The Report
of the Iraq Inquiry
752.
At the same
time, DFID introduced its own counselling service for
civilians
returning
from fragile states.483
753.
DFID officials
recommended that service in November when approached
by
consultancy
firms asking what counselling or debriefing was available to staff
recently
withdrawn
from the Basra Palace site.484
754.
Details of the
new service were sent to DFID staff in London and Iraq
on
28
November.485
Staff would
be expected to attend debriefing counselling sessions
as
part of
existing security and medical procedures, in order to complement
pre‑deployment
medical
clearance and the facilities provided in Iraq by Frontier
Medical.
755.
DFID’s
Procurement Group agreed that the service should be made
available
to
contractors on an exceptional basis, reflecting the particular
conditions in Iraq, and
should not
set a precedent for other countries.486
756.
Participants
at the Inquiry’s civilian outreach event commented on the
range
of security
and welfare support offered by different departments before, during
and
after
deployment.
757.
Non‑MOD
participants who had served in Iraq between mid‑2004 and
mid‑2007
reported
that support in Iraq was poor. Staff were not briefed on what to
expect
psychologically
and there was criticism of the fact that Deputy Heads of Mission
were
not trained
as TRiM assessors or taught actively to look for stress warning
signs in
their
staff. Non‑MOD staff had to take the initiative to find support if
they needed it.
Participants
also commented that there seemed to be no structured
post‑deployment
follow‑up,
although there was some suggestion that the FCO support had
improved by
the first
half of 2007.
758.
Participants
also commented on the serious damage caused to staff
morale
when senior
staff without the right interpersonal skills were deployed to Iraq.
FCO staff
suggested
that the “can do” approach of FCO senior management limited its
ability to
recognise
when tasks might be impossible and to provide appropriate support
to staff.
759.
Dr Nemat
Shafik, DFID Permanent Secretary from March 2008 to March
2011,
told the
Inquiry:
“When we
select people for these postings, we do look at … their personal
qualities
and their
emotional resilience, and they do get pre‑deployment training and a
bit
483
Email [DFID
junior official] to [DFID junior official], 2 November 2006,
‘Welfare – Basra – DFID
Consultants’.
484
Email [DFID
junior official] to [PA Consultants], 6 November 2006, ‘Counselling
services for DFID Basra
Enterplan
consultants’.
485
Email [DFID
junior official] to Iraq Programme Team London, 28 November 2006,
‘New procedures
& services
– Staff Welfare – Iraq’.
486
Email [DFID
junior official] to Baugh, 5 June 2007, ‘Welfare arrangements for
consultants – Cost
management’.
372