FCDO annual report and accounts 2020 to 2021 (sections 1.1 to 2.1)

Question 1

1.1   Performance overview

Accepted Answer

The Performance Overview section of this report sets out key information about the department, including the structures that have been established to ensure we deliver effectively. This section also outlines our objectives and a performance appraisal for the 2020-21 Financial Year, the first year of operation for the FCDO.

Foreword by the Foreign Secretary: 2020-21 FCDO Annual Report and Accounts The Rt Hon Elizabeth Truss MP

It is a great honour to lead the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office and to ensure that our foreign and development policy delivers for people across our great country. As we look ahead, we must continue making the case for building deeper economic, diplomatic and security partnerships in order to help us seize the opportunities – and tackle the challenges – of the modern age, defending our values and advancing our interests around the world.

We are proud of the United Kingdom and our global role. We are delivering vaccines in record time as a strong science and tech superpower. We are a leader in development, delivering humanitarian support for those in need, and raising huge sums to support girls’ education. We are a fierce champion of freedom, free enterprise and democracy around the world.

We are looking ahead to an autumn where Global Britain plants our flag on the world stage. In the coming weeks, we will be hosting the first Global Investment Summit, including a reception with Her Majesty the Queen. We will also be hosting the UN Climate Change Conference (COP26) in Glasgow, and a meeting of G7 Foreign and Development Ministers in Liverpool.

This is Global Britain in action: going out into the world in a positive and confident spirit to tackle alongside our friends and allies the major challenges of our times – from Covid-19 to climate change. By positioning the UK at the heart of a network of economic, diplomatic and security partnerships, we are making our country safer and more competitive, standing up for our values, and confirming our status as the best place to live, work and do business. Our mission is to project this vision to the world and ensure everyone in Britain knows that our best days lie ahead.

Lead Non-Executive Director’s introduction to the Annual Report 2020 to 2021 Baroness Helena Louise Morrissey DBE

In the 2020 to 2021 Financial Year, we witnessed the unfolding of a range of testing and unprecedented events for the United Kingdom. The COVID-19 health crisis, exit from the European Union, and geopolitical tensions marked a challenging environment: the health, humanitarian, and socio-economic impacts of which threatened to interrupt, or at worst reverse, years of sustained global progress.

Amid these developments, the UK Government announced the merger of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the Department for International Development, uniting development and diplomacy in one new department: the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, launched on 2 September 2020. There has never been a more important time to bring together the best of Britain’s international effort and project the UK as a force for good in the world. I transferred to Lead Non-Executive Director of the FCDO in September 2020 from my role as Lead Non-Executive Director at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. Since the department’s formation, I have seen the FCDO respond to both external and internal challenge with sustained strength and pragmatism. The expression “changing an engine mid-flight” is strikingly pertinent for the FCDO this year. The department has managed an ambitious transformation portfolio, while simultaneously responding to immediate challenges and opportunities and developing a long-term, comprehensive strategy to shape and deliver future priorities.

The FCDO’s Non-Executive Directors (NEDs) have provided exceptional leadership support to the department throughout this demanding and transformative year. John Coffey was appointed in September 2020 as lead NED on Audit and Risk, Ann Cormack was appointed in October 2020 as lead NED in Human Resources and Beverley Tew (appointed in October 2020) has taken up the role as lead NED in Finance. I am very grateful for all the NEDs’ support this year, particularly for providing tailored and knowledgeable advice in priority areas as the department’s transformation is taken forward. The NEDs have also helped the FCDO to establish a governance structure that is tailored to the department. Rather than bringing pieces from either legacy department, we have created a new structure that provides a platform for the NEDs to provide an effective and objective challenge to the rest of the Board and officials. As a result, across the FCDO, an effective structure for collective decision making on issues that have an impact across the department has been created. In this critical first year, governance brings together key stakeholders to set direction and provide assurance for the organisation.

The department was founded under the leadership of the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs and First Secretary of State Rt Hon Dominic Raab MP. Sir Philip Barton was appointed as the FCDO’s Permanent Under-Secretary (PUS) and the FCDO’s Accounting Officer in August 2020. Director Generals have provided leadership in their respective areas: Juliet Chua in Finance and Corporate; Tom Drew for the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), Afghanistan and Pakistan; Moazzam Malik for Africa; Jenny Bates for the Indo-Pacific; Vijay Rangarajan for the Americas and Overseas Territories; Kumar Iyer in Delivery, Sir Ian Macleod in Legal and Nic Hailey for the FCDO’s Transformation. The FCDO’s Political Director, Sir Tim Barrow, was appointed in August 2020.

Our department

About the FCDO

We pursue our national interests and project the UK as a force for good in the world. We promote the interests of British citizens, safeguard the UK’s security, defend our values, reduce poverty and tackle global challenges with our international partners. We unite development and diplomacy in one new department. FCDO brings together the best of Britain’s international effort and demonstrates the UK acting as a force for good in the world.

We employ around 17,300 staff in our diplomatic and development offices worldwide, including in 280 overseas embassies and high commissions. Our UK-based staff work in King Charles Street, London and Abercrombie House, East Kilbride. We also have other London offices, including 22 Whitehall, and staff based in Milton Keynes.

Transformation in 2020 to 2021

On 16 June 2020, the Prime Minister announced that DFID and the FCO would merge, uniting development and diplomacy in one new department and bringing together Britain’s international effort.

The FCDO launched on 2 September 2020 and an organisational-wide transformation is underway to forge a new, high-performing department, capable of leading and co-ordinating the UK’s international policy.

The transformation is progressing well, with strong Ministerial support and direction. A new leadership team is in place, headed by a new Permanent Under-Secretary and Director Generals (DGs). A Headquarter structure has been agreed, organised around a new Directors structure with joint head offices in London and East Kilbride. Teams across the global network have been integrated bringing together legacy DFID and FCO staff. Heads of Mission are now accountable for the delivery of crossHMG country plans that have been agreed by Ministers and set out the strategic priorities for the UK’s international efforts in each country.

Learning lessons from other countries that have merged development and foreign affairs ministries, we have prioritised creating a new shared culture to ensure we retain key staff and deliver the impact we can all be proud of. We have also worked hard to ensure the transformation portfolio represents best practice for programme delivery and that the dependencies between different elements of the transformation are fully understood and managed. FCDO transformation will receive additional scrutiny and guidance from the Infrastructure and Projects Authority having joined the Government’s Major Project Portfolio in July 2021. Resourcing challenges, in terms of securing both the staff and skills needed for delivery, and supporting the network to implement the transformation, are being addressed through ongoing recruitment exercises and prioritisation.

The creation of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office was designed to align the UK’s international efforts and maximise our influence as a global force for good. Although savings through administrative efficiencies will be realised, the merger was not driven by these issues. The FCDO is more efficient than the former departments. In 2020-21 the HQ-level permanent director structure was reduced by one third and the FCDO has 5 fewer permanent Director Generals at HQ than the former departments. Additional efficiencies are being looked at as part of the forthcoming Spending Review.

The direct costs relating to the merger of the FCO and DFID in 2020-21 were approximately £4.9 million, £3.5 million was for direct staff costs, £0.6 million for specialist contractors and £0.8 million for software licences to align the two organisations.

The FCDO’s structure and people

The FCDO is a ministerial department, supported by 12 agencies and public bodies. We work with the private sector, non-governmental organisations, overseas governments, and a range of other actors including multilateral organisations. With this operating model, we can deliver at scale and flexibly across the globe, including fragile and conflict-affected countries. We use a range of funding instruments to fulfil our objectives including grants, contracts and financial investments. Our accountability system includes an evidence-based business planning process, supported by governance, monitoring, audit, assurance and risk management processes.

We employ 16,732 staff worldwide, including in 280 overseas embassies and high commissions. Our UK-based staff work in King Charles Street, 22 Whitehall (London), Abercrombie House (East Kilbride) and Hanslope Park (near Milton Keynes). More information on our staff is provided in section 2.2: Remuneration and Staff Report.

Global distribution of FCDO Posts

Delivering effectively

In our first year of operation, the FCDO established a range of structures to ensure that our department consistently delivers effectively. This includes our transparency commitments, the way we collectively make decisions and our risk management approach. Details on these structures is outlined below.

Governance arrangements

The FCDO’s governance structure is made up of a number of boards and committees, each with its own remit. At the top of the governance structure is the Supervisory Board, which is chaired by the Foreign Secretary and meets quarterly. The Supervisory Board provides strategic direction, oversight, support, and challenge for the department with a view to the long-term health, reputation, and success of the FCDO. The Supervisory Board is made up of the PUS, DGs for Finance and Corporate, and Delivery, as well as all NEDs. Attendance for Ministers and other DGs is optional, depending on the agenda.

The Management Board, chaired by the Permanent Under-Secretary, ensures the organisation delivers departmental priorities and objectives set by Ministers. It also ensures rigorous management of performance, strategic risk and people and duty of care to staff. It takes key decisions on changes in management approach. It is the highest official-level governance meeting and its membership includes all Director Generals and relevant Directors with all NEDs invited to attend in an advisory capacity. The Management Board meets monthly.

Executive members of the Management Board meet weekly as the Executive Committee (ExCo). Reporting to the Management Board, ExCo takes decisions on strategic choices or challenges relating to sensitive or time-bound issues, day to day running of the department, emerging issues, risks or crises where early steers or a cross-departmental view, impact or action is required.

The Strategy Committee is responsible for making sure the department is fit for the future. It focuses on challenge and strategic oversight, recommending changes to the FCDO’s strategic direction, building strategic capability, assessing coherence and links into UK Government strategy.

The Investment Committee is responsible for assessing whether the FCDO is spending to achieve the best Value for Money (VFM).

The People Committee (PC) is responsible for making sure the FCDO has the best workforce to deliver. It works to enable the organisation to have the right people in the right roles at the right times, to deliver its objectives and support the resilience and wellbeing of all FCDO staff.

The Delivery Committee assesses whether the FCDO is delivering on its objectives: achieving the desired effect as well as undertaking the planned activity, to high standards, across all areas of the FCDO’s work including policy, programme and corporate.

The Audit and Risk Assurance Committee (ARAC) supports the Management Board, and the PUS as Accounting Officer, to review decisions and processes designed to ensure sound systems of internal control. This includes risk management, financial reporting (including internal controls over financial accounting), internal and external audit, Arm’s Length Bodies, counter-fraud and safeguarding. The ARAC is chaired by a Non-Executive Director with suitable experience. It challenges the executive and promotes best practice across the FCDO, but has no executive responsibilities. It reports to the Supervisory Board.

Finally, the Transformation Board is a temporary structure and accountable to the Management Board for delivery of the overall scope of the FCDO’s transformation portfolio. It takes key decisions affecting timescales, cost and quality of the portfolio and agrees programme objectives and scope.

Approach to risk management

Until September 2020, FCO and DFID were two separate government departments, with distinct approaches to risk management. Both departments operated in some highly challenging environments and were willing to take carefully considered and well managed risks to deliver UK objectives. This section briefly sets out the approaches to risk management taken by the two predecessor departments, before considering the approach taken by the FCDO since September 2020.

The FCDO faces a wide range of risks because of our global footprint and activities. We pursue our national interests and project the UK as a force for good in the world. The world we work in and the work we do, is inherently risky. Risk management helps us navigate the complexity and uncertainty we face in delivering our objectives. It is an essential part of the management of the FCDO, informing operational decisionmaking, policy options, planning and financial management and control.

Both DFID and FCO, like other government departments (OGDs) and organisations, were severely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. From late 2019 until the merger of the two departments, additional structures, processes and policies were introduced in each department to both consider the impact of COVID-19 on the delivery of wider objectives, and to manage risks to the delivery of new, more immediate priorities relating to COVID-19 itself. These were adopted in addition to the existing risk management approaches in place and have now been mainstreamed into the new risk management approach for the FCDO.

DFID approach pre-merger (April to August 2020)

DFID’s principle-based risk management approach was laid out in a risk policy and appetite statement, supported by guidance, training and tools. DFID assessed the risks it faced through six categories: risks posed by the external context; risks to the department’s reputation; fiduciary risks of funds being used for unintended purposes or not properly accounted for; safeguarding risks of unintended harm to people or the environment; risks to delivery of policy and programme objectives; and risks to operational capabilities and staff.

DFID had an appetite for carefully considered and well managed risks to deliver UK objectives and achieve development outcomes. DFID undertook higher risk activities where the situation (for example, a humanitarian emergency) or the expected results justified them. The department also accepted risk to innovate, build the evidence base and work in new and transformative ways. When undertaking higher risk activities, the department’s aim was to ensure that the mitigating actions kept the risk to an acceptable level. In judging an acceptable level of residual risk as an ongoing appetite level, or to tolerate for shorter periods, the department demonstrated flexibility to adapt its approach to the context and available evidence base.

Strategic risks for DFID as a whole were considered by the Management Board monthly; the Supervisory Board also reviewed risk at regular intervals. The risk policy and appetite statement was reviewed at least annually and an additional review was completed after the COVID-19 outbreak. The Audit and Risk Assurance Committee provided oversight of the risk policy and implementation of risk management plans.

FCO approach pre-merger (April to August 2020)

FCO’s risk management approach was articulated in a risk policy and appetite. The FCO assessed top risks in two categories: policy risks and operational risks. Policy risks related to the delivery of the FCO’s key foreign policy objectives, while operational risks were threats to the FCO’s ability to function successfully as an organisation. Policy and operational risks interacted, for example, in relation to crisis response.

FCO’s appetite for foreign policy risks depended on the issue, potential impact on UK interests and political context. FCO assessed the risk of policy choices and agreed appropriate risk appetite with Ministers and Partners Across Government.

The Audit and Risk Assurance Committee and the Executive Committee considered the Top Risk Register on a quarterly basis. Operational risks were scrutinised closely by the Audit and Risk Assurance Committee, on behalf of the Management Board, including deep dive investigations of key areas of risk. The Management Board and Supervisory Board also reviewed the Top Risk Register formally at least twice a year.

FCDO approach post-merger (September 2020 to March 2021 and onwards)

The FCDO will be the springboard for all our international efforts, integrating diplomacy and development to achieve greater impact and realise the Prime Minister’s vision for coherent international delivery across the whole of Government. With this in mind, the Foreign Secretary and Management Board are focusing on delivery of the real-world change we want to see. Risk management is a critical element of this approach.

Since the departmental merger in September 2020, the FCDO has adopted a single overarching risk management approach. Policies and processes have been established for escalation of risk throughout the organisation, ensuring appropriate accountability. We have developed a departmental FCDO Risk Appetite Statement, using UK Government best practice and extensive consultation, agreed by the Management Board and the Foreign Secretary. We have set risk management rules for our portfolio of policy programmes through a new Programme Operating Framework. A new FCDO Risk Management Policy was published in July 2021, aligned to the principles set out in the UK Government’s ‘The Orange Book: Management of Risk – Principles and Concepts’.

We introduced a new FCDO Principal Risk Report (PRR) in September 2020, covering the most significant risks to FCDO’s performance and reputation. In March 2021, the PRR contained 21 principal risks, alongside detail on linked secondary risks. The scope and number of principal risks is kept under constant review. The principal risks are organised into seven categories: strategy and context, policy and programme delivery, public service delivery and operations, people, safeguarding, financial and fiduciary and reputational. Each of the principal risks is owned by a Director or Deputy Director and has a Director General as a sponsor.

The Management Board discusses principal risks monthly, including the FCDO’s overall risk profile and deep dives into individual risks. The board determines accountability for each of the principal risks, reviews risk exposure against risk appetite and monitors progress in implementing controls, drawing on management information, qualitative insights from across the organisation and wider evidence.

Further information on our approach to risk management, including the governance of risk, can be found in Section 2.1.

Transparency

The UK is globally recognised for its transparency and open-data, and the FCDO is committed to transparency to enable the best use of evidence, data and digital tools to inform our policy and actions. Transparency enables the FCDO to demonstrate the value and impact of our diplomatic and development work and supports our international standing and reputation.

We fulfil our international, legal, and public transparency commitments ^{[footnote 1]}. In addition, we provide leadership in aid transparency as a member of the International Aid Transparency Initiative (IATI) and share information about our aid programming on the DevTracker platform. We are also committed to making better use of open data via the National Data Strategy and support the UK membership of the Open Government Partnership, promoting the values of Open Government and transparency across the world. We appointed a Board Sponsor to provide strategic leadership for transparency when the department was formed in September 2020, and actively support the network of UK Government Transparency Champions established by Cabinet Office, to drive openness and accountability across all departments.

The UK Aid Strategy (2015) set out the commitment that ‘all UK government departments will achieve ‘good’ or ‘very good’ in the Aid Transparency Index (ATI) by 2020’. Prior to the formation of the FCDO, both legacy organisations were assessed in the global ATI, which was published in July 2020. Legacy DFID was classed as ‘very good’ among major donors, and legacy FCO improved its performance to ‘fair’. The FCDO has benefited from the expert programme delivery knowledge of our legacy departments and continues to strengthen transparency across our activity. We are committed to improving the transparency of aid globally and maintaining our high standards for overseas spending. We have promoted this across the UK Government via a Transparency Community of Practice which has established a beneficial exchange of learning between aid-spending departments. Although COVID-19 meant this was temporarily put on hold, the FCDO will continue to build on this work.

Scrutiny

Our scrutiny arrangements respond to Section 5 of the International Development (Official Development Assistance Target) Act 2015, which requires the Secretary of State to make arrangements for the independent evaluation of the extent to which Official Development Assistance (ODA) provided by the UK represents Value for Money in relation to the purposes for which it is provided; and to report on how the duty has been complied within the FCDO’s Annual Report. The Independent Commission for Aid Impact (ICAI) is the mechanism that provides ‘independent evaluation and scrutiny of the impact and value for money of all UK Government ODA’ and this section fulfils the duty to report. ICAI reports to the International Development Committee in Parliament and makes its reports available online.

The FCDO is subject to parliamentary scrutiny by the International Development Committee and Foreign Affairs Committee, which monitors the policy, administration and spending of the department, and the Committee of Public Accounts, which scrutinises the VFM of public spending, as well as scrutiny by the National Audit Office (NAO), which assesses the VFM public spending for parliament.

Evaluation arrangements

We are also committed to evaluating our programmes to ensure that they deliver VFM and to generate learning that benefits our future work. The department uses evaluation, monitoring and other evidence tools across our programmes alongside policies for accountability and learning, and this is incorporated into programme conceptualisation and design. The FCDO’s sound approach to the use of evidence was acknowledged in the 2020 Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Development Cooperation Peer Review, which highlighted that the UK “values evidence and knowledge and has continued to reinforce its strong approach to results, evaluation and learning.”

