Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the Government Response to the Foreign Affairs Committee, Second Report of Session 2019–21, Merging success: Bringing together the FCO and DFID, published on 22 September, were staff from the Department for International Development and the Foreign Office consulted about the decision to merge the departments.

Machinery of Government changes are for the Prime Minister to decide and as with any government change like this, the announcement came first to Parliament. We've been engaging closely with staff ever since the announcement and will continue to work closely with staff throughout the process of creating the new Department.