On 24 November 2005, the National Audit Office
published its report on Consular Services. The key recommendations
included better targeting and influencing vulnerable groups of
travellers, improving the consistency and professionalism of our
frontline services, and equipping consular services to meet emerging
change in information technology and biometrics. We accepted the
NAO's recommendations in full and have set out a detailed programme
of work to implement them all by February 2007.
In December last year, we sent the Committee
a matrix reproducing the NAO's recommendations and setting out
our plans for work to implement them. I now attach an updated
version of that table, with changes underlined, to highlight work
we have done since December last year.
At the same time as the NAO's main report was
published, we issued a joint FCO/NAO report focused on the lessons
learned following the Indian Ocean tsunami. We sent the Committee
progress reports on implementing these recommendations in December
2005 and in May 2006, the latter as part of the FCO's response
to the Committee's report on the FCO Departmental Report 2004-05.
I hope that the Committee finds this update
useful. I plan to send you further progress reports on both the
main NAO themes and the tsunami-related work after the summer
recess. We also plan to update the Committee on consular work
arising from the FIFA World Cup 2006 after the tournament.
I am also sending the table attached here to
the Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee, given its work
on Consular Services following the NAO's report.
| NAO summary recommendation
|
NAO detailed recommendation
|
FCO Response |
| INFLUENCING AND CHANGING BEHAVIOURS OF TRAVELLERS
|
1. There is scope to better understand the root causes of assistance cases, and to target hard hitting messages at traveller groups which do not prepare adequately, or those which have historically required more consular assistance.
| (a) Undertake structured analyses of previous assistance cases, building on other on-going research, to better identify key risk traveller groups which are less likely to access and digest the full text of existing, extensive travel advice;
| The new version of our consular casework software, COMPASS—which is now being rolled out—allows us better to identify the groups of travellers most likely to get into difficulty, and the types of cases concerned. Analysing and using this information to target our communications activity is a high priority for the consular communications team. We have also conducted bench-marking research to establish, for example, which groups are least likely to read Travel Advice or obtain travel insurance, and are targeting our communications work accordingly. Using information from COMPASS we have identified posts who report high levels of potentially avoidable consular incidents, such as rape, sexual assault, robbery and passport loss, and we are using this information to target our messages by resort. We have set up a challenge fund for our posts and are inviting bids for activity to promote in-resort campaigns with particular messages. We will be giving out FCO safety messages on postcards to holidaymakers in Spanish resorts this July, through our partner, Holiday FM.
|
| (b) Increase the use of trend analysis, international passenger surveys and future modelling techniques to forecast the likely future demand for assistance;
| We are building a capacity for this within our small consular policy team. We have also increased our engagement with outside stakeholders, for example through the Travel Advice Review Group and Consular Strategy Board, enabling us better to draw on and be aware of their own analysis of future trends. We need to improve the quality and consistency of our management information (MI) to undertake accurate structured analyses and forecast likely demand. We are reviewing the MI needs of the consular network as well as the range of sources of information, including external sources, and plan to design new systems for collating accurate, comprehensive and timely management information. Scoping review to be complete by September.
|
| (c)
Ensure that all country travel advice pages include in their summaries advice on the most common causes of assistance cases in that country; and
| We have begun to collate the necessary information (where it exists), and will implement this recommendation soon for those countries where information is already available. We have implemented this for our priority countries and will update the remaining travel advice pages as part of the regular three-month review cycle of travel advice. We will complete this by September.
|
| (d)
Increase the range of media sources used to disseminate messages, targeting identified risk sectors—for example using features on television travel programmes, student magazines and tabloid newspaper travel sections—and make wider use of illustrative personal case histories to convey consequences of being under-prepared.