Monitoring and evaluation experts are embedded across our department. Evaluation support is also provided from the centre, through guidance, technical advice, quality assurance, conducting strategic evaluations, and learning and development opportunities:

standards: An internal interim evaluation policy was introduced this year, based on DFID’s protocols, and we have started the process for developing a full evaluation policy and strategy for the new merged department. We ensure evaluations conducted across the business reach expected standards of quality and rigour: between April 2020 and March 2021 our Evaluation Quality Assurance and Learning Service (EQUALS) responded to 103 requests for quality assurance, 17 of which were from other government departments. The Global Evaluation Framework Agreement continues to provide a critical service for procurement of evaluation expertise to the FCDO and other government departments spending ODA
rigour and innovation: Through the Centre for Excellence for Development Impact and Learning (CEDIL) programme, we have pioneered new rigorous methodologies for hard-to-measure problems, including mapping frontier work on using big data and providing guidance on how to use this in impact evaluations. We have adapted our work to meet the priority needs of the new organisation. For example, we have developed and are leading a cross-FCDO workstream on how to design, measure and evaluate the department’s diplomatic and development influencing work. We have also been leading work on innovative approaches to adaptive management for complex and high-risk contexts
technical advice and guidance: Our Evaluation Advisers in the Evaluation Unit provide bespoke technical advice and support on monitoring, evaluation and learning to teams and priority work across the organisation, through a dedicated helpdesk. The FCDO Evaluation Quality Assurance and Learning Services (EQUALS) also provides expert, on-demand, and quick turnaround technical support to the FCDO, including 28 requests for technical assistance and work on 5 learning reviews in 2020-21. We developed a series of guidance notes to support the shifting needs and challenges of evaluating in the COVID-19 context
strategic evaluations: This year, we have stepped up our efforts to provide strategic and thematic portfolio evaluations on key areas. We have designed a layered, sequenced, and proportionate approach to evaluating our investments on COVID-19 interventions ranging across programme, portfolio, and thematic work. We have started a suite of thematic evaluations on priority areas, including Climate Smart Agriculture. We have completed learning reviews which synthesise our evidence on Beneficiary Engagement, Commercial Agriculture and Girls’ Education. We have provided support to the World Bank’s Fund for Impact Evaluation and the Strategic Impact Evaluation Fund, which has included COVID-19 emergency evaluations on remote education, school return and response and recovery using educational technology. We completed the Evidence in Governance and Politics (EGAP) programme this year, which collected exciting new robust evidence on crime, community policing, community management of natural resources and incentivising citizens to access tax funded public services, as well as pioneering new and more rigorous methodologies for testing whether an invention is effective in multiple contexts

Safeguarding

Safeguarding against sexual exploitation, abuse, and sexual harassment (SEAH) is a priority for the FCDO. In September 2020, we published the UK’s first strategy on tackling SEAH in the aid sector which sets out how we are working to ensure better safeguarding across this sector, within the UK Government and in the programmes we fund. The FCDO’s code of conduct states what type of sexual activity is unacceptable and the related consequences if the code is broken. The Safeguarding Team and Safeguarding Unit within the Internal Audit and Investigations Department, drives this work forward, focusing on both safeguarding policy and enforcement. We are introducing mandatory SEAH training for all staff as part of wide-ranging internal capability building. We continue to deliver on the commitments we made at the October 2018 London Safeguarding Summit to: prevent SEAH from occurring; listen to those who are affected; respond sensitively but robustly when harm or allegations of harm occur; and learn from every case. We continue to drive collective action by convening and chairing multiple international working groups. In October 2020, we published a further progress report against the 2018 London Summit commitments.

We launched the Resource and Support Hub (RSH) in May 2020 whose global and national hubs aim to build the safeguarding capacity and capability of smaller, locally based organisations, in particular. In March 2021 we announced details of a programme to make it easier for survivors of SEAH to report abuse, to improve the quality of investigations and strengthen support available to survivors and victims. Other initiatives we are supporting include: advanced safeguarding leadership training for hundreds of individuals worldwide through the Open University; a digital leadership and culture tool to help organisations assess their strengths and weaknesses on tackling SEAH; and initiatives such as the Misconduct Disclosure Scheme to prevent perpetrators from moving around the aid sector.

The FCDO registered 12 new internal staff cases of SEAH this year and 22 internal cases were concluded in the same period. Internal cases mean the survivor, or the subject of complaint, is an FCDO staff member. In 8 of the 22 concluded cases the allegations were upheld, resulting in disciplinary action, up to and including dismissal. In the other cases there was either: insufficient information to progress to an investigation; lack of engagement from witnesses or the survivor; or the investigation concluded there was no evidence to support the allegations made.

Since setting clearer expectations in early 2018 that legacy DFID and now FCDO partners must report credible suspicions and actual allegations of safeguarding abuses, we have seen an increase in reports to the FCDO of external safeguarding concerns, from 73 in 2017 to 2018, to 260 in 2018 to 2019, 452 in 2019 to 2020 and 548 in 2020 to 2021. The increase in reporting is encouraging as it demonstrates confidence in our reporting system and that action will be taken in response to concerns raised. The most common case types reported in 2020 to 2021 were: SEAH; non-sexual discrimination and harassment; physical abuse; and child exploitation. In 55% of cases disciplinary action, up to and including dismissal, was taken; in 21% of cases there was no evidence; in 14% of cases partners took other action to strengthen safeguarding policies and control mechanisms; and in the remaining cases there was insufficient evidence or lack of engagement from witnesses or survivors, to progress investigations.

Aims and objectives in 2020 to 2021

The creation of the FCDO in September 2020 and absence of an updated Single Departmental Plan in 2020 to 2021 for either legacy department ^{[footnote 2]} means that the FCDO did not have centrally agreed Strategic Objectives or Priority Outcomes to report against in the 2020 to 2021 Financial Year. We have nevertheless determined priority policy areas early on (outlined in the Performance Analysis sub-section).

The 2020 Spending Review (SR) settlement required all departments to produce an Outcome Delivery Plan (ODP); this has replaced the Single Departmental Plan as the document by which departments will be held to account. ODPs outline Priority Outcome Metrics and Strategies. The FCDO’s and ODP was published in July 2021 and will be used to guide performance reporting for the 2021 to 2022 Annual Report.

While performance reporting is optional for the 2020 to 2021 Financial Year because of the unprecedented pressures that the COVID-19 outbreak has had on the whole of the UK Government, the FCDO has chosen to go beyond requirements to produce a bridging report, presenting information on our performance in priority policy areas this year. Key activities and achievements for the department are structured against ODP Priority Outcomes determined for the year ahead; the Performance Analysis sub-section of the 2021 to 2022 Annual Report will also take this approach, making comparisons easier.

Our ODP reporting, and delivery of the Priority Outcomes, will be underpinned by our new Delivery Framework approach. The FCDO began to institute a Delivery Framework approach in 2020 to 2021.

This supports teams across all areas of FCDO work including policy, programme and corporate. It draws on robust tools, including Theories of Change, Outcomes Trees and KPIs, to clearly describe the real-world change we want to see and sets measurable targets to enable teams to monitor progress and take action to stay on course to deliver. This will continue to be rolled out in 2021 to 2022 and will provide a stronger focus on delivery across all that we do.

Performance appraisal for 2020 to 2021

In the 2020 to 2021 Financial Year, the COVID-19 health crisis has had an unprecedented impact on lives across the world. As the greatest health threat that the world has been subjected to in decades, the health, humanitarian, and socio-economic impacts of this crisis threaten to interrupt years of sustained progress in global poverty reduction and stability.

At this critical time, the UK Government has united development and diplomacy in one new department: the FCDO.

Combining our diplomatic and development expertise will make us even more effective at achieving long-term change, supporting others to become self-sufficient, and ensuring we leave no one behind. Dealing with an unprecedented set of challenges, we have been able to meet performance expectations in our first operational year, and effectively deliver maximum impact in priority areas, while handling exceptional financial constraints brought about by the worst economic downturn that the UK has experienced for more than 300 years.

FCDO key achievements

The Integrated Review of Security, Defence, Development and Foreign Policy was published, defining the Government’s ambition for the UK’s role in the world and the long-term strategic aims for national security and foreign policy. This will see the UK becoming a problem solving and burden sharing nation and sets a strong direction for building back better from COVID-19, both domestically and internationally.

We also used our presidency of the UN Security Council to drive further progress on global access to COVID-19 vaccines and call for local ceasefires to allow their delivery to some of the world’s most vulnerable people.

We hosted the Global Vaccine Summit which raised nearly US$8.8 billion to immunise a further 300 million children against a range of diseases.

We committed up to £1.3 billion of ODA to the UK’s international response, combatting the health, humanitarian, and socio-economic impacts of the pandemic and supporting the research, development and equitable global distribution of vaccines, treatment and tests.

In the wake of the pandemic, we coordinated a repatriation effort that had no post-war precedent in terms of scale, complexity and duration. Consular teams handled over 500,000 enquiries and issued over 13,000 emergency travel documents. We provided personalised consular support in over 25,000 new cases.

At the International Criminal Court we have seen the elections of Joanna Korner as Judge and Karim Khan as Chief Prosecutor. 2020 saw considerable progress on climate, culminating in 75 leaders making ambitious commitments at the Climate Ambition Summit on 12 December, co-convened by the UK, France and UN in partnership with Chile and Italy.

Our Famine Prevention Call to Action combined aid expertise and humanitarian diplomacy to address the rising risk of famine across the world. Sustained UK efforts have mobilised additional funding for the world’s most vulnerable countries, including the doubling of World Bank Early Response Financing from US$500 million to US$1 billion to support countries facing increased food security risks in taking early action.

In 2020 to 2021:

the Integrated Review of Security, Defence, Development and Foreign Policy was published, defining the Government’s ambition for the UK’s role in the world and the long-term strategic aims for national security and foreign policy. This paves the way for the UK becoming a problem solving and burden sharing nation and sets a strong direction for building back better from COVID-19, both domestically and internationally
we also used our presidency of the UN Security Council to drive further progress on global access to COVID-19 vaccines and call for local ceasefires to allow their delivery to some of the world’s most vulnerable people
in 2020 the UK imposed sanctions on individuals and entities in Russia, Saudi Arabia, Myanmar, DPRK, Belarus, Chechnya, Venezuela, The Gambia and Pakistan. Last year we introduced a UK Magnitsky sanctions law, to target individuals guilty of the most serious human rights abuses abroad. This year, we are extending this model to corruption
at the International Criminal Court we have seen the elections of Joanna Korner as Judge and Karim Khan as Chief Prosecutor
the FCDO coordinated a repatriation effort that had no post-war precedent in terms of scale, complexity and duration. Consular teams handled over 500,000 enquiries and issued over 13,000 emergency travel documents. We provided personalised consular support in over 25,000 new cases, and the FCDO travel advice pages were updated 7,700 times (a 98% increase compared to the previous Financial Year)
the FCDO committed up to £1.3 billion of ODA to the UK’s international response to COVID-19, combatting the health, humanitarian, and socio-economic impacts of the pandemic and supporting the research, development and equitable global distribution of vaccines, treatment and tests
1.3 million British nationals were helped to return home at the peak of the pandemic. This included tens of thousands on UK Government Charter flights as well as hundreds of thousands more via commercial airlines kept open thanks to FCDO lobbying efforts
the FCDO facilitated catch-up programmes for 300,000 girls in low-income countries following COVID-19 school closures
the FCDO established the Hygiene and Behaviour-Change Coalition with Unilever and jointly invested up to £100 million in a unique programme to promote frequent handwashing with soap and surface hygiene – reaching 1 billion people across 37 countries
the Global Vaccine Summit hosted by the UK raised nearly US$8.8 billion to support Gavi’s mission to immunise a further 300 million children
2020 saw considerable progress on climate, culminating in 75 leaders making ambitious commitments at the Climate Ambition Summit on 12 December. The summit was co-convened by the United Nations, the United Kingdom and France in partnership with Chile and Italy
the Foreign Secretary launched a Famine Prevention Call to Action in September 2020 combining the best of FCDO’s aid expertise and humanitarian diplomacy to address the rising risk of famine across the world. Sustained UK efforts have helped to mobilise additional funding to support the world’s most vulnerable countries, including the doubling of World Bank Early Response Financing from US$500 million to US$1 billion to support countries facing increased food security risks in taking early action
the Foreign Secretary reaffirmed that the UK will be an energetic and dependable partner in the growing prosperity of the Indo-Pacific region and demonstrated UK commitment during several visits to the region
the FCDO was central to assessing, managing and mitigating the international-facing risks and impacts of the D20 operation. The operation was designed to ensure that the UK Government could moderate the worst disruptive impacts of the end of the EU Transition Period on the welfare, health and security of UK citizens and on the economic stability of the UK

Delivering maximum impact

With the UK committed to achieving, but not exceeding, the Official Development Assistance spending target of 0.7% of gross national income in 2020 to 2021, the contraction of the economy as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic prompted government to plan a £2.944 billion in-year reduction in ODA-spending in the 2020-21 Financial Year. At the same time, we estimate that the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic are likely to have resulted in 119-124m additional people living in extreme poverty in 2020, rising to 150m in 2021 ^{[footnote 3]}.

To ensure that our department delivered maximum impact in priority areas, while handling the pressures brought by the COVID-19 outbreak, the FCDO conducted a rigorous prioritisation exercise. The Executive Committee discussed a paper setting out options to ensure resources were channelled into the most urgent and time sensitive work.

ExCo agreed to use the baseline identified by the prioritisation exercises in both legacy departments, until the Integrated Review and Spending Review were published and prioritisation could be completed in line with the vision for the new department. Legacy FCO used a ‘Do/Do differently/Drop’ approach, while legacy DFID prioritised activities using a ‘Gold/Silver/Bronze’ rating. Both exercises identified three groupings of work according to the increase or decrease in resources that would be required. DGs used this baseline list of priorities to inform choices before the Integrated Review and Spending Review publications.

For both legacy departments, work-streams in the ‘Gold/Do’ category included helping those most at risk throughout the pandemic through procurement of medical equipment and legalisation services. Ministerial priority work-streams were also prioritised. Workstreams in the ‘Bronze/Drop’ category included cross-Whitehall engagement on policies not related to COVID-19, bilateral relationships and visits, business planning and discretionary work such as corporate away days.

By taking these decisions, we effectively delivered maximum impact in priority areas, putting the COVID-19 response at the forefront of our work. A breakdown of our main areas of spend in the 2020 to 2021 Financial Year is provided in section 1.3: Financial Review.

The Performance Analysis sub-section of the report provides further information on our performance this year. As the FCDO is in its first year of operation, it will not be possible to draw on previous year strategic objectives and indicators to discuss performance and trends across earlier Financial Years.

Future plans

As announced in late 2020, given the impact of the global pandemic on the economy and, as a result, the public finances, we will move from a target of spending 0.7% of gross national income as ODA to 0.5% in 2021 to 2022. This was a difficult – but temporary – decision. For the FCDO to achieve its strategy of integrating diplomacy and development to achieve greater impact, we will focus on:

delivery: Realising tangible real-world change is at the centre of what we do. That will be driven by clear accountability for delivery, using evidence-based approaches. The FCDO’s new Delivery Framework will work across the range of the department’s business, based on robust theories of change, with clear and measurable targets at all levels
alignment: The FCDO leads a whole of government international effort. All posts work to a single set of objectives (the Country Plan) for which the Head of Mission (HoM) is fully accountable. HoMs will be consulted on all programme and policy decisions in-country and will chair cross-Government Country Boards with clear lines of accountability to Ministers
integration of our toolkit: The FCDO integrates the full range of the UK’s diplomatic, development and domestic tools. Examples include shifting the strategy of CDC Group plc (CDC), the UK’s development finance institution, towards promoting energy transition and green infrastructure; pulling together targeted sanctions, diplomatic campaigns and aid programmes, to deliver our open societies agenda; and working with domestic departments to build the UK’s influence on key international objectives, such as countering money laundering and global health security
value for money: The FCDO provides the overseas platform for the whole of the UK Government, with a focus on value for money, effectiveness, and alignment of services and policies. We use evidence and data rigorously in how we design portfolios of activities, programmes and investments to achieve our goals. We improve and maintain a global estate and vehicle fleet that is secure, fit for purpose and maximises efficiency, utilising key investments (e.g. in our posts in Washington, Ottawa and Mexico City) to contribute to our sustainability objectives
coherent use of Official Development Assistance: The Foreign Secretary will lead an interim stocktake of the UK ODA portfolio at the mid-year point to assess spending plans across departments and ensure we meet the 0.5% GNI target. Coherence in our ODA spend across the Government will be driven by the FCDO’s new International Development Strategy
partnerships: The FCDO will strengthen our global reach to build a diverse range of partnerships with bilateral and multilateral partners, the private sector, civil society and beyond. Our Posts will strengthen understanding of, and access to, host Governments and influential individuals and groups. We will use these partnerships to deliver the Country Plan and strengthen the long-term benefit to the UK and global stability
crisis management: All Posts will be ready to deliver a whole of government response to crises, particularly those affecting the safety or welfare of British nationals and large-scale humanitarian crises. Teams will continue to work with international partners on crisis anticipation and invest in crisis management preparedness and in the skills and readiness of staff across the mission

Question 2

1.2  Performance analysis

Accepted Answer

For the Performance Analysis section of the 2020 to 2021 Annual Report and Accounts, we have produced a bridging report, presenting information on our performance in 2020 to 2021 against the priority policy areas. We will publish a separate document providing a final set of results for the 2015 to 2020 UK Aid Strategy, in early 2022.

Key activities and achievements for the department across the 2020 to 2021 Financial Year are structured against Priority Outcomes determined for the year ahead. Our analysis is supported by a review on progress on the FCDO’s contribution to the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals. The Performance Analysis concludes by presenting information on our risk profile in 2020 to 2021.

PO 1: Shape the international order and ensure the UK is a force for good in the world by: supporting sustainable development and humanitarian needs; promoting human rights and democracy; and establishing common international standards

The FCDO will use its combined diplomatic and development tools to promote and project the UK as a force for good. We will react nimbly to human rights and humanitarian law violations and take action in multilateral fora and through our new sanctions regimes. We will use Official Development Assistance to support girls’ education and free journalism, and work with other donors and partners to respond effectively to humanitarian crises and reduce the risk of famines.

