Question to the Department for International Development:

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, whether the trade unions of the Department for International Development staff members (a) were consulted before the merger between those departments announcement and (b) will be consulted as part of the merger process.

There was no formal consultation with our trade unions (PCS and FDA) prior to this decision being made. We have now commenced discussions and they will have a key role to play as we develop the new organisation.