Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to reports from 11 December, what plans they have to reduce staff numbers at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office by 20 per cent by 2025; and what assessment, if any, they have made of the implications of such a plan for the UK’s international reputation.

Work is ongoing on the FCDO's Strategic Workforce Plan, which will define the longer-term workforce size, skills and expertise that the department will require for the next three years, out to 2025. At this stage no decisions have been made.

The department's focus on strategic workforce planning will ensure that we have the right capabilities to deliver on our international priorities as set out in the Integrated Review of Security, Defence, Development and Foreign Policy and the forthcoming International Development Strategy.