| We have put the NAO's recommendations at the heart of our communication strategy, and they form the basis of the briefs given to the PR and partnership marketing agencies who work for us on the Know Before You Go (KBYG) campaign. We have increased what we spend on partnership marketing as a proportion of KBYG campaign budget to maximise opportunities to work with big brands in promoting our messages. Key current partners include: Lonely Planet (350,000 copies of Travel Safe guide given out through outlets such as adventure travel shops and gap year groups); First Choice (poster promotions in stores); Western Union (FCO information on their new cash-cards and related publicity); Sainsbury's (features in e-newsletters, in-store promotions); and Last-Minute.Com (pop-up windows on their site directing people to our travel advice). We have appointed new "student ambassadors" in 15 of the UK's biggest universities, to promote our safe travel messages to this vulnerable group of travellers using student media and networks. Our Rough Guide to Safer Travel and Lonely Planet Travel Safe Guide are also targeted at this audience. Articles placed in their university publications by student Ambassadors have reached 467,000 students over the past year. We have conducted a sixth-form schools tour, together with Lonely Planet writers, and had spoken to 1,400 students by the end of May 2006. We have combined these tours with local media opportunities where possible and will restart activity in September.
Our new TV filler "It all adds up", which targets people travelling without insurance, won a Gold award at the UK IVCA awards in February, and a silver at the International Film and Video Festival awards in Los Angeles in May against competitors from 26 countries. In the quarter ending March 2006, our TV fillers received 20,000 transmissions across terrestrial and digital stations, an increase of 463% on the same period last year. To buy this airtime would have cost us £422,425. We plan two new fillers aimed at the grey and ethnic minority markets later this year.
Through a PR company, we have generated extensive press, radio and TV coverage through research-based stories on key travel themes such as winter holidays or Hen and Stag parties abroad. Clearly we need to handle case studies sensitively and respect confidentiality. But we are using our customer satisfaction survey for the first time to ask people if they would be prepared for the details of their cases to be used as appropriate in case studies, and hope that the results of this will provide material.
We have asked posts for more individual case studies and our revamped GoGapYear website asks travellers to send in their stories, which are passed to us via Lonely Planet.We placed a full-page advert in the Sun's first-ever travel supplement (January 2006) as well as adverts in magazines on buying property abroad (secured free through partnerships).
|
| 2. In developing a consular customer guide for assistance work, the FCO should consider the key criteria it should use to establish levels of assistance which are appropriate for the country and individual circumstance.
| (a) The consular guide should make clear:
— The boundaries of consular of consular activity and the services FCO will never offer;
— The minimum service FCO will try to provide in all countries;
| The then Foreign Secretary launched Support for British nationals Abroad: a Guide with an oral statement to Parliament on 21 March 2006. The Guide meets all of the NAO's recommendations.
Implemented
|
| — The minimum level of support which the public can expect to receive in all cases, whether for terrorist atrocities, or other murders overseas or other circumstances. This may result in the need for flexible resourcing to provide short term assistance to Posts during more exacting cases;
| Implemented |
| — The principles, such as the vulnerability of individuals, which will be considered when assessing whether to provide an enhanced level of assistance for particular cases.
| The Guide sets out (p 29) the principles that Ministers will consider when deciding if a particular event or set of events is a major catastrophe, which merits provision of an enhanced level of support. It also takes a criteria-based approach for example in describing when we will make exceptions to our policy on support for dual nationals (p9 ). We are doing further work on criteria such as individual vulnerability—see under 2(b) below.
|
| (b) The guide should be underpinned by:
— A central set of criteria on risks and appropriate assistance levels, to assist posts in setting—and justifying if challenged—an appropriate level of assistance;
| We have set work in hand to consider what criteria staff should use in deciding on the resources to devote to individual cases. One example is the vulnerability of individuals (2(a) fourth para above). Staff are likely to need to devote more time to delivering service to, say, a vulnerable and frail individual far from home, than to a long-term resident abroad with family support, knowledge of the local language and procedures, etc We are considering whether we can codify such criteria in our internal guidance to staff. We have issued instructions to posts to stop providing "lifestyle" assistance to British nationals resident abroad, such as help with queries about residency, employment, local jobs or schools. We will be monitoring this through better management information (see above). Posts in Spain, our biggest overseas network, have set up a best practice working group which meets regularly to drive through improvements in the consistency of services. A programme of regional strategy conferences with similar objectives is being rolled out around the world.
