Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to page six of his Department's policy paper entitled UK government's strategy for international development, CP 676, published on 16 May 2022, what is meant by stripping back excessive bureaucracy; and whether his Department has taken recent steps to implement this policy.
The Strategy for International Development commits FCDO to driving down bureaucracy, making it quicker to get programmes delivering on the ground. We have developed a plan to guide this work, consulting Non-Executive Directors and delivery partners on what we need to improve.
We have already implemented a number of measures including: speeding-up FCDO's programme approval process; introducing central Due Diligence Assessments with selected NGO partners; and streamlining programme documentation.
Future steps include: improving the grants process through a streamlined grant template for NGOs; and continuing to build the capability and professionalism of our senior responsible owners and programme teams.