Asked by: James Gray (Conservative - North Wiltshire)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what security measures his Department has in place relating to the receipt by his Department of incoming post and parcels; and what discussions he has had with the British Forces Postal Office on providing such services.
Answered by Mark Field
All Royal Mail post and parcels addressed to the FCO buildings in King Charles Street and Lancaster House in London are diverted to the British Forces Postal Office (BFPO) Northolt, where they are security scanned by trained staff, before being forwarded to their destination. Mail destined for the FCO's overseas posts is either processed at BFPO Northolt or Hanslope Park. The latter also handles mail for staff working at Hanslope Park and Northgate House.
FCO Services has already moved the majority of post and parcel receipt and security scanning requirements to the BFPO. FCO Services is in discussions with BFPO about transferring further elements of this work to them during 2018.