MPs have urged the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office to pause plans to restructure the department and cut thousands of jobs, warning it could risk poverty reduction being deprioritised.
In a new report on the future of UK aid, the International Development Committee said it has “significant concerns" about the "speed and sequencing of the restructure”, which is expected to include a 25-30% cut to the FCDO's headcount.
“Crucial structural and staffing decisions are being made before certainty around budgets and policy,” the MPs said. “This is not only highly traumatic for the department workforce, but also risks the loss of key staff needed to deliver the government’s vision for ODA.”
They said the government should pause the processes until there are:
- A structured assessment of staffing required to deliver the government’s priorities both in the UK and in countries with a diplomatic mission, to be presented in a workforce plan for the current spending review period
- A thorough skills audit and an equalities impact assessment to support and inform the workforce plan
- An assessment of the impact of the ODA programming decisions on the extreme poor, as well as the UK’s ability to lead diplomatically on key issues impacting them.
The report welcomes comments made by development minister Jennifer Chapman that the primary aim of ODA should remain focused on reducing poverty, and says the committee agrees that there are advantages in considering how the range of the FCDO’s activities and work areas can contribute to its relief and development objectives.
However, the MPs said their concern is that the revised structure of the directorates within the FCDO “may make it easier for poverty reduction to be deprioritised, and the impact of ODA spend on poverty reduction harder to track”.
Specific areas of concern raised in the report include the need to: retain the expertise and resources required to empower marginalised groups in decision-making forums; deploy financial and human resources in a holistic way due to the interconnectedness of development challenges; and have flexibility to respond to needs expressed by bilateral partners.
The report also raises concerns that the department has not provided adequate reassurance that the internal resources needed to maintain influence and expertise needed to spend ODA more efficiently have been safeguarded.
IDC chair Sarah Champion said: “The brutal cuts we have seen to Official Development Assistance over successive governments pose pressing questions about how we will keep supporting some of the world’s poorest countries. As the government wrestles with these, the International Development Committee has heard from a range of voices; from leaders inside the FCDO to inspirational international community leaders, about how UK taxpayers money can be well spent. It is clear to us that financial and staffing changes at the FCDO are being pushed through far too quickly, with the unintended consequences having the potential of being catastrophic.
“Rather than careering into irreversible changes and losing key experts when we need them most, FCDO should press the pause button now before it is too late. Carrying on regardless could mean devastating consequences for some of the poorest people in the world and a damaging hit to the UK’s global standing.”
The committee also said it was “alarmed” at comments from Chapman last month that the government is considering scrapping the Independent Commission on Aid Impact.
The MPs said the “existence and adequate resourcing of the Independent Commission on Aid Impact sends a powerful message to all stakeholders that the UK takes transparency and value for money seriously”.
“Whilst we agree that the value for money of every aspect of government spending must be assessed, we caution against any rapid decision-making with regards to the ICAI’s future," they added.
The PCS union, which is in dispute with the FCDO over the restructure, welcomed the report.
Fran Heathcote, PCS’s general secretary, said: “Our members at the FCDO are dedicated professionals who give everything they have to support some of the world’s most vulnerable communities. They deserve respect, certainty and a fair process, not sudden job cuts, rushed restructures and protocols being ignored.
“The committee has rightly recognised that pushing ahead with these plans would cause real harm. Our members are already overstretched and stripping out 2,000 more jobs risks breaking the backbone of the UK’s development work.”
The FCDO has been approached for comment.