Question to the Department for International Development:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what arrangements they have in place (1) to safeguard, and (2) to maintain, the experience and expertise in international development of staff from the Department for International Development with their own dedicated administrative structure within the new merged department of the Department for International Development and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, (a) in the UK, and (b) in its operations overseas.

The creation of the new Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office will bring together the best of what we do in aid and diplomacy and create new opportunities for staff. The ambition, vision and expertise of DFID staff will be at the heart of the new department – taking forward the work of UK aid, which will remain central to our mission. There will be no compulsory redundancies and we will work closely with staff throughout the process of implementing the merger. The full details of the merger, including the structure of the new department, will be set out in due course. This work will take place over the coming months, and we will engage fully with staff throughout this process.