Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how many and what proportion of (a) former Department for International Development, (b) former Foreign and Commonwealth Office and (c) Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) staff overall working on Official Development Assistance delivery have (i) accessed and (ii) completed training on transparency commitments and the IATI standard since the establishment of the FCDO.

The Programme Operating Framework (PrOF) was launched by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office in April 2021, and sets out the mandatory rules for programme management alongside the set of principles and roles/responsibilities in programme delivery. The PrOF contains a rule dedicated to aid transparency, which is supported by guidance that explains our transparency commitments and the IATI standard. We do not keep a record of how many staff have read the rules and guidance, but all programme staff are expected to read and follow the PrOF. We are devising a transparency training module, which will be launched once the department has brought together its legacy financial and programme management systems in the coming year, to ensure all staff involved in programmes can develop their capability and understanding of transparency responsibilities and the FCDO's aid transparency commitments.