Global goals

The FCDO’s work under this outcome contributes to the following Global Goals, amongst others:

Activities and achievements in 2020 to 2021

The FCDO has led the UK’s international response to COVID-19. We have made available public commitments worth up to £1.3 billion of ODA since the crisis began, making us one of the largest donors. Of these commitments, £664 million was spent in Financial Year 2020 to 2021. We mobilised quickly when the crisis first began and worked with and through the international system, in order to achieve the scale of action and coordination needed to overcome this global crisis. In 2020 to 2021:

we committed up to £829 million for the research, development and distribution of vaccines, treatments and tests, including a £500 million commitment to COVAX in support of the provision of vaccines to low and lower-middle income countries ^{[footnote 4]}. Of the £829 million, £227 million was spent in Financial Year 2020 to 2021
we also committed up to £314 million to multilateral institutions like the UN, as well as to UK charities and international Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs), to support the health and humanitarian response. Of the £314 million, £287 million was spent in Financial Year 2020 to 2021
to support the global economic response, we also committed £150 million to the IMF to help the poorest countries with their debt repayments so they could focus limited resources on their country response. This was spent in full in Financial Year 2020 to 2021
over and above our funding commitments, the UK’s investment in its research and development has been a key contribution to the global vaccination effort, enabling Oxford and AstraZeneca to produce a new vaccine and already distribute 450 million doses for no profit, with two-thirds going to lower- and middle-income countries
in addition to the public commitments, the FCDO created new, and adapted existing, programming amounting to more than £750 million ^{[footnote 5]} ODA in Financial Year 2020 to 2021. This has primarily sought to help countries tackle the impacts of the pandemic on health, the economy, and education as well as where COVID-19 has exacerbated pre-existing humanitarian crises. For example, we set up a new programme to respond to COVID-19 in the Caribbean, which has helped deliver vital emergency health support. We set up a new programme in Jordan to provide cash emergency assistance to 293,000 families who have been economically impacted by COVID-19. We adapted our flagship Girls’ Education Challenge programme in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, which is supporting 1.5 million marginalised and highly marginalised girls to benefit from a quality education, by ensuring remote teaching techniques reach key cohorts of girls of school age using no-tech or low-tech learning. This is keeping girls safe and learning through COVID-19. In Somalia, we adapted a programme to support at least 100,000 internally displaced people and vulnerable urban poor, including by decongesting crowded informal settlements to reduce the risk of transmitting the virus, as well as providing shelter and promoting good hygiene
at the instigation of the UK, as Commonwealth Chair-in-Office, Commonwealth Leaders agreed and issued a comprehensive statement on the full range of global responses to the COVID-19 pandemic, outlining their commitment to protect the health of their 2.4 billion citizens and mitigate the consequences for them
we coordinated a global repatriation operation, supporting British nationals overseas to get home to the UK, including tens of thousands on UK Government charter flights. We worked with airlines to keep commercial flights operating, supporting 1.3 million British nationals to return home. This operation had no postwar precedent in terms of scale, complexity, and duration. Repatriation charter flights were used where they were most needed and we ensured that they were affordable, charging a capped price per passenger. Every flight required specific permissions and each brought its own, individual challenges. In India, the sheer volume of travellers presented a challenge: 66 government charter flights brought back nearly 18,000 people, each of whom required an individual movement plan and permissions. In the Philippines, we navigated the logistical challenges of organising internal transfers by small boat and small aircraft, with our teams assisting at every stage of these journeys. The FCDO offered emergency loans to help repatriate people to the UK, and from 5 May 2020 introduced a new temporary loan to support British nationals who would otherwise be unable to return home. The FCDO has provided more than 3,000 loans with a total value of over £2 million

Getting British Nationals home in 2020 to 2021:

the FCDO launched seven separate crisis operations
this culminated in a global repatriation charter operation that brought British nationals back to the UK on 186 flights, from 57 different countries and territories
more than 19,000 British passengers from 60 cruise ships were successfully disembarked, including 1,500 people on direct or supported charters
staff supported the return of 1.3 million British nationals via commercial routes, of whom we estimate 132,000 were directly assisted by the UK Government
we collaborated with partners to ensure the return of more than 4,000 British travellers on their charter flights

In addition to our immediate COVID-19 response work, the FCDO is leading international efforts to end the pandemic and strengthen global health security. In 2020 to 2021:

we worked with partners, through the G7 and elsewhere, to strengthen global health security as set out in the Prime Minister’s five-point plan for pandemic preparedness. Our new core contribution of £340 million between 2020 and 2024 to the World Health Organization (WHO), will contribute to this by strengthening the WHO and supporting countries to implement the International Health Regulations and support wider UK global health priorities, including strengthening country health systems
we continued to be a leading donor to The Global Fund to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria, which has helped save 38 million lives since 2002, and aims to save 16 million more over the next three years
the COVID-19 pandemic impacted the delivery of Sexual Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR) services throughout 2020 to 2021 with reports of large-scale disruption in family planning, antenatal care, and facility-based birth services. The FCDO was the lead donor to the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) Supplies, which played a critical role in addressing supply chain bottlenecks, procuring PPE, and advocating for family planning services to remain open. We have contributed towards UNFPA assisting over 10 million women, girls, and young people in 53 countries with services, information, and supplies
the FCDO’s Women’s Integrated Sexual Health (WISH) programme reached over 3.6 million women and girls with lifesaving family planning services across 27 countries in Africa and Asia. We have also continued to support the global family planning partnership, FP2020, which has enabled 60 million additional users of modern contraception since 2012

As set out in the Integrated Review, tackling climate change and biodiversity loss is the number one international priority for the UK in 2021 and beyond. In this critical decade, the FCDO aims to tackle the causes and effects of climate change, reverse biodiversity loss and support secure and affordable energy for all. This includes delivering a successful COP26 in November 2021 (postponed from November 2020 due to COVID-19) and galvanising increased global action to tackle the climate crisis and protect nature. In 2020 to 2021:

we worked to deploy the full FCDO network behind COP26 priorities – engaging Heads of Mission, our overseas network of Climate, Energy and Environment Attachés and Advisers and four senior COP26 Regional Ambassadors, to embed climate and environmental considerations across the UK’s diplomatic and development efforts
as Presidents of both COP26 and the G7 in 2021, the FCDO pursued action across our Presidencies, as well as working closely with our Italian partners to engage the G20. We championed this agenda in other multilateral fora too, notably at the United Nations where the UK hosted the first ever UN Security Council discussion on climate security in February 2021, as well as with the International Financial Institutions
2020 saw considerable progress on climate, culminating in 75 leaders making ambitious commitments at the Climate Ambition Summit on 12 December. The summit was co-convened by the United Nations, the United Kingdom and France in partnership with Chile and Italy
in January 2021, the UK launched the Adaptation Action Coalition with co-chair Egypt, and continued to provide support to key initiatives to promote resilience, including the Least Developed Countries Initiative for Effective Adaptation and Resilience (LIFE-AR) and the Risk-informed Early Action Partnership (REAP)

On 31 March 2021, the Foreign Secretary and the COP President-designate hosted the Climate and Development Ministerial (CDM) which brought together Ministers from 35 climate vulnerable and donor countries, to focus on the implementation of the Paris Agreement and Sustainable Development agenda in those countries most vulnerable to climate change, including via more donor finance to support adaptation and resilience.

we recommitted to double our International Climate Finance to £11.6 billion from 2011 to 2022 to 2025 to 2026. Within this commitment, we will ensure at least £3 billion is invested to deliver significant benefits for nature as well as for climate and people. We will also continue to aim for a balanced split between mitigation and adaptation
the FCDO supported low-income countries to understand how climate change will affect water availability and to manage their water resources sustainably. In the initial response to COVID-19, the UK provided £20 million of emergency support to UNICEF as part of their global appeal to support governments, including the provision of water and sanitation for vulnerable children
we led work internationally to support low-carbon, resilient and inclusive urbanisation in low-income countries and accelerate the development of compact cities. For example, in 2020-21, the Managing Climate Risks for the Urban Poor (MCRUP) programme, supported 40 urban infrastructure projects in 36 cities, unlocking US$653 million of Asian Development Bank (ADB) loans and over US$60 million of government finance
our portfolio of over 30 commercial agriculture programmes supported responsible production through the sustainable growth of small-scale producers and agribusinesses in low income countries. This included support to reduce food losses, a key target of Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 12: Responsible Production and Consumption
the FCDO contributed to efforts to sustainably manage marine resources and biodiverse ecosystems, including forests. Despite slow global progress, we continued to support efforts across a range of targets. As of November 2020, the FCDO’s Blue Belt programme exceeded its target to protect 4 million km² of ocean around UK Overseas Territories. We also supported global research, pilot projects and other initiatives to reduce the use of plastics as well as increase their re-use and recycling efforts in low-income countries. The FCDO played a key role in defining the UK’s overarching ambition for the post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework. We supported work focused on stopping illegal logging and illegal deforestation, promoting sustainable trade in timber and agricultural commodities, and catalysing investment into sustainable businesses

The FCDO is committed to ensuring that the most marginalised receive a quality education. The right to education is indispensable for the exercise of essential human rights. In 2020 to 2021:

we helped millions of girls and boys continue to learn and stay safe during school closures. All of our bilateral education programmes rapidly adapted to respond to the global pandemic. For example, in Pakistan, 8.5 million students (including 4.3 million girls) were able to continue learning as a result of the FCDO’s provision of a COVID-19 toolkit to make up for lessons missed and provided accessible online learning opportunities for children with disabilities. In Ethiopia, the FCDO’s education assistance included a US$5 million Contingency Response supporting digital technologies and connectivity for a coordinated government response during COVID-19 and adapted ongoing educational leadership training to focus on ‘blended’ learning
at a global level, the UK announced £20 million for the UN Children’s Fund crisis appeal, which includes education, adding £5 million to the Education Cannot Wait (ECW) fund to support emergency education in fragile contexts, and a further £5 million to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). The ECW crisis fund has benefited around 4 million hard-to-reach girls, who risked leaving education permanently after the COVID-19 outbreak whilst UNHCR support enabled 5,500 teachers to continue teaching in refugee camps across 10 different countries. The Global Partnership for Education, to which the UK is the largest donor, also quickly mobilised more than US$500 million to support partner countries with planning and implementing their response to the pandemic

In 2020 to 2021, the UK:

developed a teaching and learning toolkit in Pakistan, supporting more than 8.5 million students
supported remote and homebased learning in Nigeria, supporting 12,542 learners
ensured its bilateral programmes benefited around 4 million marginalised girls
pledged additional funding to UNHCR enabling 5,500 teachers to continue teaching in refugee camps

Peace, stability, human rights, and open societies, based on the rule of law and democratic governance, are critical for global stability. The FCDO is a vocal proponent of SDG 16: Peace, Justice and Security and made the promotion of open societies a top policy priority this year. In 2020 to 2021:

we worked with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) to support countries to deliver on SDG 16 through a more systematic approach to evidence collection, harnessing of best practices, peer-learning, and the facilitation of multi-stakeholder partnerships on SDG 16 reporting
the FCDO’s Rule of Law Expertise UK (ROLE UK) programme worked to strengthen the rule of law in low-income countries by supporting partnerships that provide high-quality pro bono legal and judicial expertise. ROLE UK currently has 38 partnerships, and has been working in Nepal, Nigeria, Uganda, Malawi, Kenya, Rwanda, and Tanzania, providing highly expert advice on strengthening justice systems
the FCDO’s International Action Against Corruption (I-ACT) programme has delivered specialist anti-corruption technical expertise and access to international partnerships to help tackle cross-border corruption. This has helped reduce corruption through support to asset recovery and return and by increasing the transparency of company ownership
the FCDO’S UK Action to Support Developing Countries Fighting Corruption (UK ACT) programme funds UK law enforcement authorities to pursue and investigate money laundering and bribery, related to low-income countries with links to the UK. Under UK ACT, £76,012,241 of assets have been restrained, confiscated or returned in 2020 to 2021
we prioritised media freedom; working with a range of partners, including BBC Media Action, to strengthen the ability of independent media in low-income countries to produce free, independent public interest journalism and provide a forum for constructive public debate, both offline and online. In 2020 to 2021, the FCDO successfully helped to broaden the Media Freedom coalition to include 11 new members and secured a strong endorsement for coordinated action on Media Freedom in draft communique language, ahead of the G7 Foreign Ministers’ meeting in May 2021

The FCDO is an international advocate for equality. We successfully fought for a dedicated gender equality goal in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG 5: Gender Equality) and targets on gender equality across the other Goals. COVID-19 has often exacerbated the challenges of the most vulnerable. We work closely with international partners to ensure the most vulnerable groups are at the centre of global efforts to recover from COVID-19. In 2020 to 2021:

we adapted existing programmes to ensure women and girls continue to access support during lockdowns, such as delivering support services online, strengthening national helplines and supporting women working in supply chains impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic
in June 2020, we launched global consultations on ‘the Murad Code’ for documenting conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV), to ensure that investigations into sexual violence crimes are safer, more ethical, and more effective. We also launched the Declaration of Humanity by Faith and Belief Leaders, to end CRSV and tackle the stigma faced by survivors. More than 50 faith and belief leaders, civil society organisations, and governments have endorsed the declaration
the FCDO continued to support the vital work of women’s rights organisations by ensuring their inclusion in the Action Coalition priorities, and by announcing an additional £1 million to the UN Trust Fund to End Violence Against Women in September 2020, on top of our existing £21 million contribution to support long-term interventions for women and girl survivors of Gender Based Violence
the UK continued to fund the Women Mediators across the Commonwealth Network, which now supports 46 women peacebuilders from 21 countries
we delivered over £4 million of programming to support governments and civil society partners in repealing or reforming laws, which discriminate against LGBT+ people
the UK’s ongoing support to the Commonwealth Small States Office in Geneva, including the funding of two dedicated Commonwealth human rights advisers, helped Commonwealth small states engage with the UN Human Rights Council and fulfil their human rights treaty obligations
we increased international awareness and action on Disability Inclusion and addressed often multiple forms of discrimination, including action on violence against women and girls with disabilities. We co-chaired the Global Action on Disability (GLAD) network until March 2021, handing over to the government of Norway to lead international action on efforts to combat and reverse discrimination
we widened the evidence base on what works to support people with disabilities, through the Disability Inclusive Development programme (£37 million). Activities testing different radio show formats in Nigeria and Tanzania provided evidence about what format is most effective in changing people’s attitudes and prejudice towards people with disabilities
we continued funding the Global Disability Summit Secretariat within the International Disability Alliance. The Secretariat leads accountability for the 171 sets of commitments that were generated at the Global Disability Summit in 2018

The COVID-19 pandemic has interrupted a period of sustained progress in global poverty reduction. The world faces an unprecedented humanitarian crisis resulting from the triple threat of conflict, compounded by climate change and COVID-19. We will maintain the UK’s role as a force for good at times of crisis, while strengthening and modernising the collective international humanitarian response. In 2020 to 2021:

social protection was a core part of the FCDO’s response to the socio-economic impacts of the pandemic on poor and vulnerable families, including loss of income. We worked with partner governments to strengthen their social protection systems in more than 25 countries and supported governments and international partners to scale up their social protection support for the most vulnerable, to help them meet their basic needs and protect their livelihoods. We also established a COVID-19 social protection helpline (SPACE) that provided expert advice to 35 countries, on how to use or adapt social protection systems to respond to crises
the FCDO established the Hygiene and Behaviour-Change Coalition with Unilever, jointly investing up to £100 million in a unique programme to promote frequent handwashing with soap and surface hygiene – reaching 1 billion people across 37 countries. The coalition supported access to drinking water in humanitarian contexts, including 19 Internally Displaced Person (IDP) camps in Yemen
we adapted existing development programmes to address the impacts of COVID-19 on food security. The COVID-19 pandemic, conflict, locust swarms and climate change have left 250 million people worldwide facing extreme hunger in the past year. The Global Agriculture and Food Security Program (GAFSP) committed all remaining funds to mitigate COVID-19 impacts. In Bangladesh, lockdown restrictions had a disruptive impact on agricultural supply chains affecting food accessibility, agriculture input supplies, jobs, and farmer incomes. GAFSP supported a national network of producer organisations with over 8,000 smallholder farmers and set up 57 call centres to act as communication hubs between farmers, input dealers, traders, and service providers – facilitating the sale and delivery of food commodities and agricultural inputs in ways that minimised the risk of transmitting COVID-19. The virtual call centres have benefitted about 30,000 small-scale farmers, of whom 46% are women
the UK, as a force for good in the world, has led by example through its launch of the Call to Action to Prevent Famine and appointment of the UK’s Special Envoy on Famine Prevention and Humanitarian Affairs in September 2020. This work demonstrates UK commitment to engage at senior levels across the humanitarian system to drive change and bring the international community together to tackle increasingly severe risks of famine and food insecurity, because it’s the right thing to do and it protects British interests. We can only tackle these global challenges by combining our diplomatic strength with our world-leading aid expertise. The Call to Action has worked across four objectives in the last year: mobilising prioritised, quality funding (including from International Financial Institutions) to the most vulnerable countries, catalysing political action to unblock humanitarian access and protection of civilians in these contexts (for example through the UK’s creation of a Group of Friends of Action on Conflict and Hunger at the UN Security Council), driving improved data and coordination and strengthening resilience to food crises to avert the risk of famine/food insecurity in the longer-term

PO 2: Make the UK safer and more resilient to global threats

The international security environment is deteriorating. Strategic geopolitical competition is intensifying, changing the nature of threats we must detect and counter and widening the geographic spread of our security concerns issues. COVID-19 has highlighted the convergence of economic, health and security risks and enhanced the importance of supporting British people to stay safe abroad.

The UK can only maximise the benefits of our openness if we are strong and secure at home. Security is essential to an international order in which open societies and economies like the UK can flourish and collaborate in pursuit of shared goals, free from coercion and interference.

The FCDO will play a critical role in strengthening international security and making the UK safer and more resilient to global threats. Our capacity to prevent, deter, respond to and mitigate most threats relies on our relationships and influence abroad. We will coordinate the delivery of activity and relationships overseas to protect and promote UK resilience and a resilient global health system.

Global Goals

The FCDO’s work under this outcome contributes to the following Global Goals, amongst others:

Activities and Achievements in 2020 to 2021

We provide resilient, professional, empathetic, and high-quality Consular Services for all who need it, 24/7/365 days a year. The FCDO helps British people living and travelling abroad take responsibility for their safety. In 2020 to 2021:

the FCDO coordinated a repatriation effort that had no post-war precedent in terms of scale, complexity and duration. We provided personalised consular support in over 25,000 new cases, up 12% from the previous year, while continuing our support in 9,000 ongoing cases. We also issued 13,000 emergency travel documents and our 24/7 Consular Contact Centre answered around 500,000 enquiries. The FCDO travel advice pages were updated 7,700 times (a 98% increase compared to the previous Financial Year)
86% of British people who accessed Consular Services were satisfied with the service they received, exceeding our the existing benchmark of 80%

The FCDO works to strengthen global health security through supporting the provision of life saving vaccines to low and middle-income countries. We coordinate the delivery of activity and relationships overseas to protect and promote UK resilience and a resilient global health system. In 2020-21:

in addition to our work supporting the development and roll-out of COVID-19 vaccines, the UK hosted the Global Vaccine Summit in June 2020, raising nearly US$8.8 billion to support Gavi’s mission to immunise a further 300 million children, including catching up on routine immunisations interrupted by COVID-19. The UK was the largest donor, pledging the equivalent of £330 million per year, over the next five years

The FCDO is committed to developing clearer areas of UK speciality in conflict resolution and dispute management, better aligning our tools and capabilities to improve the UK’s defence and resilience. We are doing more upstream to reduce threats, including from hostile states, terrorists, criminals and from new threats. We contribute to effective international efforts to prevent, manage, and support the transition out of conflict. In 2020-21:

in Nigeria, the FCDO supported aims to counter violence through inter-faith dialogue and community reconciliation processes. In Jonglei state, South Sudan, an area of intractable conflict with extreme levels of humanitarian need, FCDO supported peace dialogues including through enhancing the capacity of Women Mediators across the Commonwealth Network
the UK continued to support the UN Peacebuilding Fund (PBF), the UN’s only dedicated peacebuilding programme. PBF investment in Kasai and Kasai Central, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), contributed to the fight against impunity, the establishment of provincial Truth and Reconciliation Commissions and local peace committees to facilitate intercommunal dialogue

The FCDO’s peacebuilding programme in Myanmar supported 80 local administrators with mediation training, enabling conflict-affected communities in the Mandalay region to manage resource-based conflicts more peacefully. Evidence suggests this is successfully resolving inter-communal disputes, including conflicts emerging from the COVID-19 response.

