key steps:
1. Post should e-mail Angela Beuden in Travel
Advice Unit with proposed changes. If the changes are simple (ie
the hours of a curfew changing, or a road bridge no longer useable)
Angela will send you an amended text. If you agree with it, the
new text can be put on the website very quickly. (This will cover
the majority of travel advice amendments).
2. If the proposed changes contain any policy
content, TAU will approach you. Any changes with policy content
need clearance at Head of Department level at least. For substantive
changes, or advice against change despite significant intelligence,
you will need to submit to Ministers through Dickie Stagg. Seek
your Deputy Head's advice if you aren't certain what to do.
3. If you are submitting, you need to clear
your submission with CTPD (for terrorist-related changes), Consular
Division, and the Press Office (at least). SSU, PD-PM may need
to be consulted on staff security/welfare issues. The Press Office
may wish to issue a Press Release to draw attention to a significant
change. Consular Division may need to alert the Travel Industry
in confidence that changes to advice on tourist destinations are
being considered.
4. Consider whether you also need to draw
up a list of Q & As to add to the Travel Advice, in situations
where changes to Travel Advice may affect very large numbers of
British Nationals (examples are Spain and Pakistan).
5. Think about timing. The Travel Advice
Unit closes at 6.00pm, when the Resident Clerkery opens. If there
is a possible urgent change later than 6.00pm, you should be in
touch both with the Resident Clerk and with the e-Media Duty Officer
who always has a laptop (mobile: 07775 731899, e-mail: guidance
@fco.gov.uk).
6. In submitting, consider what other governments
are doing. The Travel Advice Unit has links into other government
websites and can offer advice. They also aim to alert some other
governments if very significant changes are being considered—please
let them know. Again your Deputy Head should be able to advise
you. You should always submit on paper.
7. You will need to send a COREU once a
significant change has been approved: it may be worth drafting
that in parallel with the submission. Heads of Mission will also
want to let their EU colleagues know as soon as a change has been
agreed.
8. Once the changes are agreed, pass them
immediately) to Angela Beuden at the Travel Advice Unit (or out
of hours in an emergency the e-Media Duty Officer, copying to
Angela Beuden). Please phone as well as e-mail, to ensure the
message gets through. Angela's e-mail address is monitored by
all staff each day. Once TAU has your instructions, they can normally
be put on the web within minutes. The e-Media Duty Officer should
only be asked to update urgent advice that cannot wait until the
Travel Advice Unit reopens.
9. If you have any questions, get in touch
with the Travel Advice Unit or CTPD both of whom have plenty of
experience.
10. And keep going back to the Travel Advice
for your country regularly, considering with post whether language
needs weeding.
For further background, look at FCO telnos 751-2
of 16 December 2002 to Abidjan.
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
January 2003
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