THIRD REPORT
FCO/ODA EXPENDITURE 1989–90
The Committee has agreed to the following Report:
1. INTRODUCTION
1. The Foreign Affairs Committee has now completed this year's examination of the expen- diture of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) and the Overseas Development Administration (ODA). Our work has, as on previous occasions, been based on the Public Expenditure White Paper (PEWP) and the Estimates. We welcome the fact that this year, for the first time, there is a separate volume of the PEWP for the FCO (including ODA).
2. We have taken written and oral evidence from the FCO (Diplomatic Wing) on the PEWP and on the Spring Supplementary Estimates 1988-89. From ODA we took written and oral evidence on the PEWP and the Spring Supplementary Estimates 1988-892 and written. evidence only on the Supply Estimates 1989-90.3 We also took written and oral evidence from the BBC World Service and received additional written material from certain other organisations. S
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3. In last year's report", we identified five major issues which we hoped to investigate more thoroughly in future years. One of these was “UK policy towards overseas students and their funding". We have since taken evidence from the FCO and ODA' in advance of the debate on funding for overseas students held in the House on 7 March on the occasion of an Estimates Day. We shall continue to keep the subject under review.
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4. In our work this year we have selected for special attention the manpower policies of the FCO; capital expenditure on the Overseas Diplomatic Estate; FCO expenditure on research; and the financing of the BBC World Service (see below). We shall aim to identify other issues for particular study in future years, in addition to our general oversight of the expenditure programmes of the FCO and ODA.
2. FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH OFFICE
Recruitment and Retention
5. We decided to look in more detail at the manpower situation of the FCO Diplomatic Wing after our concern last year at the substantial staff shortfall. At the end of March 1988 this shortfall was 161 (2.5 per cent of provision) and at the end of March 1989 126.5 (1.9 per cent of provision). The Permanent Under-Secretary Sir Patrick Wright told us in oral evidence that, while the shortfall as a whole has been reduced in the last year, there was still "a serious situation"." The shortfall is about evenly balanced between wastage-resignations, departures—and recruitment difficulties, the latter particularly in technical and communica- tions grades and in administration officer grades. 10
6. As to wastage, the FCO provided us with the following tables listing resignations from the Diplomatic Service Grades and the Home Civil Service Cadre in 1988 and the previous four years:
Evidence, p 25. Evidence, pl.
Appendix.
+ Evidence, p 64.
Not reported.
"Fourth Report from the Foreign Affairs Committee FCO/ODA Expenditure 1988–89, HC (1987–88) 429.
Minutes of Evidence of the Foreign Affairs Committee, 1 March 1989, HC 242-i.
* Official Report, 7 March 1989, cols 842-868.
9 Q 86.
10 Q 86.
para 3.
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