DFID-FCO Merger Debate
Full Debate: Read Full DebateDepartment: Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office
James Sunderland
Main Page: James Sunderland (Conservative - Bracknell)Department Debates - View all James Sunderland's debates with the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office
(4 years, 6 months ago)
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Dominic Raab
I had thought we were on the cusp of a very serious question but it descended into political cut and thrust. Actually what we are really focused on, and what this crisis has proved, is that necessity is the mother of innovation and invention. We have to try to drive greater effectiveness not just domestically as we tackle coronavirus but in our international effort, and that is what we are focused on.
James Sunderland (Bracknell) (Con)
I welcome the merger for all the benefits of co-ordination and synergy that it promises. Could the Foreign Secretary please confirm that it will also come with a more comprehensive strategy for combining all the multiple threads of soft and hard power?
Dominic Raab
We have of course taken this merger decision now because we can see that we need to be as effective as we possibly can be during this coronavirus challenge. Equally, it will help to galvanise the integrated view that will bring into play all the wider security factors that my hon. Friend mentioned.