Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the different fee rate caps for national and international experts working on projects funded by her Department, what assessment she has made of the equity of the system of fee rate caps for international, regional and national consultants; and what plans she has to remove those rate caps for national experts paid less than international and regional consultants.

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office's (FCDO) fee rates benchmark well against those paid by other donors and development organisations and provide good value for money. This was recognised by the Independent Commission for Aid Impact in its first report on our procurement practices. The FCDO currently uses a fee rate database, which allows us to benchmark rates against organisations in the public, private and not-for-profit sectors, as well as compare rates with other international aid organisations. This enables us to pay the appropriate rate for the job, based on expertise, experience and market conditions. We do not specify fee rates based on whether experts are international, regional or national. The database also enables us to identify any fee rates above set parameters and ensure suppliers provide a robust justification for any higher rate. This practice does not equate to setting a fee rate cap since we recognise that there will be occasions on which a higher fee rate is justified for example in a more challenging environment, for a niche specialism, or for a particular individual with a world-class reputation or skills.