Source · Select Committees · International Development Committee
Recommendation 8
8
Deferred
Paragraph: 43
FCDO has failed to implement its commitments on disaggregated disability data collection.
Conclusion
The FCDO acknowledges the importance of disaggregated data collection, and has in the past made repeated commitments to disaggregate data by disability. However, as acknowledged by the Second Permanent Under-Secretary at the FCDO, Nick Dyer, this has not been undertaken. We fail to understand how the FCDO and disability-inclusive development 29 Department can properly target resources or develop and disseminate best practice across development programmes if it does not know who it is helping and where.
Government Response Summary
The government's response addresses a recommendation for the FCDO to lead government efforts on disability inclusion in humanitarian and climate change policies, acknowledging its importance but stating the scope is beyond the Disability Inclusion Team's capacity. This response completely avoids the actual conclusion about the FCDO's failure to undertake committed disaggregated data collection by disability.
Paragraph Reference:
43
Government Response
Deferred
HM Government
Deferred
FCDO should lead Government efforts to review all humanitarian response and climate change adaption policies, ensuring that each includes stronger commitments on ensuring that disability inclusion is properly considered and funded. HMG position: Partially Agree The FCDO agrees that humanitarian response and climate change adaption policies must properly consider disability inclusion, to be confident that activity will have a positive impact on those most disproportionately impacted and at risk. However, the cross governmental scope of the role envisaged by the Committee goes beyond the capacity of the FCDO Disability Inclusion Team, which is currently comprised of a full-time resource of 7.5 officials. As the Committee notes in its report, the FCDO Disability Inclusion and Rights strategy recognises the importance of disability-inclusive humanitarian and climate action. Inclusive climate action was listed as an ‘emerging area’ of the strategy on publication in February 2022 and will now be upgraded as part of the strategy review. From a broader humanitarian perspective, the FCDO sits on the UN Disability Advisory Group (DAG), which has strong representation from key agencies and partners co-ordinating humanitarian responses. The DAG, supported through FCDO’s humanitarian core funding to the UN, includes OCHA, WFP, UNHCR, IOM, WHO and Humanity & Inclusion as members. Teams in other government departments leading on resilience planning or aspects of climate adaptation policy are working to ensure that disabled people’s voices inform policy moving forwards. This includes work being taken forward by the Cabinet Office’s Disability Unit and Resilience Directorate, to ensure that disabled people are properly engaged as part of the UK’s Resilience Review. The FCDO continues to take a ‘twin track’ approach to disability inclusion. In addition to providing targeted support to people with disabilities, this approach seeks to mainstream a disability and human rights perspective across all areas of the department’s work. In practice, this mainstreaming work is concentrated on specific intervention areas, which include humanitarian and climate action. The concept of mainstreaming recognises that responsibility for delivery lies across the whole organisation, not simply with the relevant central policy team. Towards this goal, we are carrying out a programme of work across the FCDO to build capability on equalities and inclusion. We support Posts and HQ Directorates to explore and develop new approaches to mainstream equality and disability inclusion issues into their work, for example through training, guidance, evidence products and advisory support. We also raise awareness on the importance of considering the Public Sector Equality Duty in all our work, for example in our programmes and business plans. This requires ensuring that before decisions are taken, decision makers have considered equality impacts, i.e. the need to eliminate discrimination, victimisation and harassment (as well as other conduct prohibited under the Equality Act 2010), advance equality of opportunity and foster good relations between those who share a relevant protected characteristic and those who do not share it. 9