Senior officials at the U.K.’s Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office defended sweeping staff cuts during a tense parliamentary hearing Tuesday, acknowledging that major areas of development work will no longer be protected as the department shrinks.
Nick Dyer, second permanent under-secretary at FCDO, told members of Parliament on the House of Commons International Development Committee on Dec. 9 that the department would not be able to protect “every single area we have worked on for the last 25 to 30 years” and would have to make “some tough choices” as up to a quarter of U.K.-based roles are removed over the next four years.
Appearing before the committee, Dyer, Permanent Under-Secretary Oliver Robbins, and Finance Director Tim Jones set out the rationale behind a restructuring under which the Insolvency Service has been notified of up to 1,885 potential redundancies, according to the Public and Commercial Services Union, or PCS, which represents FCDO staff. Robbins said FCDO’s structure had become “too hierarchical” and “too slow,” and that the leadership was responding to consistent staff feedback that the organization needed to modernize.
About the author
Susannah Birkwood
Susannah Birkwood is a Devex contributing reporter focusing on U.K. aid policy and international development. She has reported on foreign aid budgets, peacebuilding, and the politics of the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office, drawing on more than 16 years of experience across newsrooms and NGO press offices. She has overseen major media campaigns for international NGOs, including WWF, ActionAid, and Plan International, and has advised a wide range of charities and INGOs on media strategy and press outreach.
