Question to the Department for International Development:

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, pursuant to the Answer of 22 June 2020 to Question 59888, what assessment the Government has made of the effect on staffing numbers in East Kilbride of the planned merger between her Department and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

DFID’s existing office in East Kilbride will become part of the new Department’s estate. Some roles in East Kilbride may change due to business needs and any changes will be handled in compliance with relevant civil service policy and guidance. It is too early to be able to say precisely what effect those changes will be. We can confirm that there will be no compulsory redundancies for DFID employees as a result of the decision to create the new Department and any changes will be handled in accordance with relevant civil service policy and guidance.