Thank you for contacting me about the merger of the Department for International Development and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.
The new Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) will place UK Aid at the heart of what it does, leveraging the development expertise of DFID through the reach of the FCO’s global network. I understand the importance of DFID’s international reputation and believe this move will only serve to strengthen their capacity for international development. The purported lack of transparency that has been suggested in campaigns against this merger is a misrepresentation.
The Prime Minister has stated that this is not about rolling back commitments on international development, but about pursuing them with greater effect, and that reducing poverty will remain central to the UK’s international work. The UK remains committed to spending 0.7 per cent of GNI on international development, being the only G7 country to have enshrined this in legislation.
I am proud that the UK has been at the heart of the international effort to tackle Covid-19. The pandemic has highlighted that a cross-government approach is just as important abroad as it is at home.
Thank you again for getting in touch with me on this issue.