Foreign and Development Secretary to appear before IDC for the first time since DFID-FCO merger and aid cut

• Watch Parliament TV: Future of UK aid
• International Development Committee

Tuesday 26 January 2021 (Virtual meeting)

• Please note there is no physical access to Parliament
• Session will be conducted with remote participation by witnesses and Committee members

At 2.30pm

• Rt Hon Dominic Raab MP, Foreign and Development Secretary, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
• Sir Philip Barton KCMG OBE, Permanent Under-Secretary, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office

Purpose of the Session

With the merger of the FCO and DFID last summer, the Foreign Secretary now leads both the diplomatic and development arms of the UK’s international policy. Since then, the UK aid budget has suffered significant cuts; first with the UK’s shrinking economy reducing the real terms amount of the UK aid budget in 2020, and secondly with the Government cutting the UK’s ODA spending commitment from 0.7% to 0.5% of GNI from 2021 for the foreseeable future. In November 2020, the Committee received the Government’s new framework for UK ODA spending, providing an outline of priorities for future UK aid spending. But the Government is yet to conclude its Integrated Review, which will provide the underpinning strategy for the UK’s future international policy.

This oral evidence session has been arranged to question the Foreign Secretary, and senior FCDO officials, on: the DFID/FCO merger; the Foreign Secretary’s new responsibilities for UK humanitarian and development strategy, policy and cross-departmental Official Development Assistance (ODA) spending; and current priorities and issues within this remit. There will also be questions around the IDC’s recent report on Sexual Exploitation and Abuse in the Aid Sector, and the UK’s international response to the coronavirus pandemic.

Further information

• About Parliament: Select Committees

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