15.1 | Civilian
personnel
771.
The arguments
for DFID providing additional cover were:
•
to respond
to “a partly irrational, but understandable, fear amongst our
staff”:
if DFID
did not give them what they wanted, they would not go;
and
•
to allow
for the difficulties and/or expense they faced in getting
additional cover.
772.
DFID officials
discussed options with FCO and MOD counterparts and with
the
Treasury.
Among the changes proposed was the introduction of the MOD policy
of
indemnifying
secondees where an insurer rejected a claim. The FCO was
reported
to be
considering the same options, but had put a decision on hold while
it waited
for the
outcome of consideration by the Criminal Injuries Compensation
Board of a
compensation
payment for two employees killed in the bombing of the British
Consulate
General in
Istanbul in 2003.
773.
The Treasury
approved the DFID proposals, but urged officials to
continue
discussions
with the FCO and MOD “in the interests of joined‑up
government”.
774.
Revised DFID
provisions, including indemnity cover to a maximum of
£300,000,
were
incorporated into the DFID terms and conditions for long‑term
assignments in Iraq
published
in November 2004.493
775.
Participants
at the civilian outreach event described a striking and
persistent
diversity
of security and welfare support provided by different
departments.
776.
On 22 December
2006, Mr Bill Jeffrey, MOD PUS, sent Sir Peter Ricketts
and
Mr Chakrabarti
an MOD study on the deployment of civil servants in
operational
theatres.494
The letter
was also sent to Sir Gus O’Donnell, the Cabinet
Secretary.
777.
Mr Jeffrey
reported that the study had looked in particular at
co‑ordination
between
different departments, their security advisers and providers. It
had become
apparent
that:
“… there
were different practices in different locations, both within and
between
departments
… but there must be scope for identifying and spreading best
practice.
For
example, it may be useful for all to see the results of the risk
assessment which
the MOD has
undertaken for each of the roles in which our civilian staff
deploy.”
778.
The paper
recommended sharing best practice and taking advantage of
economies
of scale on
pre‑deployment training.
493
Paper DFID,
1 November 2004, ‘Working for DFID: Guide to Overseas Terms and
Conditions for
Long‑term
Assignments in Iraq’.
494
Letter
Jeffrey to Ricketts, 22 December 2006, ‘Deployment of Civil
Servants in Operational Theatres’
attaching
Paper S2O, 30 November 2006, ‘A Report on Safety & Security of
MOD Civil Servants on
Operations’.
375