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| — Increased emphasis on sharing the burden of consular services by working closely with other nations, services, including pooling of staff resources and accommodation, and driving forward ideas such as European Union consular space.
| We are co-located with EU partners in Almaty, Ashgabat, Dar es Salaam, Pyongyang, Quito, Reykjavik, Minsk and Chisinau. We are alert to further opportunities to expand this list. We have made work on the "EU consular space" a priority of our EU Presidency. However, this is still at an early stage: most British Nationals in difficulty abroad still expect to see a representative from the British mission rather than having to rely on an EU office or the local authorities.
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| MOVING TOWARDS MORE CONSISTENT FRONTLINE SERVICE TO INDIVIDUALS
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3. Both increasing the breadth and depth of coverage of the Post review system, and collecting fuller management information, would assist the FCO in ensuring that posts provide a consistent level of service, appropriate for the country circumstance.
| (a) Post reviews should be extended to cover the following areas in more depth:
— The appropriateness and consistency of the level of assistance provided;
— The accuracy of performance and management information and performance against targets;
|
This has been implemented.
This has been implemented.
|
| — Customer care, including enquiry handling, complaints, and facilities;
| This has been implemented.
|
| — The use made of the Compass assistance software tool;
| This has been implemented.
|
| — Opportunities to work with other embassies to routinely provide joint information or consular assistance in remote locations, as well as co-operation in crisis situations; and
| This has been implemented.
|
| — The quality of decisions being taken on the handling of applications of passports.
| In October 2005, a Nationality & Passports Best Practice Unit (BPU) was set up, with a remit to undertake a rolling programme of visits to the main passport issuing posts, and to other posts as the need arose. The BPU reviews all aspects of passport work, eg management of the operation, staffing levels, quality of decisions. The BPU works closely with the Reviewers, and has so far visited Amsterdam, Beirut and Damascus. We are currently getting feedback from these posts and will be able to report to the Committee in July on improvements made. We have since visited Canberra (plus Sydney and Perth), Geneva, Rome, Madrid and Lagos, and have visits planned for Pretoria and Hong Kong.
|
| (b)
Following reviews, the team should maximise impact by encouraging Posts to agree action plans linked to specific and measurable achievements, and by developing more formal mechanisms to disseminate lessons learned.
| Where possible, and following discussion with Post management, recommendations will be reasonably precise on timings. However, for any which are dependent on staff moves (in and out), or budget availability, timings are less certain. Reviews will be followed up, six to 12 months after the report has been issued, to check on progress with implementing recommendations, and to determine what benefits have been realised.
We have expanded the Consular Review Team and have two ad hoc Reviewers whom we can call on if necessary. The new capacity means we can review more posts in greater detail. We carry out desktop reviews in London of posts that need urgent advice where we cannot visit within the desired timeframe. We are now helping posts to devise action plans which build on review reports.
As part of the review process, Posts are also being encouraged to share best practice with colleagues at other Posts. We will monitor this to see if we need to do more. One mechanism for best practice sharing is via articles in the Real World (consular network) newsletter. Others are being considered.
We have written an Internal Communications Strategy, a principal part of which is the post of "internal communications officer", who will ensure that messages are up to date and spread consistently across the Consular network.
|
| (c)
Post reviews and subsequent management action could be better informed by:
— More rigorous collection and analysis of customer satisfaction measures, including more comprehensive analysis of complaints and other correspondence.
— Better methods of reviewing and comparing workload, including the reassessment of the potential for using a basic method of time recording, particularly for assistance cases, using the capabilities of Compass.
| In financial year 2005-06 we have for the first time set a PSA target of 75% for customer satisfaction with our service, which we are measuring through a survey conducted at overseas posts and in the UK (for clients who have returned here).The results in FY 2005-06 were an overall level of satisfaction for all types of services offered of 98.2% "satisfied" and above. Of that 98.2%, 92.9% rated our service as "good" and above, while 79.3% thought it was very good. We conducted the survey through 46 posts and had a response rate of 28%, which is very high against an industry standard of 10-15%. We have learnt lessons from this survey and have agreed changes for FY 2006-07 to improve the collation of data and statistical robustness.
