Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, with reference to the HM Treasury press release, Chancellor announces £4.5 billion of measures to bring down debt, published on 4 June 2015, what efficiency savings his Department plans to make to achieve reductions of £20 million in its budget.

The reductions will come through continuing the work we have done to make the Foreign and Commonwealth Office more efficient, with savings in consultancy and running costs, including a reduction in grants to arms length bodies, such as the British Council, along with the removal of our £12 million unallocated contingency fund. This will not affect our core diplomatic activities or the UK’s position as a leading global power. We will maintain our current global network.