the FCDO worked towards the establishment of a Conflict Centre, which will develop a more integrated UK approach to conflict and instability, harnessing conflict expertise from across the FCDO, the UK Government and beyond, and applying these where the UK can make a difference
the FCDO led diplomatic engagement to bolster the UK’s campaign to counter malicious cyber activity. We have grown the coalition of governments willing to work together to coordinate policies and actions to deter and respond to those who act recklessly in cyberspace. We were at the forefront of work to establish the European Union (EU) cyber sanctions regime and designate the first 12 actors for malicious cyber activity in 2020. The new autonomous UK cyber sanctions regime came into force on 31 December 2020, creating an important tool to impose costs on those conducting malicious cyber activity against us and our allies
the FCDO continued to invest and support the Get Safe Online campaign, delivering the World’s first 24-hour online safety campaign across 24 Commonwealth countries. The online safety campaign funded in the Caribbean and Pacific Commonwealth and Rwanda created a network of 149 online safety ambassadors across 19 countries to promote cyber hygiene. Online safety websites were created in 22 countries, 8 of these were presented in local languages, as well as English
all Commonwealth countries have benefited from UK cyber security capacity building, resulting in stronger networks to exchange knowledge and expertise, and increased resilience and understanding of cyber threats and how to mitigate them
in regions where the UK deems the risks to be highest, we have built capability of partner governments to tackle terrorism while protecting and promoting respect for international law and human rights. In Libya, we contributed to a counter terrorism strategy alongside investigations training to increase Libyan counter terrorism capacity and help UK agencies prevent attacks ^{[footnote 6]}. UK forensic training enabled the Libyan Criminal Investigation Department to provide UK agencies with vital bomb scene data, detailing the tactics and explosive devices used by terrorist organisations. We provide British Nationals with up to date advice and support on the terrorist threat to travel overseas, through our regular updates to FCDO travel advice, highlighting the latest developments in the terrorist threat, including real time advice during terrorist incidents overseas. In 2020-21, we also provided direct support to British Nationals affected by terrorism overseas, including during the Palma attack in Mozambique
the Integrated Review reaffirmed the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) as the cornerstone of our defence. In 2020-21, the UK maintained its position as the top defence spender in Europe, participated in every NATO operation and mission and continued to declare our nuclear deterrent to the defence of the Alliance. The UK’s role in shaping “NATO 2030” (the results of a review to ensure that NATO remains the most successful Alliance in history) ensured close alignment between the Alliance’s approach and outlook, and the Integrated Review. On Russia, we continued our deterrence activities, including through deployments to Baltic Allies through enhanced Forward Presence (eFP). The UK is the largest contributor to eFP, with c.900 troops in Estonia and Poland. We also continued to strengthen NATO partnerships with Ukraine and Georgia and deepen ones in the Indo-Pacific. Outside the Euro-Atlantic area, the UK worked with Allies to expand NATO’s mission in Iraq in support of local security forces, and made a significant contribution to the work of NATO’s Resolute Support Mission in Afghanistan, prior to its withdrawal
we continued our work to uphold the global ban on chemical weapons use under the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) and to hold to account those who use chemical weapons. In response to Syria’s use of chemical weapons, and its failure to cooperate with the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), the UK co-sponsored a decision to suspend Syria’s voting rights and other privileges under the CWC. The decision secured overwhelming support in the OPCW Conference of States Parties in April 2021. The UK also continued to support the OPCW’s wider work, making significant contributions to capacity-building projects in Africa and to the OPCW’s new Centre for Chemistry and Technology
the UK worked with the International Atomic Energy Agency, international partners, and UK contractors on a project to remove the last highly-enriched uranium material from Latin America, reducing the risk of terrorists obtaining and misusing this material. As part of the UK’s engagement on DPRK sanctions evasion, we hosted a virtual meeting of G7+ partners, and used our network to take part in a joint lobbying effort on North Korean overseas workers. The UK has continued to support the IAEA’s monitoring and verification activities in Iran: in 2020 to 2021 we contributed £900,000 to this work
we worked closely with partners across the UK Government, universities, funding bodies and industry to protect our higher education and research sector from foreign interference. We expanded the Academic Technology Approval Scheme (ATAS) to cover advanced conventional military technology and increased its scope to include all researchers in proliferation-sensitive areas, considerably strengthening our protective measures
we successfully completed mine clearance operations in the Falkland Islands on 14 November 2020. This marked the release of 23 million square metres of land to the local population and fulfilled the UK’s obligation under the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention

We are positioning the UK as a global leader on Outer Space, building on the landmark UK-led UN General Assembly resolution 75/36 on reducing space threats through norms, rules and principles of responsible behaviour aims, to reduce the risk of miscalculation and escalation leading to conflict in or from space. We are also committed to ensure the sustainability of the space environment. In 2020 to 2021:

we engaged internationally to get a resolution adopted at the UN General Assembly RES/75/36 on norms, rules and principles of responsible space behaviours to reduce the risk of conflict arising from state threats to space systems
we encouraged the international debate on issues to support our space sector, promoting academic and industry views in discussions at the Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS) in Vienna
following the success of shepherding the 21 guidelines for the Long-Term Sustainability of Outer Space (LTS) through the COPUOS and then the UN General Assembly in 2019, the UK encouraged other States to write them into their own regulations and legislation. We demonstrated UK leadership on this issue by submitting an annual report on our own implementation, led by the UK Space Agency

PO 3: Extend and amplify the UK’s influence in the world, including through successful application for ASEAN dialogue partner status

The UK is a European country with uniquely global interests, partnerships and capabilities. But against the global backdrop of increasing uncertainty, the effectiveness of ‘Global Britain’ will depend upon our ability to extend and amplify the UK’s international influence. We must ensure that the UK is well-placed to take advantage of emerging markets, shifts in the global economy, and global progress in science and technology.

The FCDO will mobilise our diplomatic and development influence. We will move with greater speed and agility, amplifying our strong independent voice by working with and influencing others at the heart of a network of like-minded countries and flexible groupings.

Global Goals

The FCDO’s work under this outcome contributes to the following Global Goals, amongst others:

Activities and achievements in 2020 to 2021

The FCDO works to extend and amplify the UK’s influence in the world to support shared prosperity and regional and global stability. We work to strengthen our diplomatic, security and trading ties to ensure we Leave No One Behind and are a force for good in the world. We support our international partners and will stand up to defend our international values. In 2020 to 2021:

as Commonwealth Chair-in-Office, the UK continued to deliver on the shared priorities which Leaders set out at the 25th CHOGM in London in 2018 under the headings of fairness, security, sustainability and prosperity
in Hong Kong, we worked to uphold the Sino-British Joint Declaration, the legally binding treaty with China which set out the terms of Hong Kong’s return to China. As China continued to erode Hong Kong’s high degree of autonomy and reduce rights and freedoms of the people of Hong Kong by introducing a National Security law, new rules to disqualify Hong Kong legislators, and make radical changes to restrict participation in Hong Kong’s electoral system, the FCDO led diplomatic efforts to highlight the situation globally and to call on China to adhere to its legally-binding obligations. During the latter half of 2020 and the first half of 2021, the UK declared three breaches of the Sino-British Joint Declaration (after declaring only one previous breach since the 1997 handover). On 6 October 2020, alongside Germany, we brought together a total of 39 countries to express grave concern at the situation in Xinjiang and Hong Kong in a joint statement at the UN General Assembly Third Committee. This built on the UK’s joint statement at the Human Rights Council in June, where we secured support from 27 other countries. On 22 February 2021 the Foreign Secretary attended the UN Human Rights Council, and called for the UN to respond, and undertook to continue to raise international support for Hong Kong. The FCDO worked closely with the Home Office and other departments to establish a new bespoke visa route for British Nationals (Overseas) and their close family members; 34,300 people applied to the scheme between January and March 2021
Russia’s actions continued to pose an acute and direct threat to the national security of the UK and its partners. We responded to this destabilising activity wherever it occurred. We announced a series of attributions and responses to cyber-attacks, political interference, and other malign activity by Russia. In response to the chemical weapons attack on Alexei Navalny and his detention on arbitrary charges, the FCDO led diplomatic efforts at the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), Council of Europe, and UN Human Rights Council to condemn these actions and call on Russia to uphold its international obligations. We led a joint statement in the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons supported by 58 States Parties, calling for Russia to be held to account and enforced asset freezes and travel bans on six individuals and one organisation responsible for the poisoning. The FCDO continued to maintain channels of engagement with the Russian government in support of UK interests, to raise concerns and discuss shared global challenges, including a visit to Moscow in November 2020 by the FCDO Minister for Europe and the Americas, as well as continuing to promote people-to-people links between cultural institutions and universities
the FCDO led cross-Government work and coordination with international partners to address Iran’s nuclear programme. This included using the mechanisms of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPoA) and coordination with France, Germany, and the United States, as well as China and Russia, to press Iran to return to full compliance with its JCPoA commitments. The UK also continued to meet its JCPoA commitments and go beyond them through support to the Instrument in Support of Trade Exchanges (INSTEX) trade facilitation vehicle, to promote humanitarian trade with Iran. We continued to hold Iran to account for its destabilising and dangerous actions in the region and further afield, including through the promotion of maritime security in the Persian Gulf to ensure the safety of shipping through the Strait of Hormuz. Iran’s human rights record continues to be of serious concern to the UK and it remains one of the FCDO’s Human Rights Priority Countries. We raised human rights with the Iranian government at all levels and acted with the international community to press Iran to improve its poor record. At the Human Rights Council in March 2021, we strongly supported the renewal of the mandate of the UN Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights in Iran
the Global Human Rights sanctions regime was established in July 2020 – giving the UK a powerful tool to hold to account those involved in serious human rights violations or abuses around the world, using targeted asset freezes and travel bans. Since its launch, we have designated 78 individuals and entities from 10 countries. This includes designations in relation to the mistreatment and death of Sergei Magnitsky, the murder of Jamal Khashoggi and the serious human rights violations that have taken place – and persist – in Xinjiang. In December 2020, we imposed sanctions on Russian individuals and entities responsible for torture and murder of LGBT people in Chechnya. On 15 October 2020, under the EU’s chemical weapons sanctions regime, the UK enforced sanctions against six individuals and an entity involved in the poisoning and attempted murder of Russian activist Alexei Navalny. The UK applied these sanctions under our own independent sanctions regime, which sends a strong signal that we will continue to hold those responsible to account. To transfer EU and UN sanctions regimes into UK domestic law and to extend those regimes to the Crown Dependences and Overseas Territories, we laid almost 100 statutory instruments under the Sanctions and Anti-Money Laundering Act 2018 (the Sanctions Act). The new regimes came into force at the end of the Transition Period (31 December 2020). At the same time, we transitioned into UK law approximately 1,000 EU sanctions designations. These are published on GOV.UK in the UK Sanctions List. This list also contains those designated by the UN (also approximately 1,000), designations that the UK is required by international law to implement

Through our ambition to make the UK a Great Science, Technology and Data Power, we deliver cutting-edge technology and research-led solutions in health, education, resilience, low carbon technologies, agriculture and economic development, conflict, and poverty. In 2020 to 2021:

with the department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), the FCDO led work internationally to support the transition to secure clean, low-cost energy that helps mitigate climate change and ensures no one is left behind. FCDO programmes supported improved access to modern energy through off-grid renewable sources. The recently completed £40 million Results Based Financing (RBF) for Low Carbon Energy Access programme pioneered a ‘payment for results’ approach to stimulating energy markets and increasing private investment. Over 5.7 million people have gained improved access to clean energy as a result of the programme using technologies such as domestic solar, household biogas, and cleaner cookstoves. The UK announced that from 31 March 2021, the government will no longer provide support for the fossil fuel energy sector overseas, other than in limited circumstances
the FCDO’s Frontier Technologies Hub programme tested and scaled frontier technology such as drones and Artificial Intelligence. Through 38 pilots since 2016, the programme has built capability across the department on a range of technologies including electric vehicles in Kenya and Rwanda, and drones for infrastructure monitoring in Tanzania and tackling locust outbreaks in East Africa

To build a better world, we need to be supportive, empathetic, inventive, passionate, and above all, cooperative. SDG 17 promotes strong global partnerships and cooperation, through means including trade, research partnerships and Official Development Assistance, ensuring a strategic approach to international development. In 2020 to 2021:

the UK published the Integrated Review of Security, Defence, Development and Foreign Policy. This defines the Government’s ambition for the UK’s role in the world and the long-term strategic aims for our national security and foreign policy, sets out the way in which the UK will be a problem-solving and burden-sharing nation and also sets a strong direction for recovery from COVID-19, at home and overseas, so that together we can build back better
with UK support, the multilateral development banks made over US$200 billion available to low-income countries. We worked with our G20 partners to extend the Debt Service Suspension Initiative, which suspends debt repayments to official bilateral creditors from the world’s poorest countries (to December 2021); made a leading contribution of £150 million to the IMF’s Catastrophe Containment and Relief Trust; and committed an additional £2.2 billion loan to the Poverty Reduction and Growth Trust Fund to finance concessional IMF’s lending programmes in the poorest countries
low-income countries which traded with the UK under the EU’s Generalised Scheme of Preferences (GSP) continued to benefit from preferential tariffs through the UK’s new GSP since 1 January 2021

We seek closer relations in the Indo‑Pacific. The Indo-Pacific region matters to the UK: it is critical to our economy, our security and our global ambition to support open societies. As outlined in the Integrated Review, the UK will be the European partner with the broadest and most integrated presence in the Indo-Pacific – committed for the long term, with closer and deeper partnerships, bilaterally and multilaterally. The UK will seek closer relations through regional institutions, such as the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), to tackle global challenges, support ASEAN’s central role in regional stability and prosperity and enable sustainable development in South East Asia. In 2020 to 2021:

the UK submitted its application to become an ASEAN Dialogue Partner in June 2020. The Foreign Secretary has reaffirmed that the UK will be an energetic and dependable partner in the growing prosperity of the Indo-Pacific region. He has demonstrated UK commitment during several visits to the region in 202021, including a visit to India in December 2020. In September 2020, he also visited the Republic of Korea and Vietnam and helped secure new Free Trade Agreements with both countries. The UK continued to deliver Indo-Pacific Tilt objectives during our year of international leadership ahead of the G7 and COP26. The Foreign Secretary extended guest invitations to the G7 Foreign and Development Ministers’ Meeting to IndoPacific countries including India, Australia, the Republic of Korea, and Brunei (as the ASEAN Chair) in order to drive G7 engagement and to broaden UK reach and appeal in the Indo-Pacific
the UK has, and continues to, tackle climate change, using both adaptation and mitigation activity to support a transition to clean, resilient and sustainable growth in the Indo- Pacific through influence with major and growing emitters and the most vulnerable countries, linked directly to our wider COP26 strategy. The UK also launched negotiations for ambitious new free trade agreements with Australia and New Zealand, and we will pursue accession to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), to secure increased trade and investment opportunities, and to diversify our trading links and supply chains, embedding open trade and integration

Economic growth that delivers decent work for all is the cornerstone for advancing global prosperity, equal economic opportunities, and the elimination of poverty. It provides a key foundation for global mutual interdependence that promotes international security and a more resilient, interconnected, more technologically advanced world. We enable low-income countries’ integration into the global economy, creating stronger trade and investment partners for the future, through economic partnership agreements and an improved unilateral trade preferences scheme that contribute to poverty reduction and strengthen our supply chains. In 2020 to 2021:

the FCDO funded a range of initiatives targeted at expanding investment and boosting intra-Commonwealth trade, including our support for the Commonwealth Standards Network, our leadership, with South Africa, of the Digital Cluster of the Commonwealth Connectivity Agenda and our investment in SheTrades Commonwealth, which has helped over 3,000 women-owned businesses to expand internationally and helped generate almost £30 million in sales in its four target countries
the FCDO worked through the International Financial Institutions to ensure governments and business in low-income countries can access affordable financing and advisory support, and to urgently establish safety nets to protect the most vulnerable – supporting over US$300 billion in financing
CDC Group committed over US$400 million of finance, supporting businesses in Africa and South Asia, the regions with the worst poverty impacts, to protect jobs and incomes. In response to COVID-19, CDC pivoted all of its investment activities to help tackle the economic and healthcare impacts of the pandemic in Africa and South Asia, by supporting existing client businesses to safeguard their development impact and weather the crisis, and by looking at ways to scale up their response, extending financial support and expert advice to other businesses suffering from the effects of the crisis
the Vulnerable Supply Chains Facility (VSCF) was set up in August 2020 to enable vulnerable people and supply chains in agriculture and the garments sectors to recover from and remain resilient to the economic and social impacts of COVID-19 – explicitly targeting women who are more likely to have lost jobs. The VSCF is expected to provide 300,000 people (50%+ women) with direct access to services to boost their resilience and benefit up to 800,000 people in wider communities through strengthened and more resilient supply chains
the FCDO made a tangible contribution towards closing the global infrastructure gap with low carbon, resilient and inclusive infrastructure, enabling essential services to enhance beneficiary countries’ prosperity, public health, and well-being, whilst helping unlock stimulus investments that are particularly relevant to counter the impact of the pandemic. The FCDO’s support to CoST – the Infrastructure Transparency Initiative – led to US$460 million in cost saving to public funded infrastructure projects by the Government of Thailand
We supported research to strengthen sectors particularly impacted by COVID-19, such as global transport and energy systems, through our £18 million High Volume Transport (HVT), £28 million Research for Community Access (ReCAP), and £15.5 million Energy and Economic Growth (EEG) programmes.
our £100 million Manufacturing Africa programme worked with governments, foreign manufacturing producers, buyers, and financiers to remove market barriers and broker new high-impact investment deals. In 2020, the first year of implementation, a pipeline of 594 potential deals were established that has the potential to generate up to £3.2 billion in additional Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and create or maintain 82,870 direct and indirect jobs. Support was completed for seven investment deals facilitating £42 million in FDI and creating 9,700 jobs. The programme also responded to COVID-19 by re-orienting activities to support investors and local governments in their response

The UK left the European Union ^{[footnote 7]} on 31 January 2020. The UK Government’s Integrated Review of Security, Defence, Development and Foreign Policy noted that we remain deeply invested in the security and prosperity of Europe. Our exit from the EU means we have the opportunity to follow different economic and political paths where this is in our interests, and to mark a distinctive approach to foreign policy. Equally, we will work with the EU where our interests coincide – for example, in supporting the stability and security of our continent and in cooperating on climate action and biodiversity. In 2020 to 2021 ^{[footnote 8]}:

under the Withdrawal Agreement, the UK sought to meet outstanding commitments from the 2014-2020 EU budget including external action, development, and humanitarian aid (Heading IV of the 2014-2020 EU budget). The UK also undertook to meet outstanding commitments for the off-budget European Development Fund (EDF), the EU Emergency Trust Fund for stability and addressing root causes of irregular migration and displaced persons in Africa (the EUTF Africa), and to the Facility for Refugees in Turkey (FRIT). This means a declining tail of UK contributions to EU development programmes until 2027, which is part of the wider financial settlement in the Withdrawal Agreement
the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement provides for UK-EU cooperation on current and emerging global issues of common interest, including sustainable development amongst other areas. Eurostat produces an annual monitoring report on progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals in an EU context (which includes EU external action) ^{[footnote 9]} ^{[footnote 10]}. The EU global response to COVID-19 includes supporting efforts to halt the spread of the virus and helping countries to strengthen their healthcare, water and sanitation systems. The EU has contributed €1 billion to COVAX to help ensure safe and effective vaccines for low and middle-income countries
the FCDO’s responsibility for the UK’s residual share (equity and liabilities) of European Investment Bank (EIB) external mandate guarantees and investments, that we have been part of whilst an EU Member State and until the end of the Withdrawal Agreement Implementation Period (31 December 2020), continued. These commitments are long-term, generally several decades, including the EIB African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) Investment Facility and guarantees to EIB own resources lending to ACP countries and the Overseas Countries and Territories
in 2020 the Cabinet Office developed a large cross-government operation, D20, designed to ensure that the UK Government could mitigate any impact of the end of the EU Transition Period on UK Citizens and on the economic stability of the UK. The FCDO’s role in this operation was to assess, manage and mitigate the international-facing risks and impacts.

The Trade and Cooperation Agreement reached with the EU removed some of the issues, but we still needed to be ready to A huge amount of work went into planning and delivering the response, against a challenging backdrop and considerable uncertainty. Over the autumn we trained over 400 staff from across the department. We stood up operations at the end of December: at its height, our response entailed two shifts in London, with roughly 50 people a shift, seven days a week. 32 Posts in our European network also stood up response structures, and surge teams deployed and on standby to high-volume passenger terminals. We remained in enhanced response for 8 weeks. During the response the FCDO lobbied EU Member States to apply the correct immigration rules for UK residents, worked with the Department for International Trade (DIT) to resolve issues with European logistics companies, provided consular support, and maintained the supply of UK food products to Gibraltar. The team also worked to lobby EU Member States on their procedures for testing hauliers travelling from the UK and supporting the UK Government’s work on vaccines.

Together with the ongoing response to COVID-19, getting this right was the Government’s top priority for the end of 2020. Despite all the pressures – including the need to respond quickly to a new strain of COVID-19 over the same period affecting the entry of British Nationals into other countries– the FCDO delivered an excellent response, tackling problems promptly and effectively, with skill, expertise and agility.

the FCDO maintained responsibility to deliver the cross-government International Agreements Programme – established to and for UK nationals travelling to the EU. transition key international agreements in which the UK previously participated as a member of the European Union, where it was in the UK’s interests to do so. Thanks to a huge effort involving 10 departments, the programme delivered 150 agreements with over 90 countries and 22 multilateral organisations, covering a range of issues critical to UK interests, including trade, nuclear energy, aviation, customs, fisheries and security. Legacy FCO played a key role throughout, coordinating the overall programme, providing legal and policy advice, directly negotiating some of the agreements, supporting other government departments through the Diplomatic Network, and bringing the agreements into force. This has been a significant and historic achievement. The UK has never previously concluded so many international agreements in such a short time period. The success of the International Agreements Programme reinforces our sovereign relationship with friends and partners across the globe.

