This blog post was published under the 2010 to 2015 Conservative and Liberal Democrat coalition government

James Barbour

James Barbour

Press Secretary and Head of Communications

Part of UK in USA

31st January 2014 Washington DC, USA

A whole new world

The following is a guest post by Dean Churm, British Consul and Consular Regional Operations Manager for the eastern and southern United States.

The British Vice-Consulate in Orlando first opened its doors in 1994 following the growth in charter holiday packages to the Disney area (or the House of the Mouse as it is sometimes known locally). Over the years, the number of staff employed on consular work grew in line with the volume of British tourists and expats needing our assistance and, in 2005, the office was upgraded to a full consulate.

A lot has changed in the last twenty years; personal computers, fax machines, and mobile telephone were all in their infancy, and the humble type-writer and telex machines ruled the roost in most consular sections. We’ve also witnessed a change in the British tourist who is better prepared for their holiday abroad, including having less of an expectation that the British Government will sort out (and pay for) everything should it all go wrong. Our Know Before You Go campaign has led the way in this respect, but our work is never done!

Today, as technology surpasses our wildest expectations from 1994, we close the door in Orlando and begin the next chapter in the UK government’s long history in the Sunshine State. As part of our ongoing efforts to modernise service delivery and to ensure we continue to provide high quality, flexible, and cost effective services overseas we will no longer operate a full consulate in Orlando and all services will transfer to the British Consulate General in Miami.

However, we will retain a small team, working remotely under the direction of the Miami office, who will provide emergency passport services and consular assistance directly to those in need. Making full use of new technology, our staff in Florida will offer a more flexible service than ever before to those who need it most.

You can read more about the change in Orlando on our website ›

The next twenty years will no doubt bring further technological and social changes. It’s a challenge to anticipate what they will be – iPhones anyone – but as we adapt to them, we’d be interested to know what you think they are, what services we provide and how we should provide them. Send your comments on Facebook on Twitter @UKinFlorida or by email. We look forward to hearing from you.

About James Barbour

James Barbour is the Press Secretary and Head of Communications at the British Embassy in Washington. He joined the FCO in 1997, having studied Politics at the University of Edinburgh.…

James Barbour is the Press Secretary and Head of Communications at the British Embassy in Washington. He joined the FCO in 1997, having studied Politics at the University of Edinburgh. Roughly half of his career has been spent in London, in a range of jobs covering the OSCE and the Balkans, corporate social responsibility and corporate governance, press work and public relations. From 2000 to 2004 James was posted to the British High Commission in Cape Town, and more recently spent 2007 to 2011 in Moscow. In Washington James is responsible for managing and portraying the Embassy’s – and the British Government’s – public presence in the United States, engaging in debates in the US media environment on policy issues of importance to the UK, and contributing presentational perspectives to the Embassy’s policy discussions. James is keen to help the FCO make the most of social media; this is his third blog, and he often dabbles with Facebook, Foursquare and Twitter. James is joined in Washington by his wife Carrie and their two children.

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