Posts which devote more than two staff years to consular work are also required to conduct regular customer satisfaction surveys of their own, and we are looking to strengthen central collection and analysis of the information which these provide.
We have set work in hand to review and strengthen our procedures for dealing with complaints. We produced a new internal Complaints Manual in May, to guide desk officers in processing complaints to meet our public commitments in the Consular Guide (p 33) and ensure standard practice. We maintain a database recording the details of complaints, such as how quickly they were responded to, as well as the source or geographical region of the complaint to identify where further action is required.
We issued the first detailed guidance on using COMPASS (the Consular database with e-mail facility) in December. We have piloted an advanced version of COMPASS (COMPASS Next Generation) in 19 posts and London. We are making changes following lessons learned and will roll-out COMPASS NG to all relevant posts by early 2007 . . . Consistent use of COMPASS needs to be embedded across all posts . . . COMPASS NG has an improved reporting function, which will generate more useful data. We are currently piloting the time-recording facility in COMPASS NG across our Spanish consular network and, once we have reviewed this, we will consider whether to extend time recording to other posts.
|
4. The FCO should continue to work on ensuring that crisis management and emergency planning at Posts is robust, and should complete its action plan arising from lessons learned from the Indian Ocean tsunami.
| (a)
Continue to refine a risk-based assessment to:
— Prioritise feedback to Posts on the quality of their crisis management plans according to key factors such as the number of British visitors and expatriates, the likelihood of civil unrest, natural disasters and terrorist activity.
— Agree with Posts the frequency with which they should test crisis plans.
| This exercise is now complete. We have provided quality feedback on all plans. All Posts now have updated emergency plans. Posts are asked to update plans on an annual basis, and test them quarterly. We will continue to monitor this and ensure deadlines are met.
|
| (b)
Experience shows that understandably, the need to respond to successive crises has detracted from progress in reviewing emergency plans. The FCO should review the level of its staffing commitment to these areas to ensure that crisis planning is given sufficient attention, and maintains the momentum towards completion by the date the FCO has set itself of October 2005.
| A new dedicated officer will oversee this process and help ensure an increase in quality ratings, working, where appropriate, with external assessors.
|
| (c)
United Kingdom based and overseas senior management should regularly review achievement against agreed dates for submitting and testing emergency plans, and respond to any failures to comply.
| This exercise is ongoing.
|
| (d)
The FCO should ensure that the crisis planning and training is included in the objectives of senior officials at Post, against which their performance is assessed.
| All posts are required to prepare contingency plans for emergencies. We are looking at the possibility of including crisis planning and training in the objectives of senior managers. This involves, for example, consultation with Trades Unions. All Heads and Deputy Head of Mission designate are now required to attend consular crisis management training before departing for their posts.
|
| (e)
The FCO should establish a system for ongoing review and enhancement of emergency planning and testing, including establishing baselines from which to monitor improvements in quality.
| We have identified, and agreed with Ministers, 20 priority posts on which to focus additional crisis training, equipment and exercising of emergency plans. Best practice guidelines have been disseminated via the FCO's intranet.
|
| (f)
Expanding and extending the role of Rapid Deployment Teams to promote faster responses. Giving regional rapid deployment teams such as that being developed in Hong Kong for South East Asia the responsibility for providing a regional source of crisis management expertise to assist Posts in testing their plans.
| Expansion is ongoing. The number of trained FCO volunteers has increased to approximately 80, on standby to deploy from London The Hong Kong RDT has been operational since September 2005, and the US regional RDT was established on 1 June 2006, ahead of the hurricane season. Each regional RDT has some 30 volunteers. We will set up two more regional teams to create a global network—including one in New Delhi by the end of 2006. For the time being, responsibility for testing plans will remain at the centre, but regional expertise will be useful for relevant Posts. Regional RDT members have limited time to devote to extra RDT activities for which they volunteer.