FCDO’s Risk Profile

The FCDO operates globally and seeks to deliver on ambitious objectives in challenging environments, and therefore faces a wide range of risks.

In 2020 to 2021, the direct and indirect effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the people, policies, programmes and resources of FCDO have been unprecedented. High levels of uncertainty in relation to delivery of pre-existing and COVID-19-related objectives have been a defining feature of the already complex risk profiles of the FCDO and its predecessor departments this year, as well as exacerbating and complicating the handling of many other risks.

The FCDO was created through merging DFID and FCO in order to act as a springboard for the UK’s international efforts. The FCDO transformation process underway is expected to realise significant benefits for the UK. To achieve this, we have accepted the short-term risks of implementing an ambitious merger, which requires setting new policies and systems and bringing together our diverse staff to forge a new culture.

The risks on the FCDO Principal Risk Report cover the breadth of the department’s work. These are summarised below through the lens of our seven risk categories.

Strategy and context risks relating to the potential actions of competitors and adversaries have increased, while risks relating to conflict and instability remain high. We address these risks through diplomatic engagement, robust, consistent, and clear messaging, and cooperation with allies and partners. The risk of divergence or misalignment between UK positions and those of our allies and partners, which could undermine UK objectives, are mitigated through continuous and broad engagement and discussion with our partners at all levels, from Ministerial to working level. COVID-19 continues to pose significant risks to our staff and network, programme monitoring and management, ability to respond to crises and deliver consular services. The risk posed by a global economic slowdown has decreased. The wider effect of COVID-19 on the impact, likelihood and mitigation of other risks is also considered and addressed.

Policy and programme delivery risks have changed over the course of 2020 to 2021. The risk posed to UK objectives by the UK-EU future relationship has much reduced following the end of the Transition period. Risks arising from specific aspects of the relationship have been addressed through direct political and diplomatic engagement. The risk to the FCDO’s ability to deliver humanitarian response where needed around the world has increased, due to COVID-19 and its impact on travel, transport and resources, while the demand for humanitarian assistance has also increased. Rigorous prioritisation of responses has been strengthened, and we have continued our engagement with other donors to deliver the best possible coordinated responses. We have faced risks to our supply chains through COVID-19 and the implementation of ODA reductions and have worked in partnership with our supply partners to tackle these.

Public service delivery and operations include risks to crisis response and consular delivery, which have fluctuated based on COVID-19 impact and been addressed through surging in additional resources to respond to the needs of UK citizens and putting in place virtual access to previously in-person services. The risks to maintaining our estate and cyber-security remain high and we have placed particular emphasis on ensuring programmes are in place to address the challenges.

Our people risks have remained elevated due principally to COVID-19 restrictions, the challenges of delivering diplomacy and development in the current global context and a high volume of change through transformation as a result of the merger. The resilience of staff across our global network and in the UK has been under significant pressure. The department has maintained a consistent focus on the wellbeing and resilience of staff, and support for our global network through a turbulent period. This has included a staff vaccination programme, exemptions from management quarantine, and financial support for quarantine and testing. We will retain a strong focus on boosting this support further and strengthening the resilience of our overseas network as we move into 2021-22. We continue to manage the safeguarding risk to programme beneficiaries and staff through the delivery of a medium-term strategy to improve prevention of and response to sexual abuse and exploitation and sexual harassment.

Financial and fiduciary risks have varied over the course of the year. The risk of fraud and aid diversion rose initially due to COVID-19, but later reduced through implementation of strengthened controls. We have managed new financial risks to implement the temporary reduction of Official Development Assistance from 0.7 to 0.5% of GNI in 2021. We continue to work closely with partners, and across strategy, finance, commercial and programme delivery teams to implement the budgetary reductions.

The varied nature of the FCDO’s work, its multiple commitments, and the challenging environments we face, set against high public expectations of delivery by the FCDO, have resulted in significant risk to the FCDO’s reputation. This has been addressed through development and delivery of appropriate strategies, prioritisation of consular delivery, robust management of policy and programme delivery risks, effective relationship management and good communication.

Question 3

1.3  Financial review

Accepted Answer

In 2020 to 2021, the FCDO successfully managed their finances within all Parliamentary and HM Treasury controls. The year saw a major impact of COVID‑19 on operational costs and project delivery, and the need to bring together the finances of the FCO and DFID. The Government also announced the decision to reduce temporarily the overall amount spent on Official Development Assistance from 0.7 to 0.5 per cent of Gross National Income from 2021 to 2022.

The public sector budgeting framework

The FCDO’s spending is broken down into several different spending totals, for which Parliament’s approval is sought.

The spending totals which Parliament votes are:

Resource Departmental Expenditure Limit (Resource DEL) – programme funds, running costs, frontline diplomacy, the overseas platform, scholarships, grants to international organisations and other bodies supporting FCDO objectives, and associated non-cash items
Capital Departmental Expenditure Limit (Capital DEL) – investment in capital assets, capital grants, research and development, loan funding to the British Council, and investments and assets to create growth in the future for either the UK, or our partner governments
Resource Annually Managed Expenditure (Resource AME) – less predictable spending: in the FCDO’s case this largely consists of non-cash accounting costs, such as provisions, unrealised foreign exchange gains or losses, and the impact of changes in the valuation of the FCDO’s development capital investments. It also includes the refund of certain taxes and duties paid by foreign and Commonwealth governments
Capital Annually Managed Expenditure (Capital AME) – this covers the FCDO’s capital injections in its wholly owned self-financing public corporation, CDC Group plc

2020 to 2021 Outturn compared to Estimate

£m	Outturn	Estimate	Saving (£m)	Saving (%)
Resource DEL	9,914	9,941	27	0.3%
Capital DEL	2,871	2,977	106	3.6%
Resource AME	617	703	86	12.2%
Capital AME	650	650	0	0%

The main financial performance indicators used to monitor FCDO’s activities are the budgetary control totals established through the Main and Supplementary Estimates, the profiling of these costs on a monthly basis, and the variance between actual and budgeted costs. Any significant variances on each operational area are identified and explained on a monthly basis and, where required, action is taken to understand and, where appropriate, address movements.

Outturn Against Estimate Variances

This explains how the FCDO’s spending compared to the amounts voted by Parliament in the Estimates. The figures are shown in the Statement of Parliamentary Supply (SOPS) (page 144).

Resource DEL

SOPS 1.1 – Headings A through to N: an underspend of £27 million (0.3%) of £9.9 billion budget.

The FCDO reprioritised resources within Parliamentary controls to absorb in-year underspends. The anticipated underspend on operating costs due to the impact of COVID-19, allowed the FCDO to maximise programme spend on critical aid programmes in the late stages of the Financial Year. The underspend includes £17 million of ringfenced depreciation which cannot be used to cover other expenditure.

Resource AME

SOPS 1.1 – Headings O, Q and R: an underspend of £86 million (12.2%) of £703 million budget.

Resource AME expenditure is volatile in nature and the FCDO takes a conservative approach towards forecasting its requirements. We need to ensure there is sufficient headroom in budgets to accommodate the impact of unforeseen global events on foreign exchange rate volatility and market conditions. Headings O and Q show an underspend of £83 million. This relates to non-cash AME for accounting adjustments including unrealised gains/ losses on FCDO’s financial instruments such as forward purchasing contracts; provisions; revaluations/ impairments of the FCDO global estate and revaluations of development capital.

Heading R has an underspend of £3 million cash AME relating to the reimbursement of certain duties, taxes and licence fees paid by diplomatic missions in the UK.

Resource AME expenditure in 2020‑21 (£000)	FCDO (£000)
Financial Instruments unrealised FX Losses/(Gains) (e.g. peacekeeping forward purchase contracts and promissory notes)	66,812
Reimbursement of duties and taxes	36,679
Provisions (in particular, financial commitments to the GAVI vaccines alliance and terminal gratuities)	351,437
Impairments (revaluation of worldwide properties) & AME Depreciation	59,723
Movement on defined benefit pensions	136
Loan discounting	(39,851)
Development Capital Fair Value revaluations	37,442
Financial guarantee	105,000
Total	617,378

Capital DEL

SOPS 1.2 – Headings D, E, F, G, I and L: an underspend of £106 million (3.6%) of £3.0 billion budget. Of this underspend, £78 million (2.6%) relates to £130 million of additional ringfenced funding provided in the Supplementary Estimates to make available a loan facility of £145 million to the British Council, whose commercial income fell substantially due to COVID-19. The British Council drew down £52 million of the facility, which was significantly less than originally estimated due to a combination of rigorous cash management, cost-cutting measures, and commercial income picking up as teams delivered the backlog of exams and teaching centres re-opened. The underspend did not come at any opportunity cost to the wider FCDO.

The remaining £28 million (1%) underspend is the result of COVID-19’s impact on project delivery, a timing issue on recognition of a debt instrument (£5 million), and a small buffer to protect year end controls.

Capital AME

SOPS 1.2 – Heading P: there was a full spend of Capital AME. This represents investments in FCDO’s wholly owned self-financing public corporation, CDC Group plc.

Budget to Accounts Reconciliation

The FCDO’s Resource Outturn (DEL and AME) was £10.5 billion compared to £14.2 billion net resource in the Consolidated Statement of Comprehensive Net Expenditure (SOCNE).

The key differences are:

capital grants and research & development (that meets ESA 10 criteria for the national accounts) are treated as expenditure in the resource accounts but as capital in budgets
profit on disposal and income payable to the Consolidated Fund are in SOCNE, but not Resource outturn
the SOCNE does not include EU attribution, in line with rules on activities charged directly

Trend analysis

The chart below shows overall spending for the last five years and plans presented in the Estimate for 2021-22. Prior year outturn figures have been combined for legacy FCO and legacy DFID, which merged in September 2020. There were different drivers of spending in the two departments: for example, DFID’s overall spending was underpinned by the 0.7% ODA commitment and the share of ODA funding allocated to other departments. Points to note are:

Resource DEL remained broadly stable until 2020 to 2021, peaking in 2019 to 2020 in part to meet the 0.7% commitment and due to a switch from Capital DEL to Resource DEL budget. Plans for 2021 to 2022 reflect the decision to reduce temporarily the overall amount spent on aid from 0.7 to 0.5% of GNI
Capital DEL saw a reduction in 2019 to 2020, predominantly as a result of a reduction in some of the UK’s key multilateral commitments as we approached the end of previous replenishment cycles. Plans for 2021 to 2022 reflect the decision to reduce temporarily, the overall amount spent on aid from 0.7 to 0.5% of GNI
Resource AME is used primarily for accounting adjustments to provisions and financial instruments such as loans and shares. AME expenditure, by definition, is volatile – and in some years shows as negative spend
Capital AME budget is used to make investments in the FCDO’s wholly owned self-financing public corporation, CDC Group plc. Capital injections into CDC contributes towards the FCDO’s financial transactions target. This increased steadily year on year until 2019 to 2020

Spending Trends: combined FCO and DFID budgets, £ million

The information in the trend analysis ties to common core tables (Annex C), where further breakdowns are provided.

Analysis of the Consolidated Statement of Financial Position

	2020‑21 £000	2019‑20 £000	Change £000	Change %	Explanation of movement between 2019‑20 and 2020‑21
Property, plant and equipment	2,565,044	3,103,226	(538,182)	-17.3%	Transfer of 3 UK properties to GPA £275.6 million. £170.0 million depreciation was charged in-year and there was a further £108.8 million of impairment driven by foreign exchange fluctuation.
Financial investments	10,618,691	11,355,273	(736,582)	-6.5%	£1,310.0 million transfer to HMT of EBRD shareholding and £261.0 million loss in valuation of International Financial Institution shareholdings offset with £799.0 million additions (incl. £650.0 million CDC capital addition).
Cash and cash equivalents	222,327	96,212	126,115	131.1%	Cash held at year end is higher than usual due to transfer of cash from UK Visas & Immigration (UKVI) at period end.
Provisions (noncurrent)	(1,043,845)	(684,769)	(359,076)	52.4%	Increase driven by additional IFFIM Covax Provision £495.0 million offset by reduction in IFFIM provision £125.0 million.

Detail of the type of spend incurred over the year

COVID-19

The FCDO received £130 million of additional funding in the Supplementary Estimate to make available a loan facility for the British Council; other spend on COVID-19 was met from within FCDO’s 2020 to 2021 settlement. The FCDO had considered seeking additional funding in the Supplementary Estimate from the Emergency Disaster Relief Fund, to cover the cost of the crisis response and to support Anguilla. However, we were able to meet the costs from emerging underspends mainly driven by COVID-19’s impact on our ability to deliver International Programmes and overseas maintenance projects; by reduced workforce travel; and by lower pay costs due to the recruitment freeze.

Analysis of FCDO’s COVID-19 expenditure

How funds were spent	Total committed £000	Disbursed in 2020‑21 £000	Disbursed in 2019‑20 £000
DEL expenditure
Research, development and distribution of COVID-19 vaccines, treatments and tests.	329,000	227,000	–
Support to the humanitarian response through UN agencies, Red Cross and other international non-governmental organisations, including UK charities.	314,000	287,000	–
Contributions to IMF’s Catastrophe Containment and Relief Trust (CCRT) which provides grants for debt relief for the poorest and most vulnerable countries hit by catastrophic natural or public health disasters thus freeing up resources to focus on their COVID-19 country response.	150,000	150,000	–
Adaptation of existing programmes and new, in-country programmes directly related to COVID-19.	–	750,000	–
Loan to British Council to help manage the impacts of COVID-19.	–	52,000	–
Grant to British Council to help manage the impacts of COVID-19.	–	–	26,000
Repatriation support for UK travellers stranded overseas.	–	19,082	10,000
Loans to UK travellers stranded overseas.	–	2,218	–
Enhanced support for British nationals travelling overseas.	–	3,800	–

The table below sets out how FCDO’s funds were spent on COVID-19. We are unable to comment on how COVID-19 has impacted upon centrally agreed Strategic Objectives or Priority Outcomes in 2020-21, as these were not established for the 2020-21 Financial Year.

How funds were spent	Total committed £000	Disbursed in 2020‑21 £000	Disbursed in 2019‑20 £000
Procuring essential medical supplies, staff and logistical support to overseas territories, Security Assistance to local authorities in the Cayman Islands and the Turks and Caicos
Islands, and supporting border security measures in Anguilla.	–	13,700	–
Emergency financial support provided to Anguilla to keep essential public services running and respond to the impacts of COVID-19.	–	12,400	–
Additional operating costs as a direct result of COVID-19 such as upgrading technology and vaccinating overseas staff.	–	2,924	–
FCDO Services supplier relief to assist the COVID-19 response.	–	1,327	–
Wilton Park – additional financing to cover income lost as a result of the impact of C-19.	–	3,425	–
Total DEL expenditure	793,000	1,524,876	36,000
AME expenditure
Gavi COVID-19 Vaccines Advanced Market Commitment (COVAX AMC) to support the provision of vaccines to low and lower-middle income countries ^{[footnote 11]}	500,000	–	–
Total AME expenditure	500,000	–	–
Total DEL and AME expenditure	1,293,000	1,524,876	36,000

The main areas of spending related to COVID-19 were:

ODA programme: COVID-19 is now one of the seven priorities for UK Aid, identified in the FCDO’s new Strategic Framework for ODA. The FCDO has committed up to £1.3 billion of UK aid to address the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, of these commitments, £664 million was disbursed in 2020-21. The FCDO has adapted existing programming, and created new ones in-country, amounting to more than £750 million ODA in Financial Year 2020-21 to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. Further details on COVID-19 spending is provided at page 27
consular response: Our consular network focused on supporting British nationals through the COVID-19 pandemic including total spend of £29 million on a global repatriation operation, supporting British nationals overseas to get home to the UK. FCDO has provided more than 3,000 loans to support British nationals who otherwise would not be able to get home, with a total value of over £2 million
support for the Overseas Territories: The FCDO provided £13.7 million to support the Overseas Territories (where the vast majority of citizens are also British citizens) through the Conflict, Stability and Security Fund and International Programme Fund. The funds procured essential medical supplies, staff and logistical support, as well as supporting medical facilities in the Falkland Islands; providing a Security Assistance Team to local authorities in the Cayman Islands and Turks and Caicos; and, supporting border security measures in Anguilla. A further £12.4 million of emergency financial support was provided to Anguilla to keep essential public services running and respond to the impacts of COVID-19
British Council loan funding: The FCDO provided the British Council with a revolving credit facility of £60 million in June 2020. This was increased to £145 million in February 2021, with a repayment date of 31 December 2021. In 2020-21 the FCDO received a budget of £130 million Capital DEL for the credit facility, of which the British Council drew down £52 million. All loans are being provided on commercial terms. (See Capital DEL section of the Financial Review for more details)
FCDO Services – FCDO provided Supplier Relief to assist the COVID-19 response, which included a contribution of £1.3m to indirect costs which was accounted for as financing in FCDO Services accounts in accordance with the FReM. This ensured FCDO Services forecast cashflows met their working capital requirements in future forecasts
operational impact: The FCDO spent around £3 million as a direct result of the pandemic: on vaccinations for staff based in the overseas network and on air travel and accommodation from the drawing down of staff from overseas posts and their return to Post. COVID-19 had a larger indirect financial impact, for example through the disruption to planned travel, projects and other activity

EU Exit

The FCDO received £45.8 million in Spending Review 2019 and spent £46.3 million to support the continuation of the UK’s successful separation from the European Union throughout the Transition Period and beyond. The UK will remain deeply invested in the security and prosperity of Europe. The COVID-19 pandemic has reinforced the need for the UK to have a close relationship with European partners and a strong global presence to reinforce our standing on the global stage.

Analysis of departmental group’s EU Exit expenditure

The table below sets out how FCDO’s funds were spent on EU Exit. We are unable to comment on how EU Exit has impacted upon centrally agreed Strategic Objectives or Priority Outcomes in 2020-21, as these were not established for the 2020-21 Financial Year.

How funds were spent	Total committed £000	Disbursed in 2020‑21 £000	Disbursed in 2019‑20 £000
DEL expenditure
Staff and programme funding to help EU exit preparations.	–	46,300	44,192
Preparations for a possible no-deal EU exit.	–	–	2,843
UK’s share of Western European Union pension liabilities.	–	24,010	–
Total DEL expenditure	–	70,310	47,035
AME expenditure
Provision for UK’s share of EUISS (EU-funded security think tank) pension liabilities.	–	3,152	–
Total AME expenditure	–	3,152	–
Total DEL and AME expenditure	–	73,462	47,035

The funding has enabled the FCDO to continue to support over 500 roles, retaining essential expertise and contributing to the following goals:

support on-going future relationship negotiations with the EU through lobbying and engagement with Brussels and the EU 27 Member States, including through specialist support
deepen our bilateral relationships with our European neighbours, allies and partners and increase our capacity to engage and influence
support delivery of key foreign policy issues that we lead on
develop and use Europe expertise to focus on more coordinated international engagement
successfully transition to a UK sanctions regime, strengthening sanctions as a key tool as a force for good. In addition to funding the above roles and their associated administration costs, the fund has allowed essential programme work to be carried out throughout the Financial Year

The UK Nationals Support programme fund has provided assistance and support to at risk UK Nationals applying for EU residency across 13 countries in Europe. Funds were awarded to 8 implementing partners, who have directly assisted UK nationals through advertising campaigns, dedicated helpline support networks and direct outreach, where possible. So far, the Fund has reached nearly 320,000 individuals, with just over 16,000 UK Nationals provided with individual support from a caseworker, to help them secure their residency.

