§ Lord Molloyasked Her Majesty's Government:
What plans they have to examine the costs involved in the running of Britain's embassies and High Commissions.
§ Baroness Chalker of Wallasey:The allocation of resources to all overseas Missions is reviewed annually in the Top Management Round, as described in the FCO's 1995 Departmental Report (CM 2802). In addition, teams of inspectors visit Missions on a cycle of between four and six years. They are charged with assessing staffing levels and other resources against the tasks being undertaken by each Mission and its objectives. In the year to September 1994, the inspectors visited 43 posts, and found efficiency savings from 41.5 net staff post reductions worth £2.6 million.