HC Deb 14 February 2003 vol 400 c51W
Dr. Cable

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many laptop computers were used by(a) Ministers and special advisers and (b) officials in his Department in each year since 1995; how many were (i) lost and (ii) stolen; what their cost was; and if he will make a statement. [97497]

Mr. Rammell

We do not have a central record of the numbers of laptops issued as budgets have been devolved to overseas posts and UK directorates. This information therefore would be available only at disproportionate cost.

Region 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002
Africa 233 292 264 250 121 127
Americas 235 288 328 290 102 128
Asia Pacific 503 473 532 517 245 202
European Union 239 293 298 274 143 138
Wider Europe 245 350 377 300 129 148
Middle East 141 157 239 172 81 87
Temp 29 27 33 37 33 24
Other 130 146 168 186 206 54

Note:

1. The figures above do not give an accurate picture, they simply state how many people were posted to that region during that year. At present the FCO has over 2,000 officers based abroad.

2. "Temp" refers to those officers who provide temporary cover at posts so are not based in one specific region.

3. "Other" refers to commands who cover various regions. We are unable to separate this figure by region without incurring disproportionate costs.

4. Post tour lengths vary from one year to five years depending on region so the figures should not be used for comparison purposes between regions.

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