FCDO headcount to be cut by 15-25% – Bond reaction

During Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee session this morning with Sir Oliver Robbins KCMG CB, the Permanent Under-Secretary, Nick Dyer, the Second Permanent Under-Secretary and Tim Jones, Finance Director at Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO), Sir Oliver Robbins confirmed that the FCDO’s headcount will fall by 15%-25% during this spending review, stating that he thinks “it will be between 15-25% cuts to overall staff headcount [in the FCDO] between now and 2029.” He did not state which parts of the FCDO will endure these cuts.

In reaction, Bond’s Director of Policy and Advocacy, Gideon Rabinowitz, said: 

We are concerned that development staff within FCDO will face the brunt of these cuts. After the previous round of UK aid cuts and the rushed DFID-FCO merger, capacity and expertise have already been severely undermined. Further reductions will narrow development expertise within the FCDO and damage the UK’s credibility as a trusted global development partner at a time when global challenges demand urgent attention.

ENDS.

Notes for editors

• Bond is the UK network for organisations working in international development. Bond unites and supports a diverse network of over 350 civil society organisations from across the UK, and allies to help eradicate global poverty, inequality and injustice.
• For further information or interviews, please contact Jess Salter at [email protected] or call 07392972411.