Recommendation 14

HM Government Acknowledged

Partially agree (Recommendation 3) Disagree (Recommendation 6) Disagree (Recommendation 7) 15. The FCDO is committed to ensuring that it has the development capability and technical expertise needed to deliver this government’s ambition on development, even as the ODA budget is reduced. 16. The FCDO is implementing a new Capability Framework which will allow the organisation to strategically manage its workforce, ensuring the right people, with the right skills and expertise, are in the right places. 17. As the Foreign Secretary outlined in her letter of 9th February 2026, the FCDO is developing a Workforce Strategy for the Spending Review period. This will ensure the FCDO has a skilled, motivated, and empowered workforce for the future. 18. The FCDO is working through a detailed design process to ensure that the future FCDO workforce is sufficiently skilled to deliver Ministerial priorities within the agreed Spending Review settlement. This is not being rushed, but is moving at pace to both offer staff certainty as quickly as possible and to ensure that budget obligations are met. The FCDO has been open with the workforce about the challenges we will need to meet, including regular engagement with recognised trade unions who have been consulted on our proposals and approach to managing the restructure and other aspects of workforce reform throughout. 19. The Minister for Development has been clear with the IDC that poverty reduction remains the foundation of everything the FCDO does and has set out our priorities to parliament. Our commitment to tackling global challenges, like hunger, disease, insecurity, and international development is steadfast. While others are turning away, the UK is committed to international development. The Government firmly believes that development makes the world a richer, stronger and safer place – something which is the UK’s national interest and our global responsibility. 20. The FCDO’s modern partnerships reflect the new approach our partners and the UK public want. An approach focused on impact, and using the full breadth of the UK’s strengths to drive sustainable growth and progress more than ODA alone ever could, to help end reliance on aid. The Equalities Impact Assessment of the FCDO’s multi-year ODA allocations concludes that reductions to bilateral allocations are not assessed to disproportionately fall on least developed countries. 21. Directorates in the UK are currently redesigning their structures to ensure that work is conducted in the most efficient manner possible to meet the Government’s priorities. A similar review of the overseas network is being conducted in parallel. This redesign process will result in a workforce plan which will be assured against Spending Review budgets.