Select committee: Foreign Affairs Committee
Conclusion 10
Third Report: Flying Home: The FCO’s consular response to the COVID-19 pandemic
Published 28 Jul 2020
Paragraph 31
Addressed to Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office
Foreign Affairs Committee Coronavirus: FCDO response All items in this report Report on parliament.uk ↗ Inquiry on parliament.uk ↗
Conclusion (the committee's words)
The move to using social media for mass communications was partially successful. However, accessing online information was particularly difficult for elderly people and those with certain disabilities. The FCO placed too much reliance on this generic advice and this approach disadvantaged those with medical conditions and those stuck in remote areas, as they were unable to access advice tailored to their current circumstances. Many people were not treated with the empathy and compassion that they should rightly expect. It’s disappointing that the FCO fell so short of expectations in this area. Whilst we welcome the shift to communicating general messages via social media, this should not be at the expense of offering bespoke communication and advice, often this kind of information is vital.
From: Foreign Affairs Committee, Third Report: Flying Home: The FCO’s consular response to the COVID-19 pandemic (HC 643), paragraph 31, 28 July 2020
Government response
The government responded to the whole report on 23 October 2020 (deadline 28 September 2020).
Summary written by Accountability Index from the government's response. It is not the government's own words.The government recognises concerns about the consular response and accepts some recommendations, but disputes that the report fully represents what was done, or how quickly, and disagrees on reliance on commercial flights.
- On the £75 million repatriation funding, the government says it does "not accept the suggestion that unspent funds meant those in need did not receive the repatriation support that they needed". If further flights are needed it "will look to find the funds within the department" and, "if appropriate", apply to the HM Treasury Reserve.
- On commercial flights, it says that keeping commercial routes open was needed because repatriating 1.3 million people by charter "would have required over 4000 charter flights". It ran charters where there were no commercial flights available or other ways to bring home British travellers.
- It agrees with the committee on crowdfunding: the reference "has been removed" from internal and public guidance. On loans, it says it "will always work to agree flexible repayment plans tailored to individual circumstances" and can extend repayment beyond six months where someone is actively repaying.
- On answerphone messages, it agrees this is "a priority" and is creating a "call-off arrangement" with its supplier, which it "expect[s]" to be in place by the end of October 2020. It does not agree that social media was used at the expense of tailored support.