Asked by: Florence Eshalomi (Labour (Co-op) - Vauxhall and Camberwell Green)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what declarations of interests have been made by his Department’s non-executive directors; and where those declarations are published.
Answered by Nigel Adams
Non-executive directors comply with the provisions of the Cabinet Office's Code of Conduct for Board Members of Public Bodies. Board members are required to submit any declarable interests annually; this information forms part of the independent National Audit Office review ahead of the publication of Departmental annual report and accounts. Information on any relevant interests will be published alongside the Department annual report and accounts, which are available on gov.uk.
Asked by: Florence Eshalomi (Labour (Co-op) - Vauxhall and Camberwell Green)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, when his Department’s current non-executive directors were appointed; what oversight officials had of Ministerial appointments of non-executive directors; and what assessment was made of their experience against the requirements for breadth and depth of experience set out in the Cabinet Office guidance on Departmental Boards of November 2014.
Answered by Nigel Adams
Departments follow the principles set out in Cabinet Office/HM Treasury ‘Corporate governance in central government departments: code of good practice.’
The biographies for all four FCDO Non-Executive Directors are available on GOV.UK
Asked by: Florence Eshalomi (Labour (Co-op) - Vauxhall and Camberwell Green)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what private companies are currently contracted to provide security services at his Department’s buildings that contain Ministerial private offices; and whether there are closed circuit television cameras in any Ministerial private office within his departmental estate.
Answered by Nigel Adams
As has been the case under successive Administrations, it is not government policy to comment on security procedures in government buildings.
Asked by: Florence Eshalomi (Labour (Co-op) - Vauxhall and Camberwell Green)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what payments his Department makes to its non-executive directors; how many times his departmental Board will meet in 2021-22; and what work the non-executive directors undertake.
Answered by Nigel Adams
The FCDO's Non-Executive Directors bring independent challenge and external expertise, an important function as we complete the merger of the two legacy Departments. In line with Cabinet Office guidance, the time commitment expected from Non-Executive Directors is approximately 20 days per year, for which they are paid £15,000 each per annum, except the lead Non-Executive Director who is paid £20,000.
All four are members of the FCDO's departmental board, the Supervisory Board, which meets quarterly. They are also all members of the Management Board, which meets monthly, and between them they chair the Staff Advisory Board and the Audit and Risk Assurance Committee, and sit on the Strategy Committee, Investment Committee, Delivery Committee, Senior Leadership Board, Transformation Board, and People Committee. They also provide support and challenge to teams and projects across the FCDO.
Asked by: Florence Eshalomi (Labour (Co-op) - Vauxhall and Camberwell Green)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how many freedom of information requests his Department has referred to the central Cabinet Office Clearing House for advice on handling in each year since 2016.
Answered by Nigel Adams
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) do not hold this information centrally, and it can only be obtained at disproportionate cost.
The FCDO (and its former legacy departments) has referred requests to the Cabinet Office Clearing House where appropriate and in line with the published criteria. This is available on the gov.uk website at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/cabinet-office-and-freedom-of-information.