5th Report - UK foreign policy in a shifting world order

Summary written by Accountability Index from the government's response. It is not the government's own words.

The government thanks the Committee and responds to each recommendation, agreeing with many but stating "We do not agree with this assessment" on the effect of creating the Department for International Trade.

• On cyber security, it says "we do not believe there is a need for a comprehensive, binding international treaty on cyber security", as this would undermine existing frameworks, and it agrees that amending NATO Article 5 is unnecessary.
• On the Department for International Trade and HM Trade Commissioners, it states "We do not agree with this assessment" and says the Commissioners add "commercial leadership and expertise" to the existing 'One HMG' model.
• On international students and the migration target, it does not remove them, saying the statistics follow "international best practice by including students", and notes the Government has accepted the Migration Advisory Committee's recommendation against removing them.
• On a language skills audit, it says the FCO "should be possible to complete a full skills audit by the end of 2020", while a cross-Whitehall audit would need agreement by all departments and "would not be for the FCO to lead".

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