|
5. The FCO should seek to maximise the benefits from improving existing, and forging new, working partnerships with others to provide a more effective end-to-end service to British nationals, in crisis and non-crisis situations.
| (a)
Establish formal liaison points, guidance and practical arrangements with other United Kingdom government departments to provide a co-ordinated government service to United Kingdom citizens seeking initial assistance from consular staff. This should include ensuring that responsibility for British citizens returning to the United Kingdom passes smoothly to relevant Home departments.
| Tessa Jowell is the Cabinet Minister with responsibility for the co-ordination of the Government's support to British nationals returning from major incidents overseas. We are finalising a formal agreement with the DCMS on exactly how a transfer of responsibility will take place: this will be ready by the end of July 2006. It will include a DCMS colleague being embedded in the FCO Crisis Unit.
|
| (b)
Implement more flexible arrangements for allowing Posts to use some discretion in issuing loans to individuals as Undertakings to Repay once all other sources of funding have been explored, to reduce costs and to avoid unnecessary deterioration in the individual's circumstances.
| Only around 50% of loans are repaid; the others have to be written off from public funds. We believe this rate would increase if Posts were given more discretion (they can currently issue UTRs up to £100 excluding costs without reference to London). We are considering how we might implement this recommendation but we need to take account of the fact that allowing Posts more discretion would lead to inconsistent practice, which could, in turn, lead consular customers to complain about perceived unfairness. To ensure consistency in advancing loans, the policy and decision making on the issuance of most UTRs should remain in London.
We will complete a review of our UTR policy by November. We have asked 12 posts to monitor the number of UTRs granted and refused over the four month period until September and the impact of these decisions on demands for further assistance.
|
| (c)
Develop arrangements with United Kingdom based non-governmental partners who can provide additional services and support to those seeking routine consular assistance and in times of major crisis.
| Delivering high quality support for British nationals abroad, in normal times and in crisis, was made an international strategic priority for the Government in the 2006 White Paper "Active Diplomacy for a Changing World: The UK's International Priorities". One of the specific aims which underpins this is to "build stronger partnerships across and outside Government to ensure more extensive support for British nationals and their families abroad and on their return to the UK after suffering major trauma overseas". We are drafting a Consular Partnership Strategy for engaging key UK stakeholders in support of, and to aid delivery of, the Consular Strategic Priority, which includes reviewing our current partnerships. This will be agreed by October.
We offer routine consular assistance through working with NGOs. The best example is Prisoners Abroad, with whom we have a three-year rolling funding Agreement (based on Home Office best practice guidelines—"Compact") and who deliver routine welfare support to British prisoners overseas. Other partners include Fair Trials Abroad, SAMM Abroad [support for victims of murder and manslaughter], REDRESS [victims of torture], REPRIEVE [death penalty cases], REUNITE [international child abduction], Veterans Association, Travelcare [support for people at Heathrow and Gatwick], Missing Persons Helpline. We also work with a range of NGOs to deliver help in crisis situations. eg British Red Cross Society, Samaritans, Salvation Army, Victim Support, CRUSE International [bereavement], Disaster Action, WRVS. Many of them play formal roles in our crisis handling arrangements.
We are looking for scope for more partnerships with such organisations. An example could be to contract out the transmission of some funds from families to their overseas prisoner relatives (in most countries). Another could be regular contact with relatives post-event (death, injury, detention), or prison visiting in some countries.
|
| (d)
For significant emergency situations, a clear trigger point should be established to ensure a co-ordinated cross-governmental response, including clear understanding of respective managerial and budgetary responsibilities by all stakeholders.
| See 5(a) above. Negotiations with the DCMS are close to completion, including on exactly when the trigger point should occur. Contact is also made at the initial stage of an incident with Cabinet Office Civil Contingency Secretariat, to set in hand cross Whitehall co-ordination arrangements.
|
| (e)
Ensure that Post crises plans include consideration of the scope for and benefits of co-operation with others such as local staff and volunteers in emergency situations.
