Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Daisy Cooper and Anne-Marie Trevelyan

Wednesday 15th July 2020 Commons Chamber

[Daisy Cooper (St Albans) (LD)]

What assessment the Government made of the potential merits of merging her Department with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office prior to the announcement of the integrated review of security, defence, development and foreign policy on 26 February 2020.

[The Secretary of State for International Development (Anne-Marie Trevelyan)]

Both the merger and the integrated review are evidence of this Government’s commitment to a unified British foreign and development policy that will maximise our impact around the world, project our values and be a stronger force for good—they go hand in hand.

[Daisy Cooper]

The Bond network says that it has not been consulted on this merger and the integrated review has been restarted behind closed doors. Will the Government commit to meeting Bond and other civil society organisations so that those on the frontline can inform the new Department’s aid priorities?

[Anne-Marie Trevelyan]

Baroness Sugg leads in the Department in meeting the CSOs, and there are regular meetings ongoing. The integrated review is working over the summer to pull together the key issues, and development is an absolutely critical strand within that.