The Europe Future Relations Programme fund has been used to achieve the following key policy objectives:

enhance the delivery of our bilateral strategies to preserve and strengthen our relationships in Europe, and work with European governments and institutions on policies that reflect the UK’s national interests
support the negotiation of the Trade and Cooperation Agreement with the EU
promote UK values, influence and soft power to address shared global challenges
promote UK prosperity through economic development, clean and sustainable growth, and better business environments in Europe

Official Development Assistance

During 2020 to 2021 the overall size of the FCDO’s ODA budget was primarily determined by forecasts of the extent of funding required to meet the UK’s obligation to spend 0.7% of Gross National Income on ODA. In July 2020, so that we could react to the potential shrinkage in the economy and therefore a decrease in the value of the 0.7% commitment, we identified a £2.9 billion package of reductions in the UK Government’s planned ODA spend so that we could proceed prudently for the remainder of 2020. This package included underspends, delaying activity and stopping some spend.

Revised projections in late 2020 showed a smaller drop in GNI than previously forecast, and we were able to mobilise £1.6bn of ODA spending in calendar year 2020. This illustrates the flexibility required to manage the dynamic nature of the department’s work, whereby plans can often change and swift action is needed to initiate and progress individual programmes.

The FCDO’s provisional statistics on international development confirmed that the UK met the target to spend 0.7% of gross national income on official development assistance in the 2020 calendar year: Read the statistics.

The Foreign Secretary led a cross-government review of how ODA is allocated for 2021 to 2022 against the Government’s priorities after the 2020 spending review. The final allocations were provided in a written ministerial statement on 26 January 2021 (HCWS735).

The FCDO’s ODA spend for 2020 to 2021 was £11.2 billion. As in previous years, the majority of this was spent on programme expenditure. Information on 2020 to 2021 outturn and 2021 to 2022 plans is in Annex A and Annex B.

Question 4

1.4  Sustainability Report

Accepted Answer

Section 1: Overall strategy for sustainability

The FCDO is committed to sustainable diplomacy and development and has an important role promoting global action on climate change. We aim to lead by example through reducing the environmental impact of our own operations. The FCDO legacy departments had a strong record of improving environmental performance and by coming together, we are unifying sustainability efforts to achieve the ambitious Greening Government Commitment (GGC) targets in the UK and maximise energy efficiency of our global estate to assist with the transition to net zero carbon. In previous years, the FCDO legacy departments had separately reported environmental performance in line with the GGCs. In light of the FCDO merger, we are now reporting as one department and have combined all environmental performance reporting. 2020 to 2021 has seen another year of progress for sustainability in a changing and challenging year. COVID-19 has had a significant impact on our progress towards our GGC targets, with changes in our ways of working and office use resulting in decreased use of facilities. There are lessons we can take from our experience of COVID-19 to embed greener behaviours into our operations, as we build back better.

Our ongoing progress towards our 2020 to 2021 GGC targets has been positive. The engagement with Green Champions and Green Team Networks within the FCDO, and senior endorsement has helped to embed key messages and ensure our staff have access to learn and share best environmental practice. This has helped encourage staff to take individual action and champion sustainability in their day-to-day ways of working, providing us with confidence that with increased staff engagement and action, we can further improve environmental performance in 2021 to 2022 and beyond, setting a positive trajectory for net zero carbon.

Our focus in 2021 to 2022 will be to set more ambitious targets as part of the GGCs to 2025 and particularly improve performance where we have been challenged in the past. Our next GGC targets will re-baseline to provide a more accurate representation of the whole FCDO UK estate and the environment within which the FCDO operates. We are aligning our internal strategies and policies to ensure our progress and ambition reflects the department’s desire to be a leader in this area, aligning operations with diplomacy and development work on climate change, in order to contribute to the achievement of the Global Sustainable Development Goals, ensure a green and resilient recovery from COVID-19 and make the FCDO the greenest diplomatic and development service in the world.

Environmental management system

The FCDO holds an International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 14001 accredited Environmental Management System (EMS), covering The FCDO offices in King Charles Street and Hanslope Park. ISO 14001 certification has been held since 2006 and the EMS was last recertified to ISO 140001 in August 2020. A small number of minor non-conformities were raised during this recertification audit, relating to waste management, wastewater discharge consent monitoring, training, and internal audit completeness. Staff within the FCDO and our facilities management provider are working to implement efficient and long-lasting solutions to these issues to ensure we are able to maintain ISO14001 certification and meet all legal compliance obligations. The FCDO continues to invest in the EMS to drive continuous improvement and ensure the FCDO complies with its legal obligations. The legacy DFID estate (Abercrombie House and 22 Whitehall) is not accredited to ISO 14001. The Sustainable Operations and Programme Board has agreed to explore extending the EMS to include the full FCDO UK estate.

The FCDO undertake a number of internal audits on key areas to ensure compliance, including waste management, emergency preparedness, catering, transport, wood, and metal workshops. We are also working to improve performance of our data centres to ensure they achieve the EU Code of Conduct standards, delivering a 21st century platform for the FCDO, reducing operating costs and improving the environmental efficiency of our estate.

Greening Government Commitments

All UK Government departments have determined GGC targets for their UK operations, setting out the actions departments and their agencies will take to reduce their impacts on the environment. the FCDO’s GGC targets cover the FCDO’s two joint headquarters – King Charles Street in London and Abercrombie House in East Kilbride, in addition to sites in 22 Whitehall, Lancaster House and Carlton Gardens in London, Hanslope Park in Milton Keynes and Wilton Park in Sussex. Although FCDO Services (split between Hanslope Park and King Charles Street) and Wilton Park are Executive Agencies with their own Annual Reports and Accounts, all of Wilton Park’s and most of FCDO Services’ sustainability impacts are included in the figures in this report, because they are included in the FCDO’s GGC targets. Currently FCDO Services’ Wider Market impacts are not included, as the GGC Exemption Panel decided in 2012 to 2013 that they should be exempted from the scope.

As part of the GGCs, we are currently reviewing the reporting scope and targets, as well as re-baselining based on 2017 to 2018 environmental performance. The FCDO’s headline performance against the GGC are set out in the table below.

Greening Government Commitment	2009‑10 Combined Baseline	2020‑21 Target	2020‑21 Performance	Performance
Greenhouse Gases	23,065 tCO2e	11,533 tCO2e Aiming for 50% reduction	6,111 tCO2e	Exceeding 2020-21 Target
Domestic Flights	4,345 flights	3,041 flights, Aiming for 30% reduction	347 flights	Exceeding 2020-21 Target
Waste Production	1,533 tonnes of waste	Aiming for continuous reduction	313 tonnes	Exceeding 2020-21 Target
Recycling	58% of waste recycled	Aiming for continuous reduction	55% of waste recycled	Behind 2020-21 Target
Paper Consumption	38,930 reams of A4 equivalent	19,465 reams of A4e, Aiming for 50% reduction	1,573 reams of A4e	Exceeding 2020-21 Target
Water	74,825m3	Aiming for continuous reduction	33,530 m3 reduction	Exceeding 2020-21 Target

^{[footnote 12]}

Section 2: Greenhouse gas emissions

Prior to the impacts from COVID-19, the FCDO achieved the GGC target on greenhouse gas emissions early. Greenhouse gas emissions in the UK estate fell by a further 32% in 2020 to 2021 – resulting in a 74% total reduction since the baseline year of 2009-10. The table below provides headline greenhouse gas emission consumption figures and costs associated to the FCDO’s UK operations in scope for 2020 to 2021.

Greenhouse Gas Emissions Consumption
2020‑21		kWh‑Miles	tCO2e	GBP (£)
Greenhouse Gases	Electricity	17,791,054	4,504	£3,494,389
	Gas	2,015,396	370	£57,912
	Heating Oil	2,116,409	383	£34,911
	Biomass	160,754	2	£2,546
	Biodiesel	805,017	161	£78,614
	Whitehall District Heating Scheme	1,851,944	492	£441,324
	Fugitive	–	39	–
	Domestic flights	77,144	16	£55,190
	Train	50,064	3	£15,621
	Private Mileage	262,982	86	£101,070
	Fleet	418,080	123	–
	Car Services	1,159	0.4	£37,078
	Car Hire	106,305	31	£37,077
	Taxis	27,319	6	£47,243
Totals:
Emissions by	Scope 1 (Energy Direct)	–	978	–
	Scope 2 (Energy Indirect)	–	4,640	–
	Scope 3 (Other Indirect)	–	493	–

^{[footnote 13]}

Greening Government Commitments: Progress Against Greenhouse Gas Emissions Consumption

Greenhouse Gas Emissions by scope (tCO2e)^{[footnote 14]}

Domestic flights

The table below provides headline domestic UK flight data for 2020 to 2021.

Domestic flights		2020 to 2021 Number of flights
Total domestic flights		347
Non-financial indicator	Domestic UK air miles	77,144 miles
	Carbon (tCO2e)	16 tonnes CO2e

Greening Government Commitments: Progress Against Domestic Flights Target

In 2020 to 2021, our number of domestic flights decreased by 93% compared with 2019-20, resulting in a 92% total reduction since the baseline year of 2009-10. This downward trajectory was due to COVID-19 and associated travel restrictions.

The FCDO is committed to reducing the number of UK domestic flights and as operations return to more normal working practices, we aim to increase the availability of information on travel, giving staff the skills and knowledge required to execute behavioural changes. With senior management also promoting a Smarter Working environment, we aim to provide the environmental and social context required to encourage and promote these behaviour changes.

Our new GGCs will set domestic flight mileage reduction targets and we will work with our Green Champions and Green Team networks to raise awareness of individuals’ carbon footprint and drive behavioural changes throughout the organisation. Our current travel policies strongly encourage staff to travel by rail, and the FCDO is aiming to reduce travel emissions further and only take flights by exception for UK domestic journeys. In addition, we are working to further develop our management information to help increase FCDO departments’ accountability for how they travel, and further drive the behavioural changes required to continue improving our travel habits. We will use our learning from COVID-19 to continue to increase the use of video conferencing facilities, introduce new technology and ways of working with Office 365 capabilities and promote Smarter Working to encourage collaboration between different locations, without the need for travel.

Section 3: Waste management and minimisation

The table below provides headline waste disposal figures and costs across the FCDO’s UK operations for 2020 to 2021.

Waste	2020‑21 Tonnes	Financial Indicator
Total waste	313	£164,246
Hazardous waste	39	£10,152
Total waste by method of disposal	Recycled – Reused - 172	£50,686
	Landfill - 3	£2,706
	Waste incinerated with energy recovery - 123	£90,355
	Waste incinerated without energy recovery - 13	£10,347

Greening Government Commitments: Water Reduction Process

Waste Disposal (Tonnes)

The FCDO’s overall waste tonnage has decreased by 79% since the 2009 to 2010 baseline, meeting the GGC target to improve our waste management by reducing the overall amount of waste generated. The FCDO continues to aim for zero waste to landfill, increase recycling rates and reduce the overall waste produce from FCDO operations.

In 2020 to 2021, the FCDO recycled 55% of waste, remaining consistent with waste recycled in 2019 to 2020. Our ambitious target to recycle 75% of overall waste produced, has continued to challenge us. Due to the decrease in overall waste produced, the percentage of recyclable waste has continued to reduce (including paper reduction). Our new GGCs will continue to set ambitious targets to increase the proportion of waste which is recycled. As we return to more normal working practices, we will work to improve the way we stream, segregate and recycle waste and undertake significant communications campaigns to educate and inform staff on the importance of good waste management practices in line with the waste hierarchy.

Single-use plastics – #BeyondPlastic

December this year saw the closure of our #BeyondPlastic campaign. In 2018 we began working to eliminate Avoidable Single-Use Plastic (ASUP) from the UK estate by the end of 2018, with the ambition to eliminate ASUPs from our overseas estate by the end of 2020. Our initial focus on the UK estate and the way in which it is managed meant that we achieved 90% of our target by the end of 2018, well before the advent of COVID-19. We noted the impacts of COVID-19 on efforts to remove ASUPs overseas, this time last year. Looking back, we were optimistic that we would soon return to something akin to normal working conditions and so continue our efforts to eliminate ASUPs. However, the continued global threat of COVID-19 over the past twelve months has seen our staff at posts working in very different and innovative ways, often from home. As a result, there are fewer people in our buildings and when they are, Health and Safety concerns are paramount. As in the public realm, this has meant a move away from “reuse-culture” and an increase in plastic disposables, cleaning products and PPE as a necessity. While our progress may have been temporarily impeded, we have achieved a great deal.

In the UK, by working closely with our Facilities Management (FM) supplier we broke new ground; from introducing a ‘latte levy’ (encouraging the use of reusable cups in our catering outlets), to working to remove the obvious single-use plastic such as plastic cups, as well as the more surprising plastic in teabags. Since 2018 we have removed two million items of ASUP annually in the UK. We are very proud that our Sustainability Team were recognised with two industry awards in 2019 for their work on eliminating ASUPs in the UK.

Overseas, we provided a Toolkit to help each mission plan its own approach to eliminating ASUPs taking into account local culture and conditions. We set up our “Kickstarter Fund” which provided small amounts of seed funding and advice to support local initiatives to remove ASUPs. Since 2018, this has led to 1.2 million reported items of ASUP eliminated annually by 95 posts using the Kickstarter Fund, and 68 posts declaring themselves to be ASUP-free.

Taking demonstrable action like the #BeyondPlastic campaign, gives our Embassies and High Commissions a platform to engage with host governments, local authorities and businesses on a range of, in this case, environmental issues – sometimes with unexpected results:

A beach clean by our Embassy in Tunis ultimately led to them brokering an agreement with the Government of Tunisia, ABTA (the Travel Association, formerly known as the Association of British Travel Agents), tour operators (Tui and Thomas Cook) and the local municipality on reducing single use plastics, responsibly disposing of and recycling waste, thereby supporting local economies and the cleanliness of public spaces.

In the Dominican Republic our Embassy, working with a local NGO, was able to share our “how to” toolkit with 80,000 Small and Medium Enterprises across the country.

Perhaps the greatest success that has come out of the last three years has been the enthusiasm and commitment of colleagues across both legacy FCDO departments in the UK and overseas. That enthusiasm remains high throughout the 300 “Champions” we have around the globe as does their commitment to continue removing ASUPs when and where they can. Pursuing the elimination of ASUPs also provided us with an opportunity to give free reign to our creative side – here are some examples:

There remains work to do, we continue to work on our procurement and supply chains to eliminate ASUPs at source. Many Embassies are still to complete the final stages of their journey to be ASUP-free. And, of course, we remain vigilant for new opportunities to remove ASUPs where it wasn’t previously possible.

Although the campaign may have ended, it has achieved its true goal of embedding an awareness of ASUP into daily behaviours. Eliminating ASUPs from our estate will remain a pillar of the FCDO’s global sustainability work in the future. In the UK, the elimination of ASUPs formally becomes part of the Greening Government Commitments from April 2021 and will be reported on annually in future versions of this report.

Paper

Paper consumption	2020‑21 A4 equivalent
Total paper consumption	1,573

Greening Government Commitments: Progress Against Paper Consumption

Paper Consumption (Reams of A4 equivalent)

The table below provides headline paper consumption figures and costs across the FCDO’s operations for 2020 to 2021.

Prior to the impacts from COVID-19, the FCDO achieved the GGC target on paper reduction early. The FCDO’s overall paper usage has decreased by a further 91% in 2020-21, which makes a 97% total reduction against the 2009 to 2010 baseline.

The reduction in paper usage since 2017 to 2018 has been achieved due to departmental printer rationalisation projects, staff education and awareness campaigns. The rollout of new technology, including Office 365 has enabled collaboration online and reduced the need to print. 2020 to 2021 also saw more people working remotely than ever before, printing FCDO documents at home is not permitted which led to a further decrease in paper consumption in 2020 to 2021.

Section 4: Water Consumption

The table below provides headline water consumption figures and costs across the FCDO’s UK operations for 2020 to 2021.

Finite Resource Consumption: water		2020 to 2021 cubic metres	Financial Indicator
Total consumption	supplied	33,530	£154,592
Office water consumption	supplied	22,127	£117,581
	Abstracted	0	0
Non‑office water consumption	supplied	11,403	£37,011
	Abstracted	0	0

Greening government commitments: progress against water target

Total office water consumption (m3)

The FCDO’s overall water usage decreased by 44% in 2020 to 2021, which makes a total 55% decrease since the 2009 to 2010 baseline.

Prior to the impacts from COVID-19, the FCDO’s offices in King Charles Street, Hanslope Park and Abercrombie House were on target to meet the GGC reduction target. However, since 2016 to 2017 water usage in 22 Whitehall has continued to rise due to exceptional weather during recent summers and as a result, we were required to have 24-hour usage of water to enable the cool condenser units in the patch rooms to function. Due to the limited office use in 2020 to 2021, 22 Whitehall water consumption reduced by 77% compared to 2019 to 2020. The replacement heating and cooling system in 22 Whitehall, should result in lower carbon consumption and less water use, as operations return to normal working practices.

Section 5: Normalised performance

Overview

Impact per full time equivalent (FTE)	2020‑21	2019‑20	2018‑19	2017‑18
Greenhouse gas emissions	0.72 tonnes of CO2e per FTE	1.07 tonnes of CO2e per FTE	1.24 tonnes of CO2e per FTE	1.61 tonnes of CO2e per FTE
Waste arising	37kg per FTE	94kg per FTE	92kg per FTE	91kg per FTE
Paper consumption	0.19 reams of A4e per FTE	2.05 reams of A4e per FTE	2.67 reams of A4e per FTE	3.7 reams of A4e per FTE
Office water consumption	4.10 cubic meters	7.34 cubic meters per FTE	7.99 cubic meters per FTE	8.66 cubic meters per FTE

To allow comparison between years and organisations, the following table normalises sustainability impacts by staff numbers. Due to the impacts COVID-19 had on changes to our ways of working and office use, the FCDO has carried forward 2019-20’s combined UK estate occupancy Full Time Equivalent (FTE) staff number. As we re-baseline and develop new ways of working, we will work with cross-government departments to develop an accurate occupancy FTE. For the purposes of GGC reporting, the UK estate occupancy FTE is 8,424 and the Office FTE for the reduced scope consumption targets is 8,173.

Section 6: The Global Picture

Overview

The FCDO global estate and footprint plays a significant role in our global fight against climate change. We are committed to leading by example and reducing the environmental impact of our own operations and to minimise our contribution to climate change. At present, there is a lack of sufficiently granular data to be able to report fully on our global impacts. As part of our endeavours to ensure our global operations are managed towards becoming net zero by 2050 or earlier, we are aiming to reduce worldwide energy use by at least 20% from a 2019-20 baseline, by March 2025.

Significant modernisation of our overseas estate will help reduce carbon emissions through replacing end of life infrastructure, moving to modern offices and investing in cleaner energy that will also drive down costs.

Fleet

The FCDO is committed to the Department for Transport’s Government Fleet Commitment (GFC) as set out in its Road to Zero strategy. This requires 25% of all qualifying vehicles comprising Government fleets in the UK to be Ultra Low Emission Vehicles by 2022 and for that figure to be 100% by 2030. Our UK fleet is supplied and managed by FCDO Services and we are working closely with them to develop a strategy to meet the GFC. Progress will be reported in future iterations of the Greening Government Commitments.

Applying similar principles to our overseas fleet is an important component of the FCDO’s Net Zero strategy. Accordingly, the FCDO has adopted a policy mandating Low Emission Vehicles (LEV) as the default option when replacing any of its overseas non-armoured fleet vehicles. In future, any non-armoured vehicle considered for purchase must not produce emissions exceeding 75g CO2/km and be capable of travelling 16km with zero emissions as a minimum. Best practice is for vehicles to meet the Office for Low Emission Vehicles standard for Ultra Low Emissions of no more than 50g CO2/km. The only exceptions are strictly where local conditions, or the intended use of the vehicle, make an electric or hybrid vehicle impractical. Given the wide variation of markets and infrastructure around the world, we have committed to transitioning as much of our non-armoured overseas fleet as possible to fully electric vehicles by 2030. Our interim goal is for 25% of flag and 50% of non-flag fleet vehicles to be LEVs by 2025.

