Managing risk in the overseas territories PDF Download

Author: Great Britain: National Audit Office
Publisher: The Stationery Office
ISBN: 9780102951301
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 72

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Book Description
The UK retains responsibility for 14 overseas territories, 11 of which are permanently populated and opt to remain under British sovereignty. These territories are not constitutionally part of the UK. They have their own constitutions, legal systems and most have a democratically elected government. Most of these territories also share common features, including relative isolation, exposure to disasters and dependence on one or two key industries. The great majority of territory citizens are entitled to full British Citizenship. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office leads overall policy and maintains the main UK presence in the territories. The NAO's last report on this subject was in 1997 (HCP 13, session 1997-98, ISBN 9780102610987). This report reviews subsequent progress. It considers whether UK government departments work effectively in conjunction with territory governments to manage and mitigate risk. Whether there are suitable and sufficient resources available by the UK Government to manage the risk to the UK from its relationship with overseas territories. The report sets out a number of recommendations, including: that other UK government departments should be required to set out their arrangements for dealing with overseas territory issues; the FCO with the support of relevant agencies, such as the Treasury, FSA, SOCA, should develop a strategy to ensure stronger investigative and prosecution capacity; that the FCO needs to make real progress in developing territory administration. The NAO further concludes that while some progress has been made in managing risk, the degree of success in individual territories and across key areas has been mixed.

Author: Great Britain. Parliament. House of Commons. Foreign Affairs Committee
Publisher: The Stationery Office
ISBN: 9780215521477
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 180

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Book Description
This is the seventh report of the 2007-08 session from the Foreign Affairs Committee (HCP 147-I, ISBN 9780215521477) and focuses on the issue of Overseas Territories. Altogether 45 conclusions and recommendations are set out under the following headings, covering: constitutional relationships; governance; rule of law; human rights; environmental governance; contingent liabilities; sovereignty disputes. Specific recommendations include: that the Committee commends the Government's encouragement of Overseas Territories in reviewing their constitutions and setting out proposals for reform; that Gibraltar's presence on the UN list of non-self-governing territories is an anachronism; that territory governments should be given the opportunity to pass on their opinions of the candidates for Governor before appointments are made; that the FCO should ensure it takes Overseas Territories' interests into account in its relations with the EU; the Committee recommends that the FCO should strongly encourage all Overseas Territories to introduce freedom of information legislation; that the FCO must ensure that judicial decisions in Overseas Territories should not have any interference either from the Governor or the local government; that discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender status should be made illegal in all Overseas Territories; the Committee believes the Government has been highly negligent in not carrying out a strategic assessment of Overseas Territories funding requirements for conservation and ecosystem managment; that Governors within Overseas Territories should use reserve powers to deal with irregularities, such as money laundering, in offshore financial services (for a related publication, see HCP 4, session 2007-08 NAO: Managing Risk in Overseas Territories). The Committee states that the Government has acted decisively in some Overseas Territories but in some other cases, has been too hands-off (eg. the corruption allegations on the Turks & Caicos Islands). Also that the choice of Governor for a Territory is crucial. Finally, the Committee deplores any retaliatory measures taken against indivduals who have assisted the Committee. For Volume II, Oral and Written Evidence, see (HCP 147-II, session 2007-08, ISBN 9780215521507).

Author: Ian Hendry
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1509918728
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 431

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Book Description
This is a manual of law and practice relating to the 14 remaining British overseas territories: Anguilla; Bermuda; British Antarctic Territory; British Indian Ocean Territory; Cayman Islands; Falkland Islands; Gibraltar; Montserrat; Pitcairn Islands; St Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha; South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands; Sovereign Base Areas of Akrotiri and Dhekelia in Cyprus; Turks and Caicos Islands; and Virgin Islands. Most, if not all, of these territories are likely to remain British for the foreseeable future, and many have agreed modern constitutional arrangements with the British Government. This book provides a comprehensive description of the main elements of their governance in law and practice, and of the constitutional and international status of the territories. This long-awaited second edition provides a comprehensive update on the law governing overseas territories. It reflects the post-Brexit landscape, and covers the Extradition Act 2003 (Overseas Territories) Order 2016 and the Emergency Powers (Overseas Territories) Order 2017. In addition, it explores case law developments from Chagos Islanders v The United Kingdom to the Mauritius case concerning British Overseas Territory waters.

