Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how much his Department spent on temporary staff in the last three financial years in support of the Hera programme.

The need for temporary staff within the FCDO is largely driven by the nature of the projects being undertaken and the expertise required. At a high level, costs for temporary staff are associated to IT and digital activity, which includes supporting the implementation of the HERA programme, priority programmes and merger activity where temporary and specialist expertise has been needed to ensure delivery. Information on the cost of temporary staff specifically for the HERA programme is not centrally held and could only be obtained at a disproportionate cost. Overall temporary staff costs are set out in the FCDO Annual Reports for the previous three financial years:[https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1019938/FCDO_annual_report_and_accounts_2020_to_2021_accessible.pdf][https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1095304/FCDO_Annual_Report_2021_2022_Accessible_290722.pdf][https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1170838/Foreign-Commonwealth-and-Development-Office-annual-report-and-accounts-2022-to-2023.pdf]