Asked by: Chris Ruane (Labour - Vale of Clwyd)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to improve the (a) physical and (b) mental wellbeing of staff employed in his Department.
Answered by Alan Duncan
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) is committed to improving the physical and mental wellbeing of its staff. A dedicated staff wellbeing network was established in the FCO in 2015 and we are working with Civil Service Employee Policy to implement the five health and wellbeing priorities identified by Departmental Permanent Secretaries. This work is led by a Senior Responsible Officer for Health and Wellbeing, supported by the FCO Board Wellbeing Champion.
The FCO promotes physical activity through our wellbeing hub, CSSC Sports and Leisure and in-house sports groups. Staff also have access to office gym facilities through paid membership. A robust healthcare system ensures staff and families overseas have access to medical care as close as possible to NHS standards.
All staff have access to the FCO's Employee Assistance Programme, which offers a confidential counselling service. A small team of welfare officers support individuals and managers to ensure colleagues have the support they need in times of difficulty. Our Trauma Risk Management programme ensures all staff exposed to potentially traumatic experiences in the course of their work are supported, and that anyone at risk of prolonged post-trauma reaction receives timely therapeutic support. The FCO is developing a network of Mental Health First Aiders across our network and is taking part in the MIND 2017 Workplace Wellbeing Index.
Asked by: Chris Ruane (Labour - Vale of Clwyd)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how many and what proportion of his Department's public phone-lines charge members of the public to call.
Answered by Alan Duncan
All Foreign and Commonwealth Office telephone numbers, including those enabled during a crisis, are either London/Milton Keynes prefixed or local call rate. All callers are charged at those respective rates. Overseas, our embassies also use numbers of the local rate type. This means that our consular services are available to British people 24 hours a day, for the cost of a non-premium phone call.
Asked by: Chris Ruane (Labour - Vale of Clwyd)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how much his Department spent on (a) television advertising, (b) radio advertising, (c) national newspaper advertisements, (d) local newspaper advertisements, (e) social media advertising and (f) other types of advertising in each year since 2010.
Answered by David Lidington
The Cabinet Office is responsible for cross-Government communication as set out in the Annual Government Communication Plan. As part of our long-term economic plan we have substantially reformed Government communications since the 2010 General Election, abolishing the Central Office of Information and ensuring that Government communications activity is better coordinated and more effective. Thanks to these reforms we have halved the cost to taxpayers of government communications since the 2010 General Election. The National Audit Office (NAO) has confirmed that Government made savings of £378 million in each of the last two financial years on proactive paid-for communications, compared to a 2009-10 baseline. This is based on proactive (paid-for) communications spend of £589m in 09/10, £216m in 12/13 and £210m in 13/14.
The Cabinet Office regularly publishes data on: www.data.gov.uk showing how public money has been spent and how government is performing against its objectives and goals. As the Foreign and Commonwealth Office does not have a dedicated central advertising budget it would not be possible to collate expenditure without incurring disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Chris Ruane (Labour - Vale of Clwyd)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what proportion of British Ambassadors and High Commissioners to the G20 countries were educated at (a) private school, (b) state school, (c) the universities of Oxford and Cambridge and (d) other universities.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
There is no requirement for British Ambassadors and High Commissioners to supply this information. The details we do have indicate that of the 19 British Ambassadors and High Commissioners to G20 countries (ie. the 19 other countries not including the UK):
a) 6 attended private school;
b) 7 attended state school;
c) 11 attended Oxford and Cambridge universities; and
d) 3 attended other universities.
There are 6 occasions where no school information is provided. There are 5 occasions where no university information is provided.
Asked by: Chris Ruane (Labour - Vale of Clwyd)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether educational background is considered in the selection process for High Commissioners and Ambassadors.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
The selection process for High Commissioners and Ambassadors is based on clear, transparent criteria, namely candidates’ abilities, as demonstrated by prior performance, and their knowledge and skills. Candidates are not required to disclose their educational background, and academic qualifications are not a criterion for selection. Where candidates have completed a course of study in a field relevant to a post for which they are applying, they may choose to disclose this as part of demonstrating their relevant knowledge.
Asked by: Chris Ruane (Labour - Vale of Clwyd)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, with reference to the Answer of 15 September 2008 to Question 218988 and pursuant to the Answer of 27 November 2014 to Question 215445, how much it cost to collate the information to answer Question 218988; and what the estimated cost is for answering Question 215445.
Answered by David Lidington
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) no longer holds information pertaining to the cost of collating the response given by the then Parliamentary Under-Secretary of Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, the hon. Member for Sheffield Heeley (Meg Munn) on 15 September 2008 (PQ 218988). The guide to Parliamentary work (available on the Cabinet Office website at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/guide-to-parliamentary-work and already in the Library of the House) sets out that Government departments can refuse to answer a question where the cost of responding to that question would be above the disproportionate cost threshold, which is currently set at £850. The FCO has calculated that any answer which involves consulting all Ambassadors and High Commissioners in our overseas Network would exceed this threshold.Asked by: Chris Ruane (Labour - Vale of Clwyd)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what proportion of British ambassadors and high commissioners were educated at (a) private school, (b) state school, (c) the universities of Oxford and Cambridge and (d) other universities.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
As the details of where British Ambassadors and High Commissioners were educated are not held centrally, this information could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Chris Ruane (Labour - Vale of Clwyd)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent estimate he has made of how many members of his Department's advisory board on the appointment of ambassadors and high commissioners were educated at (a) private school, (b) state school, (c) the universities of Oxford and Cambridge and (d) other universities.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
There are three boards within the FCO that advise on appointments for High Commissioners and Ambassadors, depending on the grade of the position. Some members of these Boards overlap.
4 Officers attended private school;
7 Officers attended state school;
We do not hold school details for 1 of these officers.
5 Officers attended Oxford or Cambridge and
7 Officers attended other Universities.