FCO performance and finances 2012-13
Auteur: Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Foreign Affairs Committee
Nombre de pages: 43 pages
ISBN: 0215066057, 9780215066053
Edition: Stationery Office
Date de publication: Stationery Office
Description: The FCO is struggling to meet the continuing demand for policy support. On top of the day-to-day business of sustaining a foreign policy at a time of particular turbulence in the Middle East, the FCO has had to meet the demands of the London 2012 Games, the expansion of the network of posts under the 'Network Shift', and the greater emphasis on commercial work. The net effect has been to divert resources from mainstream policy areas and to complicate the Department's efforts to derive savings from headcount reductions. The increase in funding for the BBC World Service announced by the BBC Trust in June is welcomed. However the announcement covers only 2014-15. If the BBC Trust is to honour its argument that funding from the licence fee provides a level of certainty and stability, it should announce funding levels for the World Service for the remainder of the current BBC Charter period. The Committee is opposed to proposals for a wider commercialisation of the BBC World Service now being considered by the BBC Trust. The Committee is strongly in favour of retaining a degree of public funding for the British Council, which promotes a wider knowledge of the UK and its culture abroad. The current mix of public and self-generated funding 'is better than any other in allowing for a strong British influence and presence overseas and a deeper understanding of Britain, its culture and values, at an acceptable cost to the taxpayer'