[Withdrawn] Department for International Development single departmental plan
Updated 27 June 2019
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Our single departmental plan sets out our objectives and how we will achieve them.
Single departmental plan
Secretary of State for International Development
Permanent Secretary
The Department for International Development (DFID), working closely with other government departments, leads the UK’s work to end extreme poverty, deliver the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and tackle global challenges in line with the UK Government’s Aid Strategy. DFID is committed to Leave No One Behind, which includes reaching the most marginalised women and girls and people with disabilities. The work we do to make the world a safer, better, more prosperous place for everybody is something the British public can take pride in.
As the UK prepares to exit the European Union, DFID is supporting partners around the world, including our close Commonwealth partners, to develop their economies and strengthen future trading relationships.
As of 30 April 2018, the Secretary of State is also the Minister for Women and Equalities with oversight of the Government Equalities Office. The Office operates across Government and is responsible for policy around gender equality and lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) equality, equalities legislation including the Equality Act 2010, and sponsoring the Equality and Human Rights Commission.
DFID’s objectives
We will:
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Strengthen global peace, security and governance
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Strengthen resilience and response to crisis
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Promote global prosperity
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Tackle extreme poverty and help the world’s most vulnerable
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Deliver value for money and efficiency
1. Strengthen global peace, security and governance
Lead minister
The Rt Hon Alistair Burt MP, Minister of State
Lead official
Nick Dyer, Interim Director General for Policy Research and Humanitarian Directorate
1.1 Tackle the causes of instability, insecurity and conflict
| How we will achieve this |
|---|
| Continue to spend at least 50% of DFID’s budget on fragile states and regions (contributes to SDG 1) |
| Continue to lead global efforts to tackle sexual violence in conflict with the FCO (contributes to SDG 5) |
| Promote effective, accountable and inclusive institutions and champion British values around the globe: freedom, democracy, tolerance and the rule of law (contributes to SDG 16) |
| Deliver a prosperous, secure, fair and sustainable future for the Commonwealth (contributes to SDGs 8 and 17) |
| Scale up our work on demining with programmes to help clear mines, and other explosive remnants of war, and deliver mine risk education |
1.2 Tackle crime and corruption
| How we will achieve this |
|---|
| Reduce illicit financial flows from developing countries and work to make the UK and other global financial centres even more hostile to corrupt funds with HMT, Home Office and the FCO (contributes to SDG 16) |
| Expand our global efforts to combat the root causes of extremism, terror, and the perpetration of violence against people because of their faith, gender or sexuality with the FCO (contributes to SDG 16) |
| Work with others across government to combat the brutal slave trade (contributes to SDG 8) |
| Work to end the subjugation and mutilation of women (contributes to SDG 5) |
| Facilitate orderly, safe, regular and responsible migration and mobility of people, including through the implementation of planned and well-managed migration policies with the Home Office and the FCO (contributes to SDG 10) |
Our performance
Percentage of DFID’s budget spent on fragile states and regions
(at least 50% of spend in each year) 53% January 2015 – December 2015
Source: DFID, Results Achieved by Sector; release schedule: annually
2. Strengthen resilience and response to crisis
Lead ministers
The Rt Hon Alistair Burt MP, Minister of State
Harriett Baldwin MP, Minister of State
Lead official
Nick Dyer, Interim Director General for Policy Research and Humanitarian Directorate
2.1 Support for ongoing crises, including that in Syria and other countries in the Middle East and North Africa region
| How we will achieve this |
|---|
| Continue to lead the response to humanitarian emergencies (contributes to SDG 11) |
| Operate a ring-fenced £500 million per annum Official Development Assistance crisis reserve (contributes to SDG 10) |
| Provide support for ongoing crises, including in Syria (contributes to SDG 16) |
| Continue to work together on health, justice and disaster resilience, as part of the UK-Caribbean Partnership, including investing to help ensure that hospitals remain operational when natural disasters strike (contributes to SDG 13) |
2.2 Science and technology spend on global public health risks such as antimicrobial resistance
| How we will achieve this |
|---|
| Fund research and development to tackle the most serious infectious diseases in developing countries, including malaria, tuberculosis, Ebola, neglected tropical diseases and drug resistant infections caused by antimicrobial resistance with DHSC (contributes to SDG 3) |
2.3 Support for efforts to mitigate and adapt to climate change and prevent environmental degradation
| How we will achieve this |
|---|
