Wildlife: Smuggling

(asked on 21st January 2015) - View Source

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how many foreign UK-based and locally-engaged staff of his Department worked (a) part-time and (b) full-time on tackling the illegal wildlife trade in (i) 2010-11, (ii) 2011-12, (iii) 2012-13, (iv) 2013-14 and (v) 2014-15 to date; and if he will make a statement.


Answered by
Lord Swire Portrait
Lord Swire
This question was answered on 27th January 2015

Prior to 2013, work on the illegal wildlife trade (IWT), in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) was handled by individual geographical departments and figures on staffing are not available without disproportionate cost. In 2013 a dedicated illegal wildlife trade team of three full-time staff, including one funded by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), was set up in the FCO. This team was responsible for organising the London Conference on IWT in February 2014, working closely with Defra, the lead government department. Following the London Conference, this team was reduced to one full-time staff member. Since July 2014, in the run up to the Botswana Conference, two staff members in the FCO have been working predominantly on IWT, supported by a number of others working part-time.

In the FCO’s overseas network, several UK based and locally engaged staff work part time on IWT. It is not possible to provide a breakdown without disproportionate cost. From January to March 2015, there has been one UK based member of staff working full time on the IWT temporarily seconded to support the government of Botswana.

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