Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of staff reductions on the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office’s ability to mainstream gender equality across international development and foreign policy.

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) is committed to becoming a smaller, more agile organisation, better able to deliver tangible benefits for the British people. Staff reductions are being made strategically, with decisions guided by an organisational prioritisation exercise to ensure we retain the capability to deliver UK strength, security, and prosperity.

As this transformation progresses, we remain fully committed to promoting equality for women and girls as a core objective across all major sectors of the Official Development Assistance budget, and as set out in her speech in the FCDO on 24 November, the Foreign Secretary is personally committed to putting the issue of violence against women and girls at the heart of the UK's foreign policy agenda.