Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon on 20 February (HL5413), what are the staff savings made in (1) Asia, (2) the Americas, and (3) Africa, broken down by (a) country, (b) diplomatic post, and (c) nature of staff saving.

The 50 new diplomatic positions we have created in Europe, are being funded through internal reprioritisation at an estimated (revised) cost of £4.1m. We will complete changes that will yield these savings by 2020, as part of the Diplomacy 20:20 Programme, and we will balance our budget within this Spending Round. We are seeking to deliver our frontline work efficiently, flexibly and with the same, or better, impact. In a number of overseas Posts, we are looking at different ways of doing frontline work, rather than reducing it. This will contribute about £2m in savings. Plans for changes to front-line jobs, with approximate savings estimates for each region. Other savings are being realised by changes to how we deliver corporate services and by working differently, including through use of upgraded technology.

Affected * - Could mean; transferred to a cross-government fund, localised, relocated or cut.