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DR 348: Letter to the Chairman of the Committee from Sir Peter Ricketts KCMG, Permanent Under Secretary of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office
I am writing to update you on the latest FCO management issues. This letter covers the period April to June 2009.
passport operations
As part of a project to reduce the running
costs of our overseas passport operation, the FCO has streamlined its
passport services in Australasia, North America, Western Europe and
2008-09 resource accounts and departmental report
On
30 June, the Resource Accounts and Departmental Report were laid before
Parliament. The FCO was the first main
national audit office (nao) report on financial management in the fco
This
report was published in June. The press
release stated: 'The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has made good progress in
its financial management, aiming to establish itself as one of the best Departments
in
Top Risks Register
When updated in July,
the Top Risks Register included five operational risks (physical security,
resources, internal financial controls, IT systems, UKBA) and ten
strategic risks (terrorist attack, Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Middle
East, global economic crisis, Horn of Africa, Overseas
Territories, nuclear proliferation and Sudan). The Board also discussed individual risks in
depth at its monthly meetings, most recently the global economic
crisis (May) and
Business
Planning/Departmental Strategic Objectives (DSO) and Public Service Agreement
(PSA)
Final assessments of progress in 2008-09 against our DSOs and the PSA on which the FCO leads (Conflict Reduction) were published in our 2009 Departmental Report. The Board also held its internal end-year reviews of DSO, Geographic and, for the first time, Corporate Business Plans during June. We feel this process is improving each time we do it. We agreed to keep the same format for future reviews but to look at ways to make the questions more challenging and even more focussed on metrics.
A NAO report on PSA30 data systems was published on 10 June. The report stated that the FCO had made good progress in identifying robust systems for these indicators and that these afforded a reasonable view of performance against this PSA.
Cost recovery
We have been working to improve the arrangements for charging full economic costs to other Government Departments, all have now signed up to the new Service Level Agreement which governs the terms under which we provide support and services to them and their staff based in FCO posts. Negotiations with the Metropolitan Police and some others to secure agreement are continuing.
Activity Recording
100% of the fourth quarter's activity recording data was successfully collected to meet the deadlines set for the costing data and for producing the FCO Accounts for 2008/09. The accuracy of the data has improved, with fewer inconsistencies, but the system for collection on Excel spreadsheets is labour-intensive and we are looking at ways to simplify the process as much as possible.
Corporate Services
The Corporate Services Programme (launched in December 2008) aims to simplify, standardise and streamline our corporate policies, processes and tools. The Programme will deliver over three years in five areas: localising more of our currently UK-based management officer jobs overseas; further outsourcing of facilities management (since December, 14 overseas posts in Europe have switched over to a new facilities management contract for the UK and NW Europe); consolidating more of our corporate services functions in country and regional networks (as we have begun in the United States) ; and consolidating some of our corporate services in the UK at a Corporate Services Centre in central Milton Keynes to drive efficiency and better service through better technology and greater self-service for staff.
Estates
On 1 June we created one unified team under the direction of a new Director of Estates, Security and Facilities Management, Alan Croney. Alan comes with many years of experience in estate management, most recently as Director of Property Services for the Metropolitan Police. His appointment, which followed an external recruitment competition, will allow us to improve the existing links between our estates, security and facilities management functions. I have asked him to take a critical look at the FCO's management of our estate and supporting functions and report back to the FCO Board in the autumn. I will keep the Committee informed.
As part of our investment in the
New offices for the Embassy in
Following the sale of part of the British Embassy
compound in
As the Committee may recall from their visits to
We continue to look for efficiencies and savings in
our management of the overseas estate.
I attach at Annex A our quarterly report for properties sold and
purchased for the fourth quarter of the 2008-2009 financial year. None of the properties sold were the
Residence of a Head of Mission. In
As in previous years at this time, I also attach at Annex B a full list of properties sold and purchased for financial year 2008-09.