To date, the FCDO has 62 LEV vehicles across its overseas fleet. In 2019-20, 30 flag cars had been replaced with LEVs. We now have 40 LEV flag cars, which represents 28% of all flag vehicles. The remainder of the fleet contains 22 LEVs accounting for 2% of vehicles – we expect to double this in the next 12 months ^{[footnote 15]}.

Global Travel

The FCDO is mindful that global business travel is a significant part of our environmental impacts. Data from our official UK travel providers shows the domestic flights reported through Greening Government Commitments accounted for just 1.88% of total flights booked through our UK official travel providers. In line with the new GGCs, the FCDO is committed to reporting distance travelled via all business flights for staff in the UK, with an aim to reduce emissions and increase staff engagement.

Financial Year, will begin to provide us with granular data on our flight spend and emissions for staff based overseas. This will allow for more detailed analysis to inform internal discussions on how to reduce travel emissions and raise awareness of individuals’ carbon footprint.

Section 7: Sustainable Procurement

The introduction of a global travel supplier, which will start rolling out in the next granular data on our flight spend and emissions for staff based overseas. This will allow for more detailed analysis to inform internal discussions on how to reduce travel emissions and raise awareness of individuals’ carbon footprint.

Post-merger, FCDO Commercial has been aligning processes and procedures whilst continuing to develop and embed Category Management, Contract Management, and relevant policy delivery in Commercial activity. After participating in the development of Social Value Procurement Policy, FCDO Commercial is now implementing social value in all its over threshold programme and corporate contracts, regardless of location and capturing lessons learned in our Category Management programme to ensure future procurements address environmental considerations, amongst other Social Value themes. We have begun to mobilise in readiness for the instruction from Cabinet Office to leverage our Procurement to implement a Carbon Net Zero Policy across our Supply Chains.

The FCDO Supply Partner Code of Conduct (the code) for all development programmes is an integral and binding part of standard contract terms and conditions. These conditions set high but realistic standards for ethical and safeguarding behaviour, social responsibility, and value for money from the supply partners who deliver FCDO funded contracts. Since September 2017, the code has been integral to legacy DFID contracts and is now incorporated in all new FCDO contracts.

Compliance with the code within the FCDO is monitored by a specialist commercial team. Full compliance and annual verification are mandatory for supply partners and commits them to key performance indicators in 6 priority areas, including:

value for money and governance
ethical behaviour
transparency and delivery chain management
environmental issues
terrorism and security
safeguarding, social responsibility and human rights, including safeguarding against sexual exploitation, abuse and harassment

Supply partners and their delivery chains act on behalf of the UK Government and interact globally with country governments, other aid donors and their delivery partners, many stakeholders, including citizens, and directly and indirectly with aid beneficiaries. These interactions must therefore, meet the highest standards of ethical and professional behaviour in order to uphold the reputation of the UK Government.

Supply partners must demonstrate that they are pursuing continuous improvement and applying stringent financial management and governance to reduce waste and improve efficiency in their internal operations and within the delivery chain.

Supply partners must be committed to high environmental standards, recognising that FCDO activities may change the way people use and rely on the environment, or may affect or be affected by environmental conditions. They must demonstrate they have taken sufficient steps to protect the local environment and community they work in, and to identify environmental risks that are imminent, significant or could cause harm or reputational damage to the FCDO, or the communities we work in.

Commitment to environmental sustainability is not limited to, but may be demonstrated by:

formal environmental safeguard policies
publication of environmental performance reports
signatory level membership of the UN Global Compact and further relevant codes, both directly and within the supply chain such as conventions, standards or certification bodies
Carbon Reduction Plans develop for all projects over £5 million

Across its locations in the UK and its 300 plus overseas offices the FCDO buys a wide range of goods, services and works. Including servicing the overseas ‘platform’ for several other Government Departments and this includes procuring goods, services and works to support their activities overseas.

The Commercial department works closely with the FCDO Sustainability Operations Team to support their Environmental Management System and ensure associated accreditation to ISO 14001 is continued, and the Greening Government Commitments are addressed. The latter manifested in collaborating to reduce FCDO greenhouse gas emissions from Estate, Travel and the vehicle fleet.
In collaboration with Arup Consulting, the FCDO Corporate Commercial Team are awarding a range of contracts to support the UN Climate Change Conference UK 2021. The event has a high level of Sustainability ambition, including achieving ISO 20121 and being carbon neutral.

The COP26 Sustainable Procurement Policy has been developed to support compliance with these aspirations and to provide a Framework to support supply chain compliance for venues, event production, accommodation, transport, security and ICT. The Team are also ensuring that Event Suppliers maintain the focus on Sustainability in their subsequent contracts and the Event sets the benchmark for sustainability on all future UK Government events. Locally, lessons learned will also be accommodated in FCDO Procurement practice.

FCDO Commercial Regional Procurement Hubs are leveraging overseas contracts to deliver policy. Evaluation criteria used for the procurement of Cleaning Services gives Suppliers the opportunity to propose environmentally friendly practices and products. Where market conditions allow, the European Hub is implementing a Green Energy Policy to transition the British Embassies they service to use at least 50% energy sourced from green energy sources.

Section 8: Broader Impacts

Climate change adaptation

The FCDO is mindful of the risks posed by climate change and has robust plans in place to manage occurrences of extreme weather events. In addition to operational considerations, FCDO policy and programming is aiming to align resources to the Government’s international priorities including climate and biodiversity. The FCDO is clear about the need to consider sustainability and resilience in our programming on possible future shocks, including political, economic, security, environmental, social and climatic.

Biodiversity and natural environment

Our offices in Abercrombie House and Hanslope Park, offer the opportunity for the FCDO to maintain biodiversity and encourage habitats and local plant species in contrast to our offices in King Charles Street and 22 Whitehall in central London. Hanslope Park is a 44-acre site and although not specifically located in a protection area, there is inherent natural capital supporting a breadth and depth of flora and fauna. Continuous management is undertaken in Hanslope Park to plant trees and maintain the pond and wildflower meadow. The introduction of the Abercrombie House Gardening Group has inspired staff engagement in the natural environment and encouraged more insects, wildlife, and birdlife around Abercrombie House. In line with the new GGCs, the FCDO is committed to setting targets for the UK estate to improve nature through developing and delivering Nature Recovery Plans.

Procurement of food and catering services

The FCDO’s in-house catering provisions, through the cross-government cluster contract arrangement, strive to meet and embed the Government Buying Standards (GBS) for food and catering services.

We continue to work closely with the FCDO’s facilities management contractors to enhance the sustainability of our operations and manage these to Net Zero.

Sustainable construction

The FCDO adheres to sustainable construction standards with all construction following the Government Buying Standards (GBS), ensuring environmental sustainability is considered. The FCDO continues to support the UK Government’s Timber Procurement Policy, procuring through supply chains that are committed to sourcing timber responsibly. Construction waste has decreased significantly in the last year, due to COVID-19.

Additional sustainability initiatives

In addition to improving our operational activity, the FCDO is taking further steps to engage staff in various initiatives to improve the impact of our activities, see examples of these below:

Smarter working

The FCDO remains a strong advocate for Smarter Working, in line with the cross-government programme. The changes to the physical workspace within headquarter offices has maximised available space and provided a range of different work zones to suit different ways of working and activities. This is supported by improved technology and culture change, to support flexible and collaborative working.

The rollout of Office 365 has enabled collaborative working between different locations, without the need for travel, which is helping reduce individuals’ carbon footprint. It is also reducing the need to print and or use, paper. The impacts of COVID-19 has resulted in increased use of technology and there are lessons we can take from our experience of COVID-19 and our ways of working, to embed greener behaviours as we build back better.

Green teams

The FCDO has a network of enthusiastic, change seeking Green Teams who globally champion environmental sustainability and encourage innovative ideas and try new tools and ideas to help improve our environmental performance. The work of our Green Teams has helped ensure everyone has access to learn and share best environmental practice and helped create a shift in behavioural changes to champion sustainability in day-to-day ways of working. Our focus for 2021 to 2022 will be to work further with our Green Teams to raise awareness and embed the new Greening Government Commitments and global targets.

Liftshare

In October 2018, the introduction of ‘Liftshare’ in Abercrombie House enabled an online car sharing platform designed to make car sharing arrangements easier. The introduction of Liftshare has reduced the number of cars travelling to and from our estate and has helped cut congestion and reduced pollution. Since 2018, an estimated 2,933,965 miles, and 646 tonnes of CO2 have been saved. In 2020-21, COVID-19 restrictions and changes in our office use resulted in a decreased use of Liftshare. Our staff engagement campaign will help staff understand the impact of their choices and encourage and promote sustainable commuting choices, as operations return to normal working practice.

Sir Philip Barton KCMG OBE Accounting Officer for the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office 17 September 2021

Question 5

2.1   Corporate Governance Report

Accepted Answer

This section of the Annual Report and Accounts sets out the FCDO’s corporate governance structures in 2020 to 2021, including membership of, and attendance at, the top‑level Boards and Committees across the Financial Year. Detail on the roles and responsibilities of each Board and Committee is also provided, as well as how risk is managed through these structures. The section concludes with an outline of the FCDO’s internal control and assurance process, how we manage interests and business appointments and a summary of our Arm’s Length Bodies (ALBs).

A new governance structure was established in 2020 to 2021, following the creation of the FCDO in September 2020. This governance structure is fundamental to the smooth running of the department, as it provides a platform for effective and objective challenge to be aired across different levels.

FCDO Senior Management

FCDO Ministers in 2020 to 2021

^{[footnote 16]}

Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs and First Secretary of State: The Rt Hon Dominic Raab MP

The Foreign Secretary has overall responsibility for the work of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office.

Minister of State (Minister for Asia): Nigel Adams MP

Responsibilities include: East Asia and South East Asia, economic diplomacy, trade, Economics Unit, Prosperity Fund, soft power (including British Council, BBC World Service and Scholarships), Third Country agreements and consular.

Minister of State (Minister for South Asia and the Commonwealth): Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

Responsibilities include: South Asia, Caribbean, Overseas Territories and Polar regions, the Commonwealth, the United Nations and international bodies (including the International Criminal Court (ICC)), governance, democracy, open societies and anti-corruption, human rights (including as the Prime Minister’s Special Representative on Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict), modern slavery, treaty policy and practice, sanctions, protocol, FCDO Services and departmental operations (including human resources, finance and commercial, estates, security and knowledge and technology).

Minister of State (Minister for Middle East and North Africa): The Rt Hon James Cleverly MP

Responsibilities include: Conflict, humanitarian issues, human security, the Conflict, Stability and Security Fund (CSSF), counter terrorism, defence and international security, Middle East and North Africa, migration, Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe and Council of Europe, safeguarding, Stabilisation Unit, Women, Peace and Security.

Minister of State (Minister for Pacific and Environment): The Rt Hon Lord Goldsmith

Responsibilities include: Climate change, environment and conservation, biodiversity, oceans, Oceania and Blue Belt.

Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Minister for European Neighbourhood and the Americas): Wendy Morton MP

Responsibilities include: East and SouthEast Europe, Central Asia, Americas, health, global health security, neglected tropical diseases, water and sanitation, nutrition, Global Fund, Gavi (the Vaccine Alliance), gender equality, sexual and reproductive health and rights, children, youth and education and inclusive societies.

Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Minister for Africa): James Duddridge MP

Responsibilities include: Sub-Saharan Africa, economic development, International Financial Institutions, the CDC Group, research and evidence.

Legacy DFID, Legacy FCO and FCDO Special Advisers

FCDO Special Advisers: Beth Armstrong, Simon Finkelstein, Robert Oxley, William Sweet, Sally Rushton

FCO Special Advisers: Beth Armstrong, Simon Finkelstein, Robert Oxley

DFID Special Advisers: Will Holloway, William Sweet

Directors’ Report

Elements of the statutory requirements of the Directors’ Report are detailed in the Governance Statement from page 79. These include:

details of the senior management team
name of the permanent head and

Accounting Officer

names of the Non-Executive Directors
composition of the Management Board
details of company directorships and other significant interests held by senior management
information on personal data related incidents where these have been formally reported to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO)

Statement of Accounting Officer’s Responsibilities

Under the Government Resources and Accounts Act 2000 (‘GRAA’), HM Treasury has directed the FCDO to prepare consolidated resource accounts, for each Financial Year, detailing the resources acquired, held or disposed of, and the use of resources, during the year by the department (inclusive of its executive agencies) and its sponsored nondepartmental public bodies designated by order, made under the GRAA by Statutory Instrument 2021 No. 265 (together known as the ‘departmental group’, consisting of the department and sponsored bodies listed at note 17 to the accounts). The accounts are prepared on an accruals basis and must give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the department and the departmental group and of the income and expenditure, Statement of Financial Position, and cash flows of the departmental group for the Financial Year.

In preparing the accounts, the Accounting Officer of the department is required to comply with the requirements of the Government Financial Reporting Manual and in particular to:

observe the Accounts Direction issued by the Treasury, including the relevant accounting and disclosure requirements, and apply suitable accounting policies on a consistent basis
ensure the department has in place appropriate and reliable systems and procedures to carry out the consolidation process
make judgements and estimates on a reasonable basis, including those judgements involved in consolidating the accounting information provided by nondepartmental public bodies
state whether applicable accounting standards as set out in the Government Financial Reporting Manual have been followed, and disclose and explain any material departures in the accounts
prepare the accounts on a going concern basis
confirm that the Annual Report and Accounts as a whole is fair, balanced, and understandable and take personal responsibility for the Annual Report and Accounts and the judgements required for determining that it is fair, balanced, and understandable

HM Treasury has appointed the Permanent Under-Secretary as Accounting Officer of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office. The Accounting Officer of the department has also appointed the Chief Executives or equivalents of its sponsored non-departmental public bodies as Accounting Officers of those bodies. The Accounting Officer of the department is responsible for ensuring that appropriate systems and controls are in place to ensure that any grants that the department makes to its sponsored bodies, are applied for the purposes intended and that such expenditure and the other income and expenditure of the sponsored bodies are properly accounted for, for the purposes of consolidation within the resource accounts. Under their terms of appointment, the Accounting Officers of the sponsored bodies are accountable for the use, including the regularity and propriety, of the grants received and the other income and expenditure of the sponsored bodies. The responsibilities of an Accounting Officer, including responsibility for the propriety and regularity of the public finances for which the Accounting Officer is answerable, for keeping proper records and for safeguarding the assets of the department or non-departmental public body for which the Accounting Officer is responsible, are set out in ‘Managing Public Money’ published by HM Treasury.

The FCDO was created administratively around the new Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs (SoSFCDA), upon his appointment on 2 September 2020, and the functions of the former Secretaries of State for the FCO and DFID entrusted to the new Secretary of State. The Transfer of Functions (Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs) Order 2020 No. 942 was made during the Privy Council meeting on 2 September 2020 and came into force on 30 September 2020. The Order gives legal personality to the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, enabling him to enter into contracts and hold property in the name of SoSFCDA, and gives legal effect to the transfer of the functions, and the rights and liabilities of the former Secretaries of State to the new Secretary of State.

Statement on the disclosure of relevant audit information

As the FCDO Accounting Officer, I have taken all the steps that I ought to have taken to make myself aware of any relevant audit information and to establish that the FCDO’s auditors are aware of that information. So far as I am aware, there is no relevant audit information of which the auditors are unaware. I also confirm that this Annual Report and Accounts as a whole is fair, balanced, and understandable and that I take personal responsibility for the Annual Report and Accounts and the judgments required for determining that it is fair, balanced, and understandable.

Some of this Governance Statement relates to a period when I was not the Accounting Officer. My predecessors, Lord (Simon) McDonald’s and Mr Nick Dyer’s tenure as Permanent Under-Secretary of the former FCO and Acting Permanent Secretary of the former DFID ended on 1 September 2020.

In the period between my appointment and Lord (Simon) McDonald and Mr Nick Dyer stepping down, I received appropriate assurances that the systems of internal control were sound and effective prior to my appointment as Accounting Officer. Therefore, I consider that I have sufficient knowledge and have had sufficient involvement to take responsibility for this statement.

Governance Statement

Accounting Officer’s Foreword Sir Philip Robert Barton, KCMG OBE

Through an extraordinary and difficult year, the work of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office has continued unabated. In many cases working remotely from kitchen tables and spare bedrooms around the world, we have led Her Majesty’s Government’s international work to promote the UK, protect our security and build a fairer, more sustainable and more prosperous future for all. COVID-19 has affected all aspects of life in the UK and around the world. I am proud of what we have achieved: the UK has been at the forefront of the global response.

As this report highlights, the FCDO has undertaken an ambitious transformation programme to deliver the benefits of an integrated international department, as quickly as possible. The new structure of the department has been determined, new directors are in place and all deputy directors in the UK are leading integrated teams. Overseas, Heads of Mission have been empowered and country priorities have been set out in cross-Government country plans.

We have put inclusion and diversity at the heart of the new department, with Board Level Sponsors identified for key themes and a detailed consultation on a new Inclusion Framework. I am delighted that we now have female ambassadors in all G7, P5 and Five Eyes countries, as well as NATO and the United Nations.

The two departments were already working closely together on a number of issues when the formation of the FCDO was announced in June 2020. The new, combined department unites our development and diplomatic priorities, to achieve greater impact.

The establishment of joint governance through a Joint Executive Committee and a Joint Transformation Board in June 2020 provided the outgoing Accounting Officers with an effective governance structure to ensure a smooth transition. From my appointment in early August 2020 until I started as Accounting Officer, I was in regular contact with the outgoing DFID and FCO Accounting Officers and instrumental in making key design choices as the structures for the new department and its governance were developed.

The FCDO’s first six months saw some significant achievements:

using the UK’s presidency of the UN Security Council to drive progress on global access to vaccines and to call for local ceasefires across the globe, to allow the delivery of vaccines to some of the world’s most vulnerable people
committing £1.65 billion over the next five years to support Gavi to immunise 300 million children and save up to 8 million lives
providing catch-up programmes for 300,000 girls in low-income countries, following COVID-19 school closures
the Foreign Secretary launched a Famine Prevention Call to Action in September 2020 combining the best of FCDO’s aid expertise and humanitarian diplomacy to address the rising risk of famine across the world. Sustained UK efforts have helped to mobilise additional funding to support the world’s most vulnerable countries, including the doubling of World Bank Early Response Financing from US$500 million to US$1 billion to support countries facing increased food security risks in taking early action
strengthening our ties with key partners on defence, security, trade and investment including in the Indo-Pacific region and the Biden Administration
uniting the UN Security Council to make clear that Aung San Suu Kyi must be released, and democratic institutions restored in Myanmar
unveiling a new Anti-Corruption sanctions regime which enables the UK to stop corrupt actors profiting from the UK economy and exploiting our citizens
2020 saw considerable progress on climate, culminating in 75 leaders making ambitious commitments at the Climate Ambition Summit on 12 December

The summit was co-convened by the United Nations, the United Kingdom and France in partnership with Chile and Italy:

leading preparations for a vibrant return to multilateral diplomacy and a co-ordinated response to some of the most pressing issues, as the UK took over the Presidency of the G7 at the start of 2021

In the last five months of the Department for International Development, a substantial amount of Official Development Assistance was redirected towards the effort to tackle COVID-19, including £250 million to the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) to develop a COVID-19 vaccine. The UK committed up to £829 million for the research, development and distribution of vaccines, treatments and tests, including a £500 million commitment to COVAX in support of the provision of vaccines to low and lower-middle income countries. We also hosted – virtually – a Global Vaccine Summit to shore up sustained support for Gavi – the Vaccine Alliance. During this time, representatives from 52 countries pledged US$8.8 billion to help Gavi continue the fight against infectious diseases globally, including COVID-19 with the UK leading the way.

