Asked by: Emily Thornberry (Labour - Islington South and Finsbury)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the data on Ministerial travel, July to September 2022, last updated by his Department on 15 December 2022, how much of the £5,799 cost for a visit by the former Minister for the Americas and the Overseas Territories to New York from 27 to 30 September 2022 was used for flights.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
A total of £3211.16 was used for flights by the former Minister for the Americas and Overseas Territories to New York. Foreign travel is a vital part of diplomacy. It is in the national interest that the Foreign Secretary, and other Ministers travel abroad to pursue UK interests, developing international relationships through closer economic, security and development ties. This has been the case under successive administrations of all parties.
Asked by: Emily Thornberry (Labour - Islington South and Finsbury)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the data on Ministerial travel, October to December 2022, last updated by his Department on 3 April 2023, how much of the £10,379.20 cost for a visit by the former Minister for the Americas and the Overseas Territories to Jamaica and the Turks and Caicos Islands from 24 to 28 October 2022 was used for flights.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
A total of £9572.08 and $299.50 was used for flights by the former Minister for the Americas and Overseas Territories to Jamaica and the Turks and Caicos Islands. Foreign travel is a vital part of diplomacy. It is in the national interest that the Foreign Secretary, and other Ministers travel abroad to pursue UK interests, developing international relationships through closer economic, security and development ties. This has been the case under successive administrations of all parties.
Asked by: Emily Thornberry (Labour - Islington South and Finsbury)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, for what reason data on his Department's (a) spending over £25,000 has not been updated since 1 September 2022 and (b) government procurement card spending over £500 has not been updated since 24 November 2022.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The publication of the reports referenced have been delayed as a result of the transition to a new reporting system. We remain committed to transparency and reports will be provided in due course.
Asked by: Emily Thornberry (Labour - Islington South and Finsbury)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what the maximum level of Continuity of Education Allowance payments provided by his Department was for (a) primary and (b) secondary pupils in the UK in 2022-23.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
In Financial Year 2022/23 FCDO allocated funding of £13,796,075 to Continuity of Education Allowance (CEA) for 514 children in boarding schools in the UK. In Financial Year 2022/23 FCDO allocated funding of £24,137,116 to 1188 children in education overseas.
Legacy FCO and legacy DFID have slightly different provisions in relation to education of children when staff are serving overseas and bringing these together into a single policy provision is one aspect of the alignment of Terms and Conditions of Service work currently underway in the FCDO.
In legacy FCO, it was a condition of their employment that members of the diplomatic service must be prepared to serve anywhere in the world at any time during their career, sometimes at very short notice. It is long-standing practice that the legacy FCO provides clearly defined and limited financial support to staff to help maintain the continuity of their children's education. Many parents prefer to take their children with them when they are posted abroad and are required to ensure that their children receive a full-time education from the start of the school term beginning after the child's 5th birthday, continuing until they reach school leaving age. In countries where there is no suitable free English language based schooling available (currently all countries except Australia, New Zealand and the United States), Legacy FCO will meet the costs of schooling, where available, at an appropriate English language school in the city of posting.
However, there are a number of countries, where we do not permit staff to take their children for health or security reasons. In others, local schools of an acceptable standard are not available. Additionally frequent moves by staff and families between the UK and overseas, and between posts overseas, can be disruptive to the education of the children, therefore, legacy FCO provides Continuity of Education Allowance (CEA) to support the children's education. This allows eligible staff to claim for termly tuition fees up to the agreed ceiling, school registration fees, deposits and examination costs. Where school fees exceed the ceiling, staff are required to meet the difference. The allowance is implemented within a strict governance framework and is reviewed regularly.
CEA is a long-standing policy run under successive governments since 1996, and I refer the Right Honourable Member to PQ [60896] which outlines departmental spend on private schooling for the children of its staff between 1997 and 2005. CEA enables staff who continue to meet certain eligibility criteria to choose to provide an education for their children at a British boarding school in the UK while they continue to take up postings overseas at regular intervals during their career. Without CEA, we would be restricting certain diplomatic roles for individuals without families, narrowing opportunities to have a successful career in our diplomatic service.