| Provide support to enable low carbon growth and greater country resilience to shocks (contributes to SDG 13) |
| Continue to lead international action against climate change with BEIS and Defra (contributes to SDG 13) |
| Work to prevent catastrophic environmental degradation, and tackle degradation of habitat and loss of species, including action to address marine plastic pollution with Defra (contributes to SDG 14) |
| Help deliver a doubling of global public funding of clean energy Research, Development and Demonstration under the Mission Innovation Initiative (contributes to SDG 7) |
Our performance
Number of people reached with humanitarian assistance (food aid, cash and voucher transfers) through DFID support 17 million April 2015 - March 2017
Source: DFID, Results Achieved by Sector; release schedule: annually
DFID spend on climate adaptation and mitigation
£755 million April 2016 – March 2017
Source: DFID Spend on Climate Change and Mitigation; release schedule: annually
3. Promote global prosperity
Lead minister
The Rt Hon Lord Bates, Minister of State
Lead official
Nick Dyer, Director General for Economic Development and International Directorate
3.1 Promote economic development and prosperity in the developing world
| How we will achieve this |
|---|
| Increase support to countries to raise their own revenue, in accordance with the Addis Tax Initiative (contributes to SDG 17) |
| Create more and better jobs, increase trading opportunities, and make it easier to channel private sector investment to the world’s poorest countries to help grow economies and eradicate extreme poverty (contributes to SDGs 5, 8 and 10) |
| Help unlock opportunities for economic development in sectors such as energy, infrastructure, urban planning, manufacturing, commercial agriculture and financial services (contributes to SDGs 7, 8, 9 and 11) |
| Create jobs and opportunities in some of the poorest and most challenging places through CDC, the UK’s Development Finance Institution (contributes to SDG 8) |
| Harness the opportunities digital technologies offer to drive economic growth, alleviate poverty and improve the lives of those in low and middle income countries (contributes to SDG 17) |
3.2 Contribute to the reduction of poverty whilst strengthening UK trade and investment opportunities around the world
| How we will achieve this |
|---|
| Use trade as an engine for poverty reduction (contributes to SDG 8) |
| As we leave the EU, secure duty-free quota-free access for the world’s Least Developed Countries to UK markets, be the world’s foremost champion of free trade and continue to support the overseas territories (contributes to SDG 17) |
Our performance
Levels of Development Capital Investment
£819 million April 2015 – March 2017
Source: DFID, Development Capital Investment Levels; release schedule: annually
Development impact portfolio scores for CDC
3.04 (out of 4) January 2014 – December 2016
Source: DFID, Results Achieved by Sector; release schedule: annually
Number of countries supported by DFID to manage their public finances more transparently
30 April 2015 - March 2017
Source: DFID, Results Achieved by Sector; release schedule: annually
DFID spend on improving tax systems (double annual spend by 2020)
£26 million January – December 2016
Source: DFID, Results Achieved by Sector; release schedule: annually
4. Tackle extreme poverty and help the world’s most vulnerable
Lead minister
The Rt Hon Penny Mordaunt MP, Secretary of State for International Development
Lead official
Lindy Cameron, Director General for Country Programmes
4.1 Strive to eliminate extreme poverty by 2030 and support the world’s poorest people to access sustainable basic services
| How we will achieve this |
|---|
| Lead the world in the hard work to end extreme child poverty (contributes to SDG 1) |
| Work to ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all, at all ages, tackle microbial resistance and neglected tropical diseases (contributes to SDG 3) |
| Work to ensure inclusive and quality education for all (contributes to SDG 4) |
| Work to end hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture and deliver DFID’s global nutrition strategy to save lives, invest in future generations and build prosperity (contributes to SDG 2) |
| Work to ensure access to water and sanitation for all (contributes to SDG 6) |
| Strengthen our work on disability inclusion and establish DFID as a global leader in this under-prioritised area (contributes to SDGs 4, 10, 11, 16 and 17) |
| Increase funding of UK-led medical and technical research into the biggest threats to global health and prosperity with DHSC and BEIS (contributes to SDG 3) |
4.2 Prioritise the rights of girls and women
| How we will achieve this |
|---|
| Continue to place gender equality at the heart of all that the Department does (contributes to SDG 5) |
| Provide global leadership on girls’ education which is key to progress in so many countries (contributes to SDG 4) |
| Continue as a global leader on sexual and reproductive health and rights, and boost our support for family planning for all who want it (contributes to SDG 5) |
| Raise safeguarding standards across the aid and development sector to prevent violence, sexual exploitation, abuse and harassment (contributes to SDG 10) |
Our performance
Number of children supported to gain a decent education
7.1 million April 2015 – March 2017
Source: DFID, Results Achieved by Sector; release schedule: annually
Number of people with sustainable access to clean water and/or sanitation through DFID support