Greening the FCO
The Sustainable Development in Government (SDiG
2008) assessment gave the FCO an improved star rating against sustainable
operations on the Government Estate targets (which apply only in the
The Foreign Secretary's Green Awards earlier this
year recognised the innovative work being carried out by the teams across the
network to reduce our carbon footprint.
Sustainable measures include creating a green roof in
FCO Services
FCO Services has now laid before Parliament its Annual Report and Accounts for 2008/09 and I understand that you and your fellow Committee members have received copies.
In its first year of operations as a Trading Fund and in a difficult economic climate, FCO Services has produced an encouragingly strong performance. The organisation has achieved all its formal financial Ministerial KPI targets. Your Committee has previously commented on the likelihood of FCO Services' expansion into wider markets in this current climate, but I can confirm that their 2008/09 results show a 15.3% growth in wider market revenue. This is ahead of plan, exceeds their 2008/09 target of 10% and indicates that their business strategy is having a positive impact.
FCO Services has increased the efficiency of its operations over 2008/09 and this, together with its strong business performance, has enabled it to play an important role in enabling us to meet our overall efficiency saving obligations under the CSR. We are firmly focused on delivering the best possible value for the public purse and FCO Services will continue to play a key role in helping us achieve this.
In addition to its continuing attention to delivering efficiencies, FCO Services will work to embed the changes it has made over the course of the last year and build further the skills and capabilities of its workforce in order to enhance the service it delivers to customers. This is a key focus for FCO Services' business strategy for 2009/10.
Third Generation Firecrest (F3G)
In the
As part of the UKBA's
review of allowances
I have commissioned an internal review of all of the allowances we pay to staff serving overseas to ensure that they provide value for money to the Department and the taxpayer, support our business needs, fit the family circumstances of FCO staff in the 21st Century, provide the right incentives to staff to serve in the places where we need them most and offer a fair and flexible package to enable staff and families to maintain a UK-level of quality of life (or compensation for it) wherever they serve. The aim is to ensure that everything we do is fully justified, including on value for money grounds.
We are consulting DfID (who are conducting a similar review), MOD and other Departments with staff serving overseas. We are keen to incorporate any lessons we can learn from their experience and share our own findings with them. The FCO Board will consider recommendations from the review in the autumn.
expenses
In common with other Whitehall Departments,
we are publishing details of the business expenses (travel,
transport, meals and accommodation when travelling and official
entertainment) of senior FCO officials (at Director-General level and above) in
the
Stakeholder Survey
The FCO commissioned an independent research
agency (IPSOS MORI) to question a representative sample of the
The enclosed presentation (Annex C) gives you an overview of the results. IPSOS MORI found that there is a relatively low level of familiarity with the FCO.
Among those that were aware of the FCO, they were more favourable than unfavourable towards us. Respondents cited the FCO's work on 'helping Brits abroad' as one of our key attributes while appearing to 'let in too many foreigners' was seen as a driver for negative sentiment.
The results were used to help identify issues we needed to address in our community outreach programme during Leadership Week earlier this year. They have also been used to inform our ongoing website upgrades.
survey of
In June we received the results of our latest survey of Whitehall Partners. This was the biggest and most accurate survey we've done to date. A copy is enclosed (Annex D).
Most Government Departments think the FCO is a good organisation: delivering well and getting better. The FCO reputation, knowledge, professionalism and the quality of our staff is valued, and 95% of Departments regard the relationship as critical or important for themselves.
The survey also highlights areas we need to improve: including consistency of service across the world to all WPs, and ensuring that we embrace their agendas and treat them as genuine partners.
The results of the survey will be made available to all staff, and we have asked our Directors and Heads of Mission to ensure that they do work closely with all Governments Departments. We have also established dedicated account managers for our major partners. We will repeat the survey in a year or so to track improvements.
30 November 2009
Annex A
fco property sales for the period 1 january to 31 march 2009
fco property purchases for the period 1 january to 31 march 2009
annex b
fco property sales for the period 1 april 2008 to 31 march 2009
* Note: This is a forward sale with vacation delayed until early autumn 2009
fco property purchases for the period 1 april 2008 to 31 march 2009
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