Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the Government repose to the Foreign Affairs Committee, Second Report of Session 2019–21, Merging success: Bringing together the FCO and DFID (HC 525), published on 22 September, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of preparation for the Prime Minister's announcement to merge DFID and the FCO.

Prior to the Prime Minister's announcement on 16 June 2020, officials from the Department for International Development (DfID), the Cabinet Office and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) were working together to realise the Prime Minister's ambition to strengthen alignment between DfID and the FCO, building on previous work, including the appointment of seven joint Ministers in February 2020. As with any government change, the announcement of the forthcoming establishment of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office came first to Parliament.