| Posts' crisis plans take account of all existing resources, including Locally Engaged staff. We recognise the latter are essential in making the regional RDT concept work. We have also started to engage with the Diplomatic Service Families Association, and provide crisis training for our Posts' Community Liaison Officers, to ensure that spouses and partners are better equipped to help out in a crisis. We currently train spouses and partners when there is a high likelihood that they will be used, such as ad hoc training for a planned major event. We recently trained some 80 spouses, partners and Embassy staff who volunteered for the call-handling centre for the World Cup in Berlin. To extend the scope of this training to reach more family members, we are asking posts to encourage family members to participate when they are having any specific crisis training at post and to involve family members when they test crisis emergency plans. Posts are encouraged to discover and draw on whatever expertise exists amongst the local community (eg the resident British community), while ensuring that any such volunteer response in a crisis would not conflict with the main one. The British Red Cross Society would, if necessary, send out managers with the appropriate skills to ensure maximum effectiveness of volunteer groups.
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6. The FCO has made good progress in enhancing the professionalism of its consular staff but still needs to use training and innovative approaches to further improve the quality of its service.
| (a)
Consider scope for extending the range of career opportunities in consular work to encourage high quality staff to embed consular skills into their portfolios, and to engage in consular work at different points throughout their careers;
| The majority of 100% consular jobs are at Bands B3 and C4, which are relatively junior grades. Thereafter, the jobs tend to have a smaller percentage of consular work. Within the FCO's current structure, there is opportunity to return to consular work, in a supervisory capacity, as staff progress through the grades. All fast stream entrants are now required to undertake a service delivery job within their first two years of joining the office, or as soon as possible if they are studying a hard language.
Consular Directorate, UKVisas and Human Resources Directorate have established a "workforce planning" group, which is examining ways in which to increase the number of staff gaining service delivery experience early in their careers. Senior officials need to lead the way and we are encouraging the strongest possible fields for senior level consular jobs. All Heads and Deputy Head of Mission designate are now required to attend consular crisis management training before departing for their posts.
|
| (b)
Developing a better mix of experience of consular staff, including widening opportunities for less experienced London-based casework officers to do consular work overseas in addition to familiarisation visits;
| We are encouraging those with consular experience to apply for key consular jobs as they become vacant. The Professional Skills in Government agenda is leading to changes in the way that HR Directorate will expect officers to gain experience across the different work groups in the FCO. When these take effect, officers from all entry streams will be required to have experience of service delivery work (including consular) to be able to progress through the grades. This should increase the pool of talent available for consular work, and help to ensure more officers have experience of it as they advance in their careers.
The majority of casework officers in London do not have overseas experience and many are new entrants to the FCO. We encourage caseworkers to pay familiarisation visits overseas. However, the constraint on resources—financial and personnel—does not allow us, at present, to release caseworkers for an additional period to gain valuable experience working in a consulate overseas.
|
| (c)
Pilot a scheme to evaluate the costs and benefits of introducing a United Kingdom based system for "out of normal hours" assistance, similar to that used by the Canadian foreign ministry;
| We will consider by the November2006 whether the Canadian system of handling consular work out of hours would bring benefits to the FCO and our consular clients. We need to take account of the far greater number of British people travelling and living abroad, and consequently of the greater challenge which maintaining such a system would pose. We would still need to maintain the same system of out of hours cover at our Posts overseas, so that cost savings might be less significant.
|
| (d)
Make attendance at core consular training courses mandatory for all locally engaged consular staff (including Honorary Consuls), and duty officers;
| We have made training mandatory for all these groups. We have set up a new database to ensure that all staff overseas who have not had the required training quickly receive it, and to monitor ongoing training for all staff. We will also be able to monitor this through the new COMPASS software now being rolled out. We are producing a distance-learning video for duty officer training to allow posts quickly to train any officers that need this.
|
| (e)
Increase the number of regional training events and make specific provision in these to share lessons between Posts.
| Implemented. Our internal reviewers are conducting a review of our consular training team to see if its resources need to be increased to cope with the growing demand for training in the UK and overseas. Regional training events for locally engaged staff increased from six to eight. Specific regional training courses introduced for Honorary Consuls. Training courses have been structured to facilitate sharing of experience and best practice between individuals and posts.
