Further memorandum submitted by the Foreign
and Commonwealth Office
FCO SUPPORT FOR ENGLISH LANGUAGE TRAINING
Letter to the Secretary of State, Foreign
and Commonwealth Office, from the Chairman of the Committee, 11
December 2002
The Foreign Affairs Committee has been very
supportive of the Government's programmes for English language
training for military and other services in countries in central
and eastern Europe and in central Asia. I believe that these programmes,
funded jointly by the Ministry of Defence and the Foreign and
Commonwealth Office, have made a real difference in the countries
concerned, as well as making an important contribution towards
meeting some of the Office's PSA targets.
I am therefore concerned to hear that the FCO
may be unable to continue its present level of funding for these
programmes. Specifically, I understand that that part of the funding
for the Peacekeeping English Project which is drawn from the budget
of the FCO's International Security directorate may be in jeopardy.
I would be grateful to be reassured that there
is no threat to the level of funding of the Peacekeeping English
Project.
I am copying this letter to Geoff Hoon and to
Bruce George.
Chairman of the Committee
December 2002
Letter to the Chairman of the Committee
from the Secretary of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office,
8 May 2003
I am sorry to have taken so long to reply to
your letter of 11 December last about the future funding of the
Peacekeeping English Project (PEP) in Central and Eastern Europe.
I wanted to be clear about the FCO's financial commitment to the
project before replying and this involved resolving various outstanding
questions about the Resource Allocation Round for the financial
year which has just started.
I fully share your views on the importance of
this activity. Helping members of the armed forces in the new
EU and NATO countries learn English is key to allied interoperability
and effectiveness and an important tool in security sector reform.
That said, you will understand that public spending
pressures mean all aspects of FCO expenditure have to be kept
under careful review and constant new demands on resources require
us to look for potential savings among even higher priority activities.
The Peacekeeping English Project was no exception.
However, having examined all the competing priorities,
I am now glad to tell you that an agreement has been reached which
will ensure FCO funding for this programme for at least the next
three years.
Rt Hon Jack Straw MP
Secretary of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office
May 2003
| 