Author: Great Britain. Parliament. House of Commons. Committee of Public Accounts
Publisher: The Stationery Office
ISBN: 9780215521217
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 52

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Book Description
Budget support is aid provided directly to a partner government's central exchequer, and aims to reduce poverty through helping to fund the poverty reduction strategy of the beneficiary country. DFID's use of budget support has risen to £461 million, representing nearly twenty per cent of bilateral expenditure. Budget support has been designed to improve aid effectiveness by reinforcing developing country policies and systems, and reducing transaction costs. Despite having provided budget support in some countries for many years, however, the Department has not established whether it is in practice cost-effective. DFID's main criterion for providing budget support is that benefits must outweigh the risks, a judgement which is assessed subjectively by country teams. DFID assesses weaknesses in financial systems but rarely estimates the associated risks of corruption or waste of UK funds. DFID's monitoring has basic weaknesses in specifying suitable indicators and tracking progress against objectives. Bodies such as Parliaments, State Audit Offices and civil society organisations can provide effective challenge to governments and ensure that the poor benefit from budget support funding. DFID has not historically paid sufficient attention to strengthening domestic accountability. DFID also has a responsibility to UK stakeholders to demonstrate that funds have been spent effectively.

Author: Great Britain. Parliament. House of Commons. Committee of Public Accounts
Publisher: The Stationery Office
ISBN: 9780215523532
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 32

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Book Description
In 2007-08, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (the Department) received £3,617 million from the Treasury. The Accounting Officer is expected to manage these resources efficiently and effectively to deliver a range of services and operations within the funding provided by Parliament. The Department failed to allocate final budgets to each of its business areas until five months into the 2007-08 financial year because: (a) planned expenditure was in excess of funds provided; (b) budget holders did not declare all financial commitments from the outset; and (c) the costs of unforeseen floods and the outbreaks of animal disease had to be managed. A similar situation had arisen in 2006-07 when the Department had to make mid-year budget reductions of £170 million to avoid the risk of overspending. The late notification of the reductions had an adverse impact on performance. In part the problems arise from the difficulties faced in sponsoring 31 delivery bodies, each with its own administrative functions and with different approaches to setting budgets and monitoring progress. Obtaining timely and realistic financial reports from delivery bodies was also difficult. A lack of awareness amongst the Department's Board Members of good financial management practice, together with cultural issues which did not prioritise financial management at a corporate level, added to the challenges. The Department's Management Board has since put in place more rigorous financial and outcome monitoring systems. Having agreed budgets for 2008-09 that accord with the Department's allocation from the Comprehensive Spending Review 2007, the problems of 2006-07 and 2007-08 are not expected to recur in 2008-09.

Author: Patricia Erfurt-Cooper
Publisher: Earthscan
ISBN: 1849775184
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 409

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Book Description
There are over 1300 active volcanoes worldwide and many more dormant or extinct. Some are developed as tourist destinations; others are not, but have great potential. Mount Fuji in Japan attracts over 100 million visitors per year and has immense cultural and spiritual significance, while a number of volcanic areas in national parks, for example Teide in Spain, Yellowstone in the US, Vesuvius in Italy and Tongariro in New Zealand, attract between one to four million tourists each year. In the last decade the designation of nearly 50 geoparks around the world has highlighted their potential for tourism development.This book provides the first global review and assessment of the sustainable use of active and dormant volcanic and geothermal environments for geotourism. The volcano-based tourism sector is further augmented through a closely linked range of geothermal resources and attractions, such as geysers and hot springs, which are discussed in detail throughout individual chapters covering all key volcanic and geothermal regions around the world. It is shown that volcano and geothermal tourism is a subsection of nature-based geotourism and incorporates a variety of other tourism categories such as adventure tourism, extreme tourism, ecotourism, green tourism, educational tourism, and hot spring tourism. This comprehensive book covers the most important issues of this growing tourism sector whilst incorporating relevant global research, making it an essential resource for all in the field.Includes colour plates.