27.2 million April 2015 – March 2017
Source: DFID, Results Achieved by Sector; release schedule: annually
Number of children under 5, women (of childbearing age) and adolescent girls reached by DFID through nutrition related interventions
26.3 million April 2015 – March 2017
Source: DFID, Results Achieved by Sector; release schedule: annually
Number of children immunisation against killer diseases
28.7 million January 2015 – December 2016
Source: DFID, Results Achieved by Sector; release schedule: annually
Number of additional women and girls using modern methods of family planning
8.5 million July 2012 – March 2017
Source: DFID, Results Achieved by Sector; release schedule: annually
5. Deliver value for money and efficiency
Lead minister
The Rt Hon Lord Bates, Minister of State
Lead official
Joy Hutcheon, Director General for Corporate Performance Group
5.1 Deliver value for money
| How we will achieve this |
|---|
| Maintain the commitment to spend 0.7% of our gross national income on assistance to developing nations and international emergencies, and keep all our aid untied (contributes to SDG 17) |
| Support other departments in assessing whether spending proposals meet OECD Official Development Assistance (ODA) rules and in sharing best practice on aid delivery, including application of the key outcomes from DFID’s Supplier Review (contributes to SDG 17) |
| Continue to be responsible for reporting all Official Development Assistance spending to the OECD on an annual basis, and for reporting to Parliament on the government’s performance against the 0.7% gross national income target (contributes to SDG 17) |
| Work with like-minded countries to change the Official Development Assistance rules so that they are updated and better reflect the breadth of our assistance around the world (contributes to SDG 17) |
| Strengthen our management of supply partners and build greater commercial capability within DFID to ensure value for money and ethical behaviour along our supply chains, by implementing the key recommendations of the Supplier Review and new provisions to raise safeguarding standards |
| Drive efficiency and effectiveness in all our programmes (contributes to SDG 17) |
5.2 Ensure greater transparency
| How we will achieve this |
|---|
| Continue to ensure DFID is ranked as a world leader in aid transparency and insist that every government and organisation we fund meets global transparency standards (contributes to SDG 16) |
| Continue to seek to reform multilateral institutions, especially in the way they distribute development funds, so that money is used to greatest effect to protect and help the world’s most vulnerable people (contributes to SDG 16) |
| Continue to give the public a say in how a portion of the international development budget is spent, through the UK Aid Match programme (contributes to SDG 17) |
5.3 Deliver tough, independent scrutiny
| How we will achieve this |
|---|
| Make arrangements for the independent evaluation of the value for money of UK aid, in accordance with the International Development (Official Development Assistance Target) Act 2015 |
Our performance
UK Official Development Assistance as a proportion of gross national income
0.7% January – December 2016
Source: Statistics on International Development 2017; release schedule: annually
Portfolio Quality Index Score
104 outputs met expectations April 2016 – March 2017
DFID uses an index of portfolio quality to measure the extent to which projects are on track to deliver their expected outputs, with a range from 50 (outputs substantially did not meet expectation) to 150 (outputs substantially exceeded expectation).
Source: Portfolio Quality Index; release schedule: annually
DFID ranking in Aid Transparency Index 2016
“Very good”
Source: Publish What You Fund 2016 Index
Civil Service People Survey employee engagement index
| Year | DfID Employee engagement index (%) |
|---|---|
| 2017 | 71 |
| 2016 | 71 |
| 2015 | 70 |
Source: Civil Service People Survey; release schedule: annual
Our equality objectives
We have set objectives to help us advance equality. These are:
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DFID systematically considers equality and diversity across all programmes.
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DFID has a representative workforce at every level which feels valued and enabled to reach their full potential.
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DFID consults staff on how to make DFID as diverse and inclusive as possible.
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DFID has a culture where we all respect, celebrate and promote the value of Diversity and Inclusion.
Our finances
Departmental Expenditure Limit (DEL): £10.1 billion
Resource DEL (including depreciation): £7.5 billion
Capital DEL: £2.7 billion
Annually Managed Expenditure (AME): £0.7 billion
Control totals included in this document are in line with those presented in the Main Supply Estimates 2018/19 and are currently subject to Parliamentary approval. Any changes arising from the Parliamentary approval process will be reflected in due course.
Source: Main Supply Estimates 2018/19
Our people
As at 31 March 2018, DFID had 3,309 people (headcount) including locally engaged staff.
Source: ONS Public sector employment data
How we contribute to cross-government priorities
We work across government on cross-cutting issues, including:
- Tackling modern slavery and people trafficking
- Prosperity and industrial strategy
- Security
- Environment and clean growth
- Race disparity