We have held two regional consular strategy conferences for posts in the EU and in the Middle East and North Africa, to exchange best practice and identify key regional trends. We will hold four regional strategy conferences in the next 12 months, in Nairobi (for sub-Saharan Africa posts), New Delhi (for South Asian posts), the Caribbean and Hong Kong (for South East Asian posts).
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| 7. Passport applicants overseas should be given greater choice to obtain their passports from the United Kingdom or from the FCO, subject to meeting basic security requirements.
| (a)
Agree with the United Kingdom Passport Service that overseas citizens should be able to obtain their passports directly from the United Kingdom Passport Service if they desire, with immediate effect; where they have travelled back to the United Kingdom, can attend any necessary interviews there and can provide a verifiable address. The United Kingdom Passport Service believes that this can be made to work, particularly for renewals, given adequate arrangements to ensure applicants' eligibility and identity.
| We have agreed this with the Identity and and Passport Service (IPS).
|
| (b)
Align Consular and United Kingdom Passport Service security checking and quality assurance processes for the issue of passports.
| We are working hard towards closer alignment with IPS standards. Wherever possible we will also standardise procedures; where local circumstances overseas may render exact duplication of procedures impractical, we are coordinating closely with IPS to ensure that we meet the same standards, even if the means may differ. This has been agreed with IPS. We have established a Joint Working Group to establish good practices. Recent IPS attachments to our missions have also resulted in increased awareness by IPS of the rigorous nature of the checks (eg on foreign documentation) which we carry out. Those concerned have commented that they will be more careful when checking foreign documents presented to them in the UK.
|
| (c)
Regularly review the impact of the new arrangements on speed and security of passport issuing, and particularly on the level of demand for passports to be issued overseas. The impact of such cases will provide valuable input into a more fundamental decisions regarding the future of issuing passports overseas (see recommendation 8).
| We have created a dedicated Fraud Liaison Officer role to work closely with other Government departments in a more co-ordinated approach to tackling fraud. We will closely monitor how the new latitude for applicants overseas to obtain a passport in the UK affects the numbers of issues Posts make. This will be recorded in Posts' annual returns.
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| EQUIPPING CONSULAR SERVICES TO MEET EMERGING CHANGE
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8. Given the radical changes required for the passport operation, the FCO should change its current business model for issuing passports overseas.
| (a)
In response to our findings the FCO has already commenced the process of the fundamental review through a report from consultants CapGemini. We consider that the future direction of the Passport operation should include:
— Production of passports should be based in far fewer locations than at present. Specifically, a passport network based on production capability mainly in the United Kingdom, but with the option to maintain several regional "hubs" where there are major concentrations of British passport holders (such as Spain and North America).
— A clear definition and service standard for those residual functions that need to be retained in the country of residence of the applicant. This should focus of maintaining the capability at Posts to issue non-biometric emergency travel documents or temporary passports to assist emergency travel, and to undertake local checks on passport entitlement, such as interviews, biometric enrolment and the inspection of local records. Since a relatively small number of emergency passports will be issued, unit costs will increase but fees should be set to recover full cost.
— To build up capability in passport productions hubs to take on tasks such as the authorisation of passport decisions made by Posts, and to advise Posts on their decisions on nationality. Once the nature of the next stage of biometric passports is clear the FCO should reconsider whether further work should be consolidated to "hubs", to obtain lower costs and more consistent standards.
| The latest phase of CapGemini's work has explored these issues—and a number of others—in some detail. Findings and possible options for the way forward will be presented to the FCO Board on 20 June and to Ministers shortly thereafter.
