Bob Spink:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what proportion of office supplies purchased by his Department were recycled products in the latest period for which figures are available. [275344]
Gillian Merron:
Data on Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) spend on products from recycled materials are not held centrally, and establishing the global proportion of the FCO’s office supplies being made from recycled materials could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. A trawl of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office’s (FCO’s) principal suppliers of office supplies in the UK, has identified that:
15 May 2009 : Column 1065W
The FCO’s A4 paper supplies are made from 100 per cent. recycled materials, and a number of more specialised paper products are made from 75 per cent. recycled materials;
80 per cent. of the FCO’s bespoke print paper products from its in-house print facility are made from 100 per cent. recycled materials;
The FCO’s contracted stationery supplier provides a range of products meeting certain environmental criteria, including but not exclusively, being made from recycled materials. Since 1 May 2008, 18.47 per cent. of the FCO’s spend with this supplier has been on products which meet their criteria as being environmentally sound;
Chairs purchased by the FCO contain 50 per cent. recycled materials.
Diplomatic Service: Allowances
Daniel Kawczynski:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs with reference to the answer of 27 February 2008, Official Report, column 1196W, on departmental pay, what the source of the security advice used to calculate the hardship element of the Diplomatic Service Compensation Allowance is. [275462]
Gillian Merron:
The Diplomatic Service Compensation Allowance hardship allowance is based on scores supplied by an independent company, Employment Conditions Abroad (ECA). ECA score posts around the world in 16 different categories including personal security and socio-political tension, based on their own independent research and information derived from the annual location ranking survey completed by their member organisations. They reflect conditions for an average expatriate living in the city concerned. These scores are then re-weighted by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (multiplied by 1.389) to reflect the additional security risk staff may face because of their higher profile as official Government representatives overseas.
In addition to ECA’s security score, our own security advisers award points based on their assessment of the security threat to British diplomats and their families from terrorism, hostile intelligence activity and political violence.
Daniel Kawczynski:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs which posts qualify civilian employees of his Department for the hardship element of the Diplomatic Service Compensation Allowance (DSCA); and what the monthly rate of DSCA hardship allowance paid to staff at each post is. [275463]
Gillian Merron:
Each of the posts in the following table qualifies for DSCA hardship allowance. The list and the rates paid are revised annually. The accompanied rates are paid to an officer posted with their spouse/registered partner. Unaccompanied rates are paid to single officers or staff with a spouse/registered partner elsewhere. The rates are changed on 1 January every year.
