Report Contents
What OIG Inspected
OIG inspected executive direction, policy and program implementation, resource management, and information management operations at Embassy London. The inspection also included the operations of Consulates General Belfast and Edinburgh.
What OIG Recommends
OIG made 22 recommendations: 21 to Embassy London and 1 to the Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs. In its comments on the draft report, the Department concurred with 21 recommendations and disagreed with 1 recommendation. OIG considers 21 recommendations resolved and 1 recommendation unresolved. The Department’s response to each recommendation, and OIG’s reply, can be found in the Recommendations section of this report. The Department’s formal written responses are reprinted in their entirety in Appendix C.
What OIG Found
- Mission United Kingdom’s leadership team effectively advanced the themes of shared prosperity and security in the context of the United States-United Kingdom “special relationship.”
- The Ambassador and the Deputy Chief of Mission engaged in substantive policy engagement on a range of issues and were active in public diplomacy outreach.
- The mission’s defined benefit pension plan for locally employed staff was underfunded by $31.5 million due to insufficient employer and employee contributions.
- The memorandum of understanding between Embassy London and the Regional Information Management Center Frankfurt for the ClassNet Regionalization initiative did not address key roles and responsibilities for the staff involved.
- Embassy London’s six locally developed computer applications did not complete the Department of State’s system authorization process, resulting in potential risk regarding confidentiality, integrity, and availability of information residing on the applications.
- Spotlights on Success: Embassy London formed a unique joint fraud investigations team that included representatives of the Consular Section and the Department of Homeland Security. In addition, the embassy instituted a mentoring program for locally employed staff and eligible family members.
Report Terms
Report Recommendations
The Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs, in coordination with the Office of Civil Rights, should assess the Chief of Mission’s compliance with Department Equal Employment Opportunity or leadership policies and based on the results of the review, take appropriate action.
Embassy London should implement a reporting plan for its Public Diplomacy Section.
Embassy London should correct line of sight issues in the Consular Section to comply with Department guidance for consular officers to visually monitor all consular operations.
Embassy London should install a closed-circuit television monitoring system or other means to enable Consular Section managers to visually observe the activities within the American citizen services cashier booth.
Embassy London should install signage at the Consular Section’s public entrance with all information required in Department guidance.
Embassy London, in coordination with the Bureau of Overseas Buildings Operations, should bring Consulate General Edinburgh’s consular waiting room into compliance with current Department standards.
Embassy London should create a disaster assistance plan that outlines support to be provided to Consulate General Edinburgh in the event of a crisis and includes a portable disaster assistance kit at Consulate General Edinburgh, in accordance with Department standards.
Embassy London should inventory the personal property located in Consulate General Edinburgh’s consular safe and properly dispose of the property if the owners cannot be located, in accordance with Department standards.
Embassy London, in coordination with the Bureaus of the Comptroller and Global Financial Services, Global Talent Management, and European and Eurasian Affairs, should implement a plan to fund current liabilities and reduce future liabilities in the locally employed staff defined benefit pension plan in order to comply with local labor law and address long-term funding concerns.
Embassy London, in coordination with the Bureaus of European and Eurasian Affairs and of the Comptroller and Global Financial Services, should reprogram additional Diplomatic and Consular Program-funded information management positions to International Cooperative Administrative Support Services-funded positions in accordance with Department standards, in order to put funds of $243,993 over 3 years, per position, to better use.
Embassy London should use the Integrated Logistics Management System to track all expendable supplies in accordance with Department standards.
Embassy London should dispose of excess nonexpendable property in accordance with Department guidelines.
Embassy London should complete and document safety certifications of all mission residences in the Post Occupational Safety and Health Officer Certification Application, in accordance with Department standards.
Embassy London should close out procurement files in accordance with Department standards.
Embassy London should conduct annual reviews of its blanket purchase agreements in accordance with Department standards.
Embassy London should bring its residential fire protection program into compliance with Department standards.
Embassy London, in coordination with the Regional Information Management Center Frankfurt and the Bureau of Information Resource Management, should update the memorandum of understanding for ClassNet Regionalization to reflect roles and responsibilities for the performance of information systems security officer duties and addressing requests for services for supported posts.
Embassy London should update and test the information technology contingency plan for its classified operations in accordance with Department standards.
Embassy London should complete all information systems security officer responsibilities for the embassy and constituent posts in accordance with Department standards.
Embassy London, in coordination with Regional Information Management Center Frankfurt and the Bureau of Information Resource Management, should establish an operational high frequency radio system.
Embassy London should complete the systems authorization process for its locally developed applications as required by Department standards.
Embassy London should complete all required steps of a systems development lifecycle methodology for its locally developed applications, in accordance with Department standards.