Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, further to the FCDO Annual Report and Accounts 2025-26, HC521, of 16 July 2026, page 140, what was the type of procurement fraud found in 2025-26, and what programme did it relate to.

During 2025-26, the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office identified fraud relating to procurement activity in the East Africa region. The type of procurement fraud involved circumvention of procurement rules, inflated costs, over ordering stock and employee-contractor collusion. The matter related to embassy corporate services activity rather than a specific programme. Appropriate investigatory and disciplinary action has been taken.