The ceilings for the 2022/23 school year are (per term, 3-term school year):
Senior Boarder | £12,471 |
Senior Day | £ 8,730 |
Junior Boarder | £10,962 |
Junior Day | £ 7,674 |
The breakdown of funding per school for Financial Year 2022/23 is as follows:
SCHOOL | TOTAL FOR 2022/23 |
Winchester College | £143,232 |
Eton College | £246,720 |
Rugby School | £99,820 |
Millfield School | £125,362 |
Charterhouse School | £171,760 |
Harrow School | £34,203 |
Sevenoaks School | £721,965 |
Oundle School | £487,449 |
Stowe School | £103,493 |
Gordonstoun | £130,805 |
Total | £2,264,809 |
Asked by: Emily Thornberry (Labour - Islington South and Finsbury)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how much funding his Department allocated to the Continuity of Education Allowance to fund places at (a) Winchester College, (b) Eton College, (c) Rugby School, (d) Millfield School, (e) Charterhouse School, (f) Harrow School, (g) Sevenoaks School, (h) Oundle School, (i) Stowe School, and (j) Gordonstoun in 2022-23.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
In Financial Year 2022/23 FCDO allocated funding of £13,796,075 to Continuity of Education Allowance (CEA) for 514 children in boarding schools in the UK. In Financial Year 2022/23 FCDO allocated funding of £24,137,116 to 1188 children in education overseas.
Legacy FCO and legacy DFID have slightly different provisions in relation to education of children when staff are serving overseas and bringing these together into a single policy provision is one aspect of the alignment of Terms and Conditions of Service work currently underway in the FCDO.
In legacy FCO, it was a condition of their employment that members of the diplomatic service must be prepared to serve anywhere in the world at any time during their career, sometimes at very short notice. It is long-standing practice that the legacy FCO provides clearly defined and limited financial support to staff to help maintain the continuity of their children's education. Many parents prefer to take their children with them when they are posted abroad and are required to ensure that their children receive a full-time education from the start of the school term beginning after the child's 5th birthday, continuing until they reach school leaving age. In countries where there is no suitable free English language based schooling available (currently all countries except Australia, New Zealand and the United States), Legacy FCO will meet the costs of schooling, where available, at an appropriate English language school in the city of posting.
However, there are a number of countries, where we do not permit staff to take their children for health or security reasons. In others, local schools of an acceptable standard are not available. Additionally frequent moves by staff and families between the UK and overseas, and between posts overseas, can be disruptive to the education of the children, therefore, legacy FCO provides Continuity of Education Allowance (CEA) to support the children's education. This allows eligible staff to claim for termly tuition fees up to the agreed ceiling, school registration fees, deposits and examination costs. Where school fees exceed the ceiling, staff are required to meet the difference. The allowance is implemented within a strict governance framework and is reviewed regularly.
CEA is a long-standing policy run under successive governments since 1996, and I refer the Right Honourable Member to PQ [60896] which outlines departmental spend on private schooling for the children of its staff between 1997 and 2005. CEA enables staff who continue to meet certain eligibility criteria to choose to provide an education for their children at a British boarding school in the UK while they continue to take up postings overseas at regular intervals during their career. Without CEA, we would be restricting certain diplomatic roles for individuals without families, narrowing opportunities to have a successful career in our diplomatic service.
The ceilings for the 2022/23 school year are (per term, 3-term school year):
Senior Boarder | £12,471 |
Senior Day | £ 8,730 |
Junior Boarder | £10,962 |
Junior Day | £ 7,674 |
The breakdown of funding per school for Financial Year 2022/23 is as follows:
SCHOOL | TOTAL FOR 2022/23 |
Winchester College | £143,232 |
Eton College | £246,720 |
Rugby School | £99,820 |
Millfield School | £125,362 |
Charterhouse School | £171,760 |
Harrow School | £34,203 |
Sevenoaks School | £721,965 |
Oundle School | £487,449 |
Stowe School | £103,493 |
Gordonstoun | £130,805 |
Total | £2,264,809 |
Asked by: Emily Thornberry (Labour - Islington South and Finsbury)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how much funding his Department allocated to the Continuity of Education Allowance to fund school places (a) overseas and (b) in the UK in 2022-23; and how many children were covered by that funding.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
In Financial Year 2022/23 FCDO allocated funding of £13,796,075 to Continuity of Education Allowance (CEA) for 514 children in boarding schools in the UK. In Financial Year 2022/23 FCDO allocated funding of £24,137,116 to 1188 children in education overseas.
Legacy FCO and legacy DFID have slightly different provisions in relation to education of children when staff are serving overseas and bringing these together into a single policy provision is one aspect of the alignment of Terms and Conditions of Service work currently underway in the FCDO.
In legacy FCO, it was a condition of their employment that members of the diplomatic service must be prepared to serve anywhere in the world at any time during their career, sometimes at very short notice. It is long-standing practice that the legacy FCO provides clearly defined and limited financial support to staff to help maintain the continuity of their children's education. Many parents prefer to take their children with them when they are posted abroad and are required to ensure that their children receive a full-time education from the start of the school term beginning after the child's 5th birthday, continuing until they reach school leaving age. In countries where there is no suitable free English language based schooling available (currently all countries except Australia, New Zealand and the United States), Legacy FCO will meet the costs of schooling, where available, at an appropriate English language school in the city of posting.
