In the financial year that ended on March 31, 2024, the United Kingdom’s Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office spent a total of £3.4 billion via contracts — 1,158 of them, according to final figures obtained from the department’s website.
Of this, £553.3 million was spent on 64 development-related contracts — a 48.6% increase from last year’s £336.9 million.
The rest of the money — £2.9 billion — went into nondevelopment contracts, largely administrative costs, or internal improvements such as construction and remodeling to different FCDO-related infrastructure. Almost half the total spending was on a single contract, worth £1.4 billion, given to H Young & Co (EA) Ltd. for the refurbishment of the British High Commission building in Kenya.