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<p>In line with HM Treasury (HMT) guidelines, we are required to recover the full
cost of providing all of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office's (FCO) consular services,
including the provision of Emergency Travel Documents (ETDs). Fees introduced in April
2016 took account, for the first time, of the full cost of providing consular services
and forecast income over the Spending Review period. Consular services are funded
through income received from the Consular premium (£14.93 on each standard passport
issued) and fees charged for specific services provided to British nationals abroad
(for example, the issue of ETDs) and legalisation services provided in the UK. Fees
are differentiated between types of service. The fee for providing any individual
service is the same throughout the overseas network.</p><p>We conduct an annual review
of consular fees to ensure that the fees charged are appropriate and reflect the costs
of providing consular services. The costs attributed to providing consular services
fluctuate from year to year depending on the overall cost to Government of operating
the overseas network and how these are shared amongst the different Government Departments
and FCO services using the platform. The Consular Fees Model then further allocates
costs across four categories of service (providing assistance, ETDs, notarial acts
and legalisation of documents). For example, the increased cost in 2017-18 reflects
changes to how the Consular Fees Model makes use of staff activity recording which
should allow for more consistency in future, but does make comparison with prior years
less relevant.</p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p>Year</p></td><td><p>Total Cost
of Issuing ETDs</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2013-14</p></td><td><p>£7,493,409</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2014-15</p></td><td><p>£5,046,453</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2015-16</p></td><td><p>£4,632,489</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2016-17</p></td><td><p>£8,257,673</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2017-18</p></td><td><p>£12,918,549</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p>
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