Letter to the Second Clerk of the Committee
from the Parliamentary Relations Team, Foreign and Commonwealth
Office
DIPLOMATIC COURIERS
At your session on 9 July to hear oral evidence
from the Chief Executive, FCO Services on the organisation's 07/08
Annual Report and Accounts, you asked for more details of the
diplomatic courier service.
FCO Services currently employs 13 diplomatic
couriers and has recently carried out a campaign to recruit a
further six to replace staff leaving or retiring. The campaign
was successful, attracting just over 500 applications for the
six positions.
Diplomatic couriers operate a scheduled published
service, open to all government departments and agencies who need
to send classified material to Embassies and High Commissions
overseas which it would not be possible to send by air freight
or other courier companies. The scheduled service allows for consolidation
of material from these customers and therefore reduces the cost
to both them and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.
The service operates in accordance with both
the Cabinet Office Manual of Protective Security, Section 3: Carriage
of Protectively Marked Assets and the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic
Relations Articles 27 and 40. The annual cost of the service is
£3 million.
I hope this is helpful in answering your questions.
22 July 2008
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