However, there are a number of countries, where we do not permit staff to take their children for health or security reasons. In others, local schools of an acceptable standard are not available. Additionally frequent moves by staff and families between the UK and overseas, and between posts overseas, can be disruptive to the education of the children, therefore, legacy FCO provides Continuity of Education Allowance (CEA) to support the children's education. This allows eligible staff to claim for termly tuition fees up to the agreed ceiling, school registration fees, deposits and examination costs. Where school fees exceed the ceiling, staff are required to meet the difference. The allowance is implemented within a strict governance framework and is reviewed regularly.
CEA is a long-standing policy run under successive governments since 1996, and I refer the Right Honourable Member to PQ [60896] which outlines departmental spend on private schooling for the children of its staff between 1997 and 2005. CEA enables staff who continue to meet certain eligibility criteria to choose to provide an education for their children at a British boarding school in the UK while they continue to take up postings overseas at regular intervals during their career. Without CEA, we would be restricting certain diplomatic roles for individuals without families, narrowing opportunities to have a successful career in our diplomatic service.
The ceilings for the 2022/23 school year are (per term, 3-term school year):
Senior Boarder | £12,471 |
Senior Day | £ 8,730 |
Junior Boarder | £10,962 |
Junior Day | £ 7,674 |
The breakdown of funding per school for Financial Year 2022/23 is as follows:
SCHOOL | TOTAL FOR 2022/23 |
Winchester College | £143,232 |
Eton College | £246,720 |
Rugby School | £99,820 |
Millfield School | £125,362 |
Charterhouse School | £171,760 |
Harrow School | £34,203 |
Sevenoaks School | £721,965 |
Oundle School | £487,449 |
Stowe School | £103,493 |
Gordonstoun | £130,805 |
Total | £2,264,809 |
Asked by: Emily Thornberry (Labour - Islington South and Finsbury)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 4 January to Question 111547, when he plans to publish the bi-annual report on the Government Wine Cellar for 2020-22.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
The Bi-Annual Report on the Government Hospitality Wine Cellar for 2020-2022 will be published in the autumn. Copies will be placed in the Libraries of the House when the Written Ministerial Statement has been released.
Asked by: Emily Thornberry (Labour - Islington South and Finsbury)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking with Cabinet colleagues to support financial centres in the (a) British Overseas Territories and (b) Crown Dependencies introducing public beneficial ownership registers.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK Government is committed to supporting the Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies to deliver commitments to implement publicly accessible registers of beneficial ownership. Our recent support includes: working with smaller Overseas Territories to update their systems to enable public access; purchasing a new company register for Anguilla, which will allow for public access; and funding Open Ownership, a specialist NGO, to provide technical assistance to each Overseas Territory.
Asked by: Emily Thornberry (Labour - Islington South and Finsbury)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent progress his Department has made on the introduction of a public beneficial ownership register in the (a) Cayman Islands and (b) British Virgin Islands.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK Government is committed to supporting the Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies to deliver commitments to implement publicly accessible registers of beneficial ownership. Our recent support includes: working with smaller Overseas Territories to update their systems to enable public access; purchasing a new company register for Anguilla, which will allow for public access; and funding Open Ownership, a specialist NGO, to provide technical assistance to each Overseas Territory.
Asked by: Emily Thornberry (Labour - Islington South and Finsbury)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to sub-target two of the Greening Government Commitments reporting requirements for 2021 to 2025 last updated on 15 December 2022, whether his Department follows the encouragement in that guidance to (a) monitor and (b) report on the number of domestic flights for which his Department is responsible each year; and how many domestic flights were taken by Ministers in her Department in (i) 2021 and (ii) 2022.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Under the Greening Government Commitments (GGCs) 2021 to 2025 framework reporting requirements, departments and partner organisations are required to report the total distance travelled by domestic business flights [https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/greening-government-commitments-2021-to-2025/greening-government-commitments-reporting-requirements-for-2021-to-2025#operational-targets-and-commitments]. In-year carbon conversion factors will be used to arrive at the total emissions from each department's domestic business flights. This will be published in future GGC annual reports. Departments and partner organisations are encouraged to report on the total number of domestic business flights to further our understanding of journey types.
This voluntary reporting is not required to demonstrate delivery of the sub-target to reduce emissions from domestic business flights by 30 per cent.
The sub-target to reduce emissions from domestic flights includes ministerial flights but these are not disaggregated in reporting under the GGCs.
The FCDO Annual Report and Accounts for 2022-23 and 2021-22 linked below provides the details on the number of domestic flights taken in the year in addition to comparing emissions against prior years in relation to the GGCs.
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1095304/FCDO_Annual_Report_2021_2022_Accessible_290722.pdf
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1170838/Foreign-Commonwealth-and-Development-Office-annual-report-and-accounts-2022-to-2023.pdf