Author: Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Committee of Public Accounts
Publisher: The Stationery Office
ISBN: 9780215522092
Category : Sports & Recreation
Languages : en
Pages : 48

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Book Description
The Department for Culture, Media & Sport (DCMS) and UK Sport have responsibility for elite sport in the UK. To support goals for London 2012, the Government has agreed a package of funding of over £700 million, while the DCMS will be required to raise £100 million from the private sector. This report follows up recommendations in the Committee's previous report on supporting elite athletes published in July 2006 (HC 898, session 2005-06. ISBN 9780215029768). It was found then that many funded sports had not met their medal targets at the Athens games in 2004. In particular concerns were raised about the way UK Sport measured and reported its own performance and the need for greater clarity about the level of performance required from individual sports in order to secure future funding was highlighted. UK Sport continues to plan on the basis that it will receive all of its funding up to 2012. However there remains a risk that the £100 million from the private sector will not all be raised.On the basis of a report by Comptroller and Auditor General (HC 434, session 2007-08, ISBN 9780102953084) the Committee took evidence from the DCMS and UK Sport on their fudning strategy for medial success at London 2012; their setting of targets and monitoring of progress towards the Games; and their approach to securing wider and long term benefits from elite sporting success.

Author: Great Britain. Parliament. House of Commons. Committee of Public Accounts
Publisher: The Stationery Office
ISBN: 9780215523556
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 40

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Book Description
Between 2002 and 2008 the Department for Work and Pension replaced over 1,500 jobcentres and social security offices across Great Britain with a network of just over 800 modernised Jobcentre Plus offices. The aim was to improve significantly the job-seeking experience and the delivery of benefits by providing a service similar to that offered by a bank or modern retailer. To achieve such a radical shift the Department merged the Employment Service and the Benefits Agency into a new integrated service Jobcentre Plus. This roll-out was one of the largest public sector construction programmes undertaken in the UK in recent years. Having learnt lessons from early difficulties, the project was successful in delivering nearly all the planned offices, while making savings against the original budget of £2.2 billion. The estate rationalisation generated savings of £135 million a year, and the Department estimates that the roll-out will ultimately lead to cumulative benefits of £6 billion. The successful delivery of the programme can be attributed to sound governance, intelligent use of existing guidance and external advice, strong support from the leadership of the organisation and, critically, the consistent senior management team. The successful implementation of the project has important lessons for other major government programmes.

Author: House of Commons
Publisher: The Stationery Office
ISBN: 9780215524188
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 44

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Book Description
Giving offenders opportunities to improve their basic and vocational skills can enhance their prospects of getting a job and is a major part of the Government's policy for reducing re-offending. In 2003, Ministers decided that the Learning and Skills Council (the LSC) should take over responsibility for a new Offenders' Learning and Skills Service which, after piloting, the LSC rolled out across England in July 2006. Delivering learning and skills to offenders is challenging, because the operational requirements of the Criminal Justice System takes priority, and because offenders often have other problems such as mental health difficulties and dependence on alcohol or drugs. Nevertheless, the new Service set out to overcome many of these longstanding problems. In practice it has not succeeded. The National Audit Office's examination of prisoners' learning records showed that there was not record of assessment for a quarter of prisoners. Learning plans are frequently deficient and not recording progress. Also, although enrolment is voluntary, more could be done to motivate offenders to take up opportunities. There is currently no core curriculum and inconsistencies make continuation difficult when prisoners transfer between prisons or into probation. The prison service and education providers are not working adequately together and there is insufficient research to allow informed changes. On the basis of the NAO report the Committee took evidence from the LSC, National Offender Management Service & the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills

Author: Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Committee of Public Accounts
Publisher: The Stationery Office
ISBN: 9780215524430
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 52

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Book Description
This inquiry took evidence from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (the Department), Arts Council England, Big Lottery Fund, English Heritage and Sport England on assessing the cost-efficiency of making grants; on supporting grant applicants; on sharing services and information; and on making applications on-line. In 2006-07, the nine principal grant-makers sponsored by the Department awarded grants of £1.8 billion, and spent £200 million on administering the grants and related activities. The grants ranged in size from £200 to many millions of pounds. The bodies held little information on the costs of their individual grant programmes and how these costs compare with others. The average cost of awarding £1 of grant across a sample of open application programmes in the sector ranged from three pence to 35 pence. Much of the variance in cost can be explained by the different objectives of the programmes and the needs of applicants. Grant-makers often receive applications which are incomplete or inaccurate. One way they could reduce the burden on grant applicants would be through inviting applications on-line. This would also help reduce the costs to grant-makers by reducing the amount of paper applications they have to process and the number of incomplete and ineligible applications. In the past, the Committee has recommended that the Department should take the lead in identifying the scope for savings by encouraging the organisations it funds to share accommodation and services. Little progress appears to be have made in this area. The Department has also done little to encourage benchmarking and the sharing of good practice across the sector.