House of Commons - Foreign and Commonwealth Office Annual Report 2007-08

Foreign and Commonwealth Office Annual Report 2007-08 - Foreign Affairs Committee Contents

5 ESSENTIAL SERVICES

106. A merger of the FCO's passport processing operation with the Identity and Passport Service (IPS), the executive agency of the Home Office responsible for issuing UK passports and ID cards, has been under discussion since 2007. In October we were told that the IPS had approved the case for the merger from 1 April 2009[153] and that full convergence of operations is expected by 2011.[154]

107. The intention is that the FCO will retain responsibility for emergency travel documents and act as a service provider for IPS for full passports. The Permanent Under-Secretary told us that "the right long-term solution is to have a single passport-issuing function in the UK combining the very large Identity and Passport operation with issuing passports for overseas, and using embassies and high commissions to receive the applications and then to deliver passports".[155]

108. FCO Board minutes indicate that during reviews of the business case for the merger the Board expressed concern about risk, in particular the impact on the FCO's network, the cost of the transfer and the reputational risk to the FCO.[156] James Bevan told us that:

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109. The overseas passport operation is one of the most visible aspects of the FCO's work abroad and provides a highly valued service to numerous individuals in a wide variety of countries. We conclude that it is vital that the merger of the FCO's overseas passport operation with the Home Office's Identity and Passport Service is carefully managed to ensure that neither the quality nor the scope of the existing service are compromised and that the FCO's reputation is not damaged.

110. As part of the merger process, the FCO has taken steps to bring its passport processing operation into closer alignment with the work of the IPS. The FCO's Passports Next Generation Programme aims to develop "a more structured and streamlined approach to delivering passport services overseas, where possible in alignment with IPS policy in the UK".[158] Likewise, the new FCO system for issuing secure emergency travel documents, which will replace BRIT, the first generation biometric passport processing system, will be constructed "with IPS business and technical requirements in mind".[159]

111. The Government proposes that in order to improve the security involved in issuing British passports, applicants will be required to provide finger scans when applying for a passport from 2010 onwards, both in the UK and overseas, and that certain first-time applicants will need to be interviewed by passport officers.[160] In our last Report, we expressed concern that applicants may have to travel long distances to give biometric data, and to attend interviews. We recommended that the FCO should develop a target for the maximum distance applicants will have to travel.[161]

112. In their response, the Government commented that, while "it is difficult to commit to a meaningful maximum distance that people will have to travel, as the distances between FCO posts are, in some parts of the world, very large", nonetheless "minimising the additional inconvenience to customers will be a top priority as we design the system". The Government stated that the FCO, in conjunction with IPS, would look at the service levels provided by other countries and how it can use other government departments and commercial partners to help it deliver the new passport service. They added that options were still being investigated.[162]

113. In recent correspondence the FCO has told us:

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114. We conclude that it remains a matter for concern that British citizens overseas may have to travel unacceptably long distances to supply biometric data and attend interviews. We recommend that in its response to this Report, the Government should detail the estimated numbers of overseas applicants who will be required to attend interviews, the criteria for selecting them, the countries which may be affected, and the steps it is proposing to take to alleviate potential problems.

115. Assuming the merger of the FCO's overseas passport operation with the Home Office's Identity and Passport Service takes place as planned on 1 April 2009, we propose to revisit this issue to monitor its implementation and the progress made towards full convergence of the two operations.

Visa service

116. UKvisas was the joint responsibility of the FCO and Home Office until the end of March 2008, when it was merged with the Border and Immigration Agency and border work of HM Revenue and Customs to become the UK Border Agency (UKBA), which is an agency of the Home Office alone. However, as the FCO's Annual Report makes clear, managing migration remains an FCO responsibility and one which it considers to be "essential FCO service".[164]

117. Under the terms of a Memorandum of Understanding signed with the Home Office in January 2008, the FCO continues to have "a supervisory role that it may use to review performance and policy relating to the overseas network"[165]. The FCO director-general responsible for migration is able to attend the UKBA and UKBA Extended Boards and Agency staff overseas will remain under the overall authority of Heads of Mission. FCO staff are to continue to be eligible for jobs in the new operation,[166] with the FCO and UKBA stating that it is committed to 40% of FCO staff continuing to fill UKBA's international positions.[167] The FCO is also linked to the Agency through Service Level Agreements on finance, human resources and IT.[168] In October 2008, Sir Peter Ricketts assured us that the Home Office and the FCO are working well together on migration issues.[169]

118. We conclude that, where the FCO has a continuing involvement with the work of the UK Border Agency, we will continue to scrutinise the FCO and question Ministers on this subject.

Security of services

119. On 28 July 2008 a secure delivery van carrying 3,650 blank passports and 8,100 visa vignettes was hijacked in Manchester on its way from 3MSPL, the FCO's passport supplier, for delivery to overseas posts via the diplomatic bag. The Identity and Passport Service has been using armoured vehicles for the transmission of blank passports to its regional offices since 2004, but the FCO does not do so.

120. We have been supplied with confidential briefing by the FCO on its investigation into this hijack, the lessons it has drawn with regard to the security of services, and the ongoing police investigation. Sir Peter Ricketts told us that the FCO takes this matter "extremely seriously", that it was implementing the findings of its 'end-to-end' review, and that he was "confident that our security arrangements are now much more robust".[170]

121. We conclude that the theft of a large quantity of blank passports and visas from a delivery van in July 2008 represented a worrying failure of the FCO's security arrangements. We recommend that in its response to this Report, the Government should supply us, if necessary on a confidential basis, with a further update on the results of the police investigation into the theft, and on the action being taken by the FCO to mitigate any adverse consequences arising from this particular criminal act and to improve future security of services.

UKTI

122. The FCO and the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform are jointly responsible for UK Trade and Investment. In July 2006, UKTI launched a new five-year strategy to signal a new focus of resources on "particular customer groups that have the greatest potential".[171] Since then it has reduced the number of staff at its headquarters by 115 to 475, and 90% of staff are now in front line roles.[172] It has also reorganised many of its operations overseas into regional 'hub and spoke' models.

123. In 2008 UKTI assumed responsibility for defence trade promotion following the closure of the Defence Export Services Organisation (DESO). The UKTI Defence & Security Organisation was formed on 1 April 2008 and is co-located with UKTI. The FCO told us that the new organisation is responsible for "assisting defence and security exporters as they seek to enter overseas markets or maintain their current position with overseas customers; many of whom are Governments".[173] Some 240 DESO staff transferred over to UKTI. They comprise both military and civilian personnel and are supported by additional employees with specialist expertise, some of whom are on loan from the Ministry of Defence (MoD).[174] The FCO stated that:

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124. We recommend that in its next Annual Report, the FCO provides a clear picture of the extent to which having access to the full network of UKTI services has, or has not, bolstered the UK defence and security trade.

153 Ev 154 Back

154 Q 247 Back

155 Q 247 Back

156 Unclassified minutes of FCO Board, 29 June 2007 Back

157 Q 247 Back

158 Ev 101 Back

159 Ev 101 Back

160 Foreign Affairs Committee, Foreign and Commonwealth Office Annual Report 2006-07, Ev 110 Back

161 Ibid., para 183 Back

162 Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Response of the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs to the First Report of the Foreign Affairs Committee of Session 2007-08, para 34 Back

163 Ev 101 Back

164 Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Departmental Report 1 April 2007-31 March 2008, p46 Back