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9. The FCO should ensure that existing consular information technology systems are fully utilised and new systems are developed to enable it to allocate its resources where they are most needed.
| (a) Re-invigorating Compass, the consular assistance software programme, with more detailed training and a staged rollout of its functions; including its planned improved functionality.
| Piloting of COMPASS NG (Next Generation) began in October, with rollout to Posts expected to begin in Summer 2006. See response to 3(c) above. There will be more face-to-face training at Posts, and trainers will also take part in regional conferences. New modules to come onstream later in the year include Crisis Management and On-line registrations, We are conducting a six-month pilot of unclassified laptops with access to COMPASS for use by small posts and Honorary Consuls with high numbers of consular cases.
|
| (b)
Monitoring whether posts are using the Compass system, including enforcing compliance through linking any staffing bids to case workloads shown on the systems;
| We actively encourage Posts to use COMPASS and we monitor its use. The Directorate's senior staff raise COMPASS use on overseas visits. We are currently considering the benefits of enforcing compliance by linking future staffing bids to COMPASS statistics.
|
| (c) Regular and proactive investigations of common infrastructure problems and frustrations with the system reported by Posts to the centre; and
| This function is now covered by the Head of Consular Directorate's ICT Operations Team, created in February 2005. Co-ordination with IT Helpdesk, FCO Services and IPS has tightened considerably, ensuring that we obtain regular reports of problems with consular IT systems and are able to investigate and resolve them. The current focus is on resolving problems Posts experience with OmniBase—a joint IKPS/FCO database of all UK passports issued.
|
| (d)
Better generation of management and performance information from the key information technology systems.
| See response to recommendation 1(b) We are reviewing how we can improve our MI systems. A new tool has been developed to produce management information from GenIE (our current digital passport issuing system). BRIT, the new biometric passport system, to be introduced at Posts from February 2006, has been developed to produce extensive management and performance information, including for example data on performance against PSA targets. BRIT will be rolled out to all passport-issuing posts by July 2006. 47,000 passports have been issued since the start of the roll out in March.
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10. The FCO should, in conjunction with HM Treasury, regularly review the basis of funding for consular assistance work and should reconsider the range of consular activities covered by its internal and external targets.
| (a)
Regular reviews to assess the adequacy of funding levels should consider:
— Changing patterns of travel and the observed level of demand;
— Projected trends in the issue of passports; and
— The case for linking the consular premium to the number and type of overseas visits as well as the number of passports issued.
| When assessing passport fee increases, assumptions are made based on available statistical information, of the likely demand for consular services. This information will include:
Numbers of journeys;
Travel trends (for example the growth in travel to more exotic locations, the increase in adventure holidays, the increase in independent travellers);
The numbers of passports predicted to be issued;
The increase/decrease in popularity of some locations (and staffing implications for those Posts);
The likely benefits of improved travel advice and Know-Before-You-Go campaigns.
We will continue to seek to improve the forecasting of demand for services. The introduction of ID cards will pose important challenges, as they will allow British Nationals to travel within the EU without a passport.
The introduction of the ID card is expected to mean a reduction in the number of passports issued by IPS. Due to the cap on the price of an ID card, there are no plans for it to include a Consular Premium, which could result in a shortfall in Consular Premium income. We are working closely with IPS, the Home Office and the Treasury regarding their predictions of the potential impact of the ID card on passports issued and funding.
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| (b)
A hierarchy of targets should be established under the existing Public Service Agreement and underlying targets, to develop more detailed working level targets in areas where none currently exist. For example, targets for travel information and crisis management could include:
— The level of public awareness of, or a number of visits to, traveller information;
— The number of Posts who have current, reviewed and tested emergency plans;
— The speed of deployment in response to crises, and level of continuing support during crises.
| We have established seven new business targets. These will be monitored throughout 2006-07 and, if suitable, will be put forward to the Treasury as new PSA targets for the Comprehensive Spending Review 2007 period 2008-11. The targets cover: devising strategies for death penalty cases; sending "bereavement packs" to families of those who die overseas; revising travel advice; responding to crises; updating posts' emergency plans, and the return on investment of our Know Before You Go marketing campaigns.
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Foreign and Commonwealth Office
28 June 2006
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