Asked by: Lord Macpherson of Earl's Court (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will publish the accounting officer’s assessment of the value for money of the choice of transport for the Foreign Secretary’s recent visit to Australia.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Foreign travel is a vital part of diplomacy. The work that ministers do overseas ultimately delivers for the British people. We have three government planes for Government business. They are used by the Prime Minister and Ministers for precisely this purpose. This is standard practice and in the national interest.
Every government decision is based on value for money. In accordance with the Ministerial Code, the FCDO publishes the costs related to all overseas Ministerial travel as part of the Quarterly Transparency Return.
Asked by: Lord Macpherson of Earl's Court (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the written answer by Viscount Younger of Leckie of 18 March (HL2228), whether Foreign and Commonwealth Office ministers or their special advisers were aware of the involvement of Quintessentially in the 2016 competitive tender exercise managed by UK Shared Business Services prior to the awarding of the contract.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The FCO awards and manages its Commercial Contracts in accordance with Government Commercial Function best practice and regularly assesses the maturity of our Commercial operations against the Commercial Operating Standards. This contract is held by the Department For International Trade (DIT).
Asked by: Lord Macpherson of Earl's Court (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to help British nationals stranded on the Caribbean island of Sint Maarten.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Providing assistance to vulnerable British Nationals affected by Hurricane Irma has been a consistent priority. Fifty two British Nationals have been assisted to leave St Maarten. We have deployed consular teams to Curacao and Guadeloupe to help those who have left.
For those that remain on the island, a two person Foreign and Commonwealth Office Rapid Deployment Team is assisting British Nationals at the airport, while an Urban Search And Rescue (USAR) team, made up of 59 nurses, doctors and building experts, is providing support elsewhere on the island. We are in close contact with the Dutch, French, German and US Authorities who are providing aircraft for assisted departures. Those persons wanting to leave St Maarten will be prioritised through a triage system at the airport with the most vulnerable people given priority.