Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 9
9
Deferred
FCDO prioritises estate safety, compliance, and security as its paramount strategic goal for staff welfare.
Conclusion
FCDO’s first strategic goal for its estate is for it to be safe, compliant with all relevant health and safety standards, and for it to be as secure as possible.19 The Permanent Under-Secretary told us that his most important duty is to look after the welfare of his staff and other people hosted on 14 C&AG’s Report, para 1.12 15 Committee of Public Accounts, Adapting the Foreign and Commonwealth Office’s global estate to the modern world, Twenty-Fifth Report of Session 2009–10, HC 417, 1 April 2010; and Minutes of Evidence, Adapting the Foreign and Commonwealth Office’s global estate to the modern world, 1 March 2010, Q2 16 Q 32 17 Q 32 18 Q 34 19 Q 49; C&AG’s report, Figure 3 9 FCDO’s estate and that getting the estate right is therefore a very high priority, as managing the estate badly has very real consequences for FCDO’s staff.20
Government Response Summary
The government response is entirely unrelated to the FCDO estate, instead detailing work on negotiations for a Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) agreement with the EU and plans to examine strategic themes for strengthening long-term resilience to animal disease.
Government Response
Deferred
HM Government
Deferred
The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. requested by the Committee, noting that the negotiations for a Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) agreement with the EU, and timescales involved, will need to be integrated into development of this work. The department will examine strategic themes to determine how to strengthen long-term resilience to animal disease. The review will take account of other strategic interdependencies such as the livestock ID and traceability reforms, APHA’s systems reforms, upgrades to the National Biosecurity Centre, Veterinary Workforce and Vaccine Availability strategies and the UK Biological Security Strategy.