Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether her Department undertakes (a) risk and (b) equality impact assessments on aid projects whose stated objectives include (i) influencing norms and (ii) gender ideology.
Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Since 2021, the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) has used the Programme Operating Framework (PrOF) to guide decisions on how UK foreign aid is spent effectively. The PrOF sets out mandatory rules and principles to ensure programmes align with strategic priorities, deliver measurable impact, and represent value for money. The latest edition of the PrOF is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/fcdo-programme-operating-framework/fcdo-programme-operating-framework-overview.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how much overseas aid funding has been allocated to projects or programmes aimed at promoting (a) climate justice, (b) social transformation and (c) norm change since 2021.
Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Since 2021, the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) has used the Programme Operating Framework (PrOF) to guide decisions on how UK foreign aid is spent effectively. The PrOF sets out mandatory rules and principles to ensure programmes align with strategic priorities, deliver measurable impact, and represent value for money. The latest edition of the PrOF is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/fcdo-programme-operating-framework/fcdo-programme-operating-framework-overview.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, for what strategic reasons aid is used to fund projects described as aiming to (a) influence social norms and (b) achieve social transformation overseas.
Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Since 2021, the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) has used the Programme Operating Framework (PrOF) to guide decisions on how UK foreign aid is spent effectively. The PrOF sets out mandatory rules and principles to ensure programmes align with strategic priorities, deliver measurable impact, and represent value for money. The latest edition of the PrOF is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/fcdo-programme-operating-framework/fcdo-programme-operating-framework-overview.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of forming an international alliance to coordinate sanctions on countries that refuse to cooperate on the returns.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I refer the Hon. Member to the answer he was provided on 31st January 2025 to question 26186.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what the projected cost to the public purse is of Chevening scholarships awarded to students from Gaza for 2025-26.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
All costs will be covered under the normal Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office Chevening Scholarship Programme.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how many employees in his Department earn (a) £100,000 and (b) £166,000 or more per year.
Answered by Catherine West
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) can confirm that this information is held within our published Annual Report and Accounts for 2024-2025 (https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/687e39109914d1f63267c5e5/FCDO-Annual-Report-and-Accounts-2024-2025.pdf), the relevant Report pages 128 to 133, and the FCDO Organograms of Staff Roles and Salaries (https://www.data.gov.uk/dataset/73e0260a-0516-44ff-b4eb-ba9fec420c45/fcdo-organograms).
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what proportion of his Department's procurement contracts were awarded to British companies in the last financial year.
Answered by Catherine West
Based on available data, in the financial year 2024-25, the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) centrally awarded a total of 558 commercial contracts. Of these, 277 contracts-representing approximately 49.6 per cent of awarded contracts-were awarded to companies with their head office registered in the United Kingdom.
The FCDO ensures that its contracts are tendered in accordance with UK procurement legislation, promoting open and fair competition, following a set of standard processes designed to ensure transparency, value for money, and equal opportunity for suppliers.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how much his Department has spent on (a) social media promotions, (b) influencer marketing and (c) online advertising in the last 12 months.
Answered by Catherine West
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office combines all Advertising & Publicity costs in its financial reporting system. The information required to delineate between social media promotions, influencer marketing and online advertising is not readily available and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how much their Department has spent on (a) translation and (b) interpretation for languages other than (i) British Sign Language and (ii) languages native to the UK for people contacting (A) their Department and (B) its agencies in 2025.
Answered by Catherine West
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office spent around £215,000 on direct, external Interpreter and Translator costs, for the financial year 2024-25. Indirect Interpreter and Translator costs (for example, staff time, particularly where translation or interpreter type activities is not their primary role) are not included in this figure.
The information required to delineate between Interpreter and Translator spend, as well as to which language spend pertains, is not readily available and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what the total cost to the public purse was of the production of his Department's Diego Garcia Military Base explainer video.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
This video was produced in-house by the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office communications team. There was therefore no additional cost to making the video.