Over the same period, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office responded to the pandemic by successfully delivering a global repatriation charter operation bringing back over 38,000 people to the UK from 57 different countries and territories. Staff worked around the clock to keep hubs and transit routes open and to provide consular assistance to those most in need, enabling 1.3 million British nationals to return via commercial routes, of whom we estimate 132,000 were on flights directly assisted by the UK Government. Extensive effort also went into ensuring that travel advice was as up to date as possible, in the rapidly evolving pandemic.

The department delivered a significant component of EU Exit work during the transition period: leading three of the six Specialised Committees established by the Withdrawal Agreement and forming part of the negotiations on the Trade and Cooperation Agreement. A £4 million support fund to assist British nationals living in the EU was established alongside a public information campaign to raise UK nationals’ awareness of how to secure their rights under the Withdrawal Agreement. This work continued after the creation of the FCDO, with the new department playing a key role in the cross-Government operation, to anticipate and respond to disruption for British citizens and businesses at the end of the transition period.

As Accounting Officer, I am responsible for ensuring that the department has an effective governance framework that provides strategic direction and management of the organisation.

In particular, I am responsible for overseeing delivery of ministerial strategic and policy priorities; ensuring accountability and delivery of efficient and effective organisational performance; and ensuring that the supporting governance systems function as they are designed to – securing value for money and managing risk.

The FCDO’s Corporate Governance Structure

FCDO Non-Executive Directors

New FCDO Non-Executive Directors were appointed for a term of three years, bringing in external expertise and challenge.

Baroness Helena Morrissey: Lead Non‑Executive Director

Appointed as Lead Non-Executive Director at the FCO on 27 July 2020. Helena transferred to Lead Non-Executive Director at the FCDO in September 2020. Helena sits on the Supervisory Board. She is Chair of the Staff Advisory Board and attends the Management Board and Strategy Committee. She has over three decades’ experience in the financial services sector and is well-known for her work on inclusion and diversity. In 2010, she founded the 30% Club, a business-led campaign for better gender-balanced boards. There are now eighteen 30% Clubs throughout the world. Helena’s current roles include Non-Executive Director and Chair-Designate at AJ Bell, Chair of The Diversity Project, Advisory Board member at Edelman and Fellow (Governor) at Eton College. Helena was previously Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Newton Investment Management and Chair of the Investment Association, the UK investment industry’s trade body.

John Coffey: Non‑Executive Director

Appointed as Non-Executive Director on 21 September 2020. John sits on the Supervisory Board. He is Chair of the FCDO Audit and Risk Assurance Committee and attends the Management Board and Investment Committee. John has four decades’ experience in the financial services sector and is a member of the Institute of Directors and Treasurer at Burnham-OnCrouch Royal National Lifeboat Institution. John’s previous roles include Executive Director Chief Risk Officer and Executive Director Technology and Operations of FCE Bank plc and Managing Director of Ford Credit Britain. John has held other Board roles within the Ford Group as well as Forso Nordic AB in Scandinavia.

Beverley Tew: Non‑Executive Director

Appointed as Non-Executive Director on 1 October 2020, Beverley sits on the Supervisory Board. She attends the Management Board, Delivery Committee and the Audit and Risk Assurance Committee. Beverley has over three decades’ experience as a chief financial officer and commercial leader in the public and private sectors. Beverley’s current roles include Trustee and member of the Audit Committee of Plan International (UK), Crown Representative at the Crown Commercial Service (Cabinet Office), Trustee and Audit Committee Chair of the Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply, Trustee at Teentech and Audit Committee member at the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA). Beverley was Finance Vice President at Burberry until 31 March 2021 and prior to that Group Chief Financial Officer (CFO) at the BBC. She qualified as a Chartered Accountant (Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales) with EY. She has also worked in the children’s charity sector for over 15 years.

Ann Cormack: Non‑Executive Director

Appointed on 2 October 2020, Ann sits on the Supervisory Board and attends the Transformation Board, Management Board, Senior Leadership Board and People Committee. Ann spent the first twenty years of her career in front-line business executive roles at Shell International, latterly running Shell’s global internal consultancy B2B team and the European Fleet Fuel Cards business. Ann’s current roles include Council Member and Trustee of Chatham House, the Royal Institute for International Affairs. Ann’s previous roles include Executive Head of Human Resources at De Beers, Director International at Rolls-Royce plc, CEO D1-BP Fuel Crops Ltd and Managing Director of the Small Business Service (UK Department of Trade and Industry).

DFID Non‑Executive Directors

Marc Bolland, Lead Non-Executive Director: July 2018 to 31 August 2020

Alan Johnson, Non-Executive Director: July 2018 to 1 September 2020

Sally Jones-Evans, Non-Executive Director: September 2016 to 1 September 2020

FCO Non‑Executive Directors

Miranda Curtis, Lead Non-Executive Director: April 2017 to 30 June 2020

Gaenor Bagley, Non-Executive Director: May 2018 to 1 September 2020

Warren Tucker, Non-Executive Director: November 2015 to 1 September 2020

FCDO Non-Executive Members

The FCDO committees and sub-committees have their own Non-Executive Members as appropriate. The Non-Executive Members’ role is to support committees/sub-committees in their work and provide a degree of external challenge and specific expertise, in the same way as Non-Executive Directors.

Anthony Dunnett: Non‑Executive Member

Appointed as Non-Executive Member of DFID’s Audit and Risk Assurance Committee in December 2018. Anthony Dunnett transferred to Non-Executive Member of the FCDO’s Audit and Risk Assurance Committee in September 2020. Anthony is an economist by training, spending 25 years in international banking. He recently established International Health Partners, coordinating the supply chain of medicines and medical commodities from European industry to support humanitarian disasters and strengthen health systems in over 100 low-income countries. He is also involved in a number of projects in Africa as Vice Chair of Mercy Ships UK and founder of Quality Medicines for All and VAC Solar.

Fiona Thompson: Non‑Executive Member

Appointed as Non-Executive Member of DFID’s Audit and Risk Assurance Committee in September 2016. Fiona Thompson transferred to Non-Executive Member of the FCDO’s Audit and Risk Assurance Committee in September 2020. Fiona is a UK Chartered Accountant and is currently Chair of Transparency International UK, a Director and Chair of the Audit Committee of Forum for the Future and serves on the board of the Overseas Development Institute.

Helen Pernelet: Non‑Executive Member

Appointed as Non-Executive Member of the FCO Audit and Risk Assurance Committee in September 2019. Helen Pernelet transferred to Non-Executive Member of the FCDO’s Audit and Risk Assurance Committee in September 2020. Helen is a qualified solicitor, and her career in the private sector has spanned the legal profession, investment banking and strategic consulting within global banks and professional services firms in the UK and continental Europe. She is currently a public governor of Ashford and St Peter’s Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and has recently completed a Doctorate of Governance.

Simon O’Regan: Non‑Executive Member

Appointed as Non-Executive Member of FCO’s Audit and Risk Assurance Committee in September 2018. Simon O’Regan transferred to Non-Executive Member of the FCDO’s Audit and Risk Assurance Committee in September 2020. Simon has forty years’ experience in the insurance, pensions, and asset management industries. Simon is a UK qualified actuary by training and currently carries out a range of Non-Executive Director roles including for the South African insurance company Alexander Forbes, and for the UK listed investment management company Impax Ltd, serving on Remuneration Committees and Audit and Risk Committees.

Julia Grant: Non‑Executive Member

Appointed as Non-Executive Member of DFID’s Investment Committee in December 2019. Julia Grant transferred to Non-Executive Member of the FCDO’s Investment Committee in September 2020. Julia has a portfolio of Non-Executive Director roles in the public and charity sector. She has held leadership roles in global consulting firms, insurance, and the not-for-profit sector. Julia currently works with Collington Capital Partners LLP in the impact investment sector and is a trustee at the Education Development Trust and a Forestry Commissioner.

DFID Non‑Executive Members

Anthony Dunnett (NEM – Audit and Risk Assurance Committee) December 2018 to 1 September 2020

Fiona Thompson (NEM – Audit and Risk Assurance Committee) September 2016 to 1 September 2020

Anne Tutt (NEM – Audit and Risk Assurance Committee) September 2014 to 1 September 2020

Julia Grant (NEM – Investment Committee) December 2019 to 1 September 2020

Jonathan Simcock (NEM – Investment Committee) June 2016 to July 2020

FCO Non‑Executive Members

Helen Pernelet (NEM – Audit and Risk Assurance Committee) September 2019 to 1 September 2020

Simon O’Regan (NEM – Audit and Risk Assurance Committee) September 2018 to 1 September 2020

Our Top-Level Boards and Committees

FCDO Supervisory Board

Chair: Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs and First Secretary of State

Roles and responsibilities

The FCDO Supervisory Board provides strategic direction and oversight, offering support and challenge to the department with a view to the long-term health, reputation, and success of the FCDO. It is advisory and supervisory in its scrutiny of departmental performance. It offers challenge on how the FCDO is performing against clear objectives, key performance indicators and management of principal risks. The Management Board and Audit and Risk Assurance Committee report to the Supervisory Board.

Issues covered

Two Supervisory Board meetings were held between September 2020 – March 2021 (9 November 2020 and 9 February 2021).The Board discussed critical issues relating to: FCDO Transformation; COVID-19 Impact and Mitigation; Delivering better Value for Money.

Members of the FCDO Supervisory Board (2 September 2020 to March 2021)	Tenure	No. of meetings attended 2 September 2020 to March 2021
The Rt Hon Dominic Raab, Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs and First Secretary of State (Chair)	From 2 September 2020	2/2
Baroness Helena Morrissey, Lead Non-Executive Director	From 2 September 2020	2/2
John Coffey, Non-Executive Director	From 21 September 2020	2/2
Beverley Tew, Non-Executive Director	From 1 October 2020	2/2
Ann Cormack, Non-Executive Director	From 2 October 2020	2/2
Sir Philip Barton, Permanent Under-Secretary	From 2 September 2020	2/2
Juliet Chua, Director General – Finance and Corporate	From 2 September 2020	2/2
Kumar Iyer, Director General – Delivery	From 2 September 2020	2/2
Nic Hailey, Director General – Transformation	From 2 September 2020	2/2

DFID Departmental Board

Roles and responsibilities

The DFID Departmental Board provided collective strategic leadership and challenge on strategy and policy priorities, major corporate issues, and risks. The Board was chaired by the Secretary of State and attended by the permanent members listed in the table below.

Issues covered

During the period April 2020 to 1 September 2020, the DFID Departmental Board met once on 21 July 2020. The Board discussed: Audit and Risk Assurance Committee Annual Report; Progress on the Integrated Review; Progress on the creation of the FCDO.

Members of the DFID Departmental Board (April 2020 to 1 September 2020)	Tenure	No. of meetings attended April 2020 to 1 September 2020
The Rt Hon Anne-Marie Trevelyan MP (Chair)	1 April 2020 to 1 September 2020	1/1
Lord Goldsmith, Minister of State	1 April 2020 to 1 September 2020	0/1
Lord Ahmad, Minister of State	1 April 2020 to 1 September 2020	1/1
The Rt Hon James Cleverly MP, Minister of State	1 April 2020 to 1 September 2020	1/1
Nigel Adams MP, Minister of State	1 April 2020 to 1 September 2020	0/1
Wendy Morton MP, Minister of State	1 April 2020 to 1 September 2020	1/1
James Duddridge MP, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State	1 April 2020 to 1 September 2020	1/1
Baroness Sugg, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State	1 April 2020 to 1 September 2020	1/1
Nick Dyer, Acting Permanent Secretary	1 April 2020 to 1 September 2020	1/1
Marc Bolland, Lead Non-Executive Director	1 April 2020 to 31 August 2020	1/1
Sally Jones-Evans, Non-Executive Director	1 April 2020 to 1 September 2020	1/1
Alan Johnson, Non-Executive Director	1 April 2020 to 1 September 2020	1/1
Richard Clarke, Director General – Policy, Research and Humanitarian	1 April 2020 to 1 September 2020	0/1
Juliet Chua, Director General – Finance and Corporate Performance	1 April 2020 to 1 September 2020	1/1
Moazzam Malik, Director General – Country Programmes	1 April 2020 to 1 September 2020	1/1
Rachel Turner, Acting Director General – Economic Development and International	1 April 2020 to 1 September 2020	0/1
Melinda Bohannon, Director Strategy	1 April 2020 to 1 September 2020	1/1
Tim Jones, Director Finance, Commercial and Delivery	1 April 2020 to 1 September 2020	1/1
Ravi Chand, Chief People Officer	1 April 2020 to 30 April 2020	0/0
Helen Mills, Chief People Officer	1 May 2020 to 1 September 2020	1/1

FCO Supervisory Board

Roles and responsibilities

The FCO Supervisory Board provided collective strategic leadership of the FCO, bringing together Ministers, senior officials, and Non-Executive Board members. It advised on strategic and high-level operational issues affecting the FCO. The FCO Supervisory Board was chaired by the Foreign Secretary and attended by the permanent members listed in the table below.

Issues covered

During the period 1 April 2020 – 1 September 2020, the FCO Supervisory Board met once on 11 June 2020. The Board discussed issues relating to: British Council Review; Human Resources (HR) – Management and development of Senior Management Structure (SMS).

Members of the FCO Supervisory Board (April 2020 to 1 September 2020)	Tenure	No. of meetings attended April 2020 to 1 September 2020
The Rt Hon Dominic Raab, Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs and First Secretary of State (Chair)	1 April 2020 to 1 September 2020	1/1
Lord Ahmad, Minister of State	1 April 2020 to 1 September 2020	1/1
Baroness Sugg, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State	1 April 2020 to 1 September 2020	1/1
Nigel Adams MP, Minister of State	1 April 2020 to 1 September 2020	1/1
Wendy Morton MP, Minister of State	1 April 2020 to 1 September 2020	1/1
The Rt Hon James Cleverly MP, Minister of State	1 April 2020 to 1 September 2020	1/1
Lord Goldsmith, Minister of State	1 April 2020 to 1 September 2020	1/1
James Duddridge, Minister of State	1 April 2020 to 1 September 2020	1/1
Miranda Curtis, Lead Non-Executive Director	1 April 2020 to 30 June 2020	1/1
Gaenor Bagley, Non-Executive Director	1 April 2020 to 1 September 2020	1/1
Warren Tucker, Non-Executive Director	1 April 2020 to 1 September 2020	1/1
Lord (Simon) McDonald, Permanent Under-Secretary	1 April 2020 to 1 September 2020	1/1
Peter Jones, Chief Operating Officer	1 April 2020 to 1 September 2020	1/1
Andrew Sanderson, Director – Finance	1 April 2020 to 1 September 2020	1/1
Menna Rawlings, Director General – Economic and Global Issues	1 April 2020 to 1 September 2020	1/1
Tom Drew, Director General – Consular and Security	1 April 2020 to 1 September 2020	1/1

FCDO Management Board

Chair: Sir Philip Barton, Permanent Under-Secretary

Roles and responsibilities

Reporting to the Supervisory Board, the Management Board ensures rigorous performance, strategic risk and people management and duty of care to staff. The Management Board takes strategic choices for long-term departmental management where a cross-departmental view, impact or action is required. The Board: Oversees plans, the management of principal risks and performance and stewards the department to maintain its health and reputation; Communicates the FCDO’s purpose, priorities, vision and values to staff and other stakeholders. The Board reviews the monthly Management Information (MI) reports, which provide an overview of the FCDO’s corporate and financial performance. The Board benefits from input from the Staff Advisory Board and Board observers. The Board oversees the Executive, Strategy, Delivery, Investment, People Committees and Transformation Board, and escalates key MI updates to the Supervisory Board.

Issues covered

From 2 September 2021, Management Board discussions included: New FCDO corporate governance structures; Transformation Roadmap, including FCDO new operating model and organisational design with a focus on culture, inclusion, and diversity.; Overarching Human Resources merger issues; Spending Review and Integrated Review implications; 2020 FCDO People Survey results; Consular Strategy proposal; Estates

The FCDO Management Board, chaired by the Permanent Under-Secretary, meets monthly for three hours. Between 2 September 2020 and 31 March 2021, the Management Board met six times. All meetings were held virtually. All members (except Mervyn Thomas) were appointed on 2 September 2020. All Non-Executive Directors are invited to each meeting in an advisory capacity. Helen Mills left the Board in December 2020 and Jonathan Sinclair left the Board in February 2021.

Mervyn Thomas was appointed as Chief People Officer and joined the Board in February 2021. The Board are required to report any related party interests. These are disclosed in Note 16 of the Accounts.

Members of the FCDO Management Board (2 September 2020 to March 2021)	Tenure	No. of meetings attended 2 September 2020 to March 2021
Sir Philip Barton, Permanent Under-Secretary (Chair)	From 2 September 2020	6/6
Sir Tim Barrow, Political Director	From 2 September 2020	0/6 ^{[footnote 17]}
Juliet Chua, Director General – Finance and Corporate	From 2 September 2020	6/6
Tom Drew, Director General – Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan and Pakistan	From 2 September 2020	4/6
Moazzam Malik, Director General – Africa	From 2 September 2020	6/6
Vijay Rangarajan, Director General – Americas and Overseas Territories	From 2 September 2020	6/6
Jenny Bates, Director General – Indo-Pacific	From 2 September 2020	6/6
Kumar Iyer, Director General – Delivery	From 2 September 2020	6/6
Nic Hailey, Director General – Transformation	From 2 September 2020	6/6
Sir Iain MacLeod, Legal Adviser	From 2 September 2020	6/6
Melanie Robinson, UK Ambassador to Zimbabwe (Overseas Network Representative)	From 2 September 2020	6/6
Helen Bower-Easton, Director Communications	From 2 September 2020	6/6
Andrew Sanderson, Financial Controller and Operations Director	From 2 September 2020	6/6
Tim Jones, Director Strategic Finance	From 2 September 2020	6/6
Melinda Bohannon, Director Strategy	From 2 September 2020	6/6
Mervyn Thomas, Chief People Officer	From 1 February 2021	2/2
Helen Mills, (joint) Chief People Officer	From 2 September 2020 – 31 December 2020	1/3 ^{[footnote 18]}
Jonathan Sinclair, (joint) Chief People Officer	From 2 September 2020 to 26 February 2021	5/5
Liane Saunders, (joint) Director Strategy	From 2 September 2020 to 12 January 2021	3/3

Agendas

The Supervisory Board and the Management Board are duty bound to consider certain issues on a regular basis. Both reviewed Management Information through key performance reports. This included finance, risk, human resources, project and programme funds, legal challenges, and major projects. In-year financial control and future year resource management are an important part of agendas. The Management Board assessed the financial risk to the department at each meeting, allowing the Board to take any action required, including reprioritisation. The Management Board and Supervisory Board considered a Principal Risk Report, which provided information about the most serious strategic risks and gave assurance that risk was being managed appropriately, enabling the Management Board to consider organisational capacity to respond.

FCDO Board Observer Scheme

The FCDO Management Board is open to observers through the FCDO Board Observers Scheme. This scheme allows a small number of staff to attend the Management Board each month, review papers and provide valuable feedback to Board members. Observers are selected from different Directorates on a rotating basis.

Management Information

Following the merger, senior management engaged with FCDO’s Non-Executive Directors to determine the Management Information needed to manage the health and reputation of the organisation. This led to the development of a set of Key Performance Indicators for all corporate areas, with accountable owners to measure performance. The Management Board reviews a monthly Management Information Report, which provides an overview of the FCDO’s corporate performance. The report is structured to highlight risks and resource implications, any areas that require attention and any significant improvements that have been made. This allows for sufficient engagement and challenge during discussions. The Board reported that overall, the governance structures were maturing effectively, with good quality MI coming to the Board.

DFID Management Board

Chair: Nick Dyer, Acting Permanent Secretary

Roles and responsibilities

The DFID Management Board made decisions on operational and policy implementation issues that required a collective, cross-departmental view, and benefited from external challenge. The Management Board:

set long-term strategic direction
took strategic decisions and formally approved issues that required cross-departmental impact or required a co-ordinated response including in-year, future year, and long-term decisions, and where input from Non-Executive Directors would add value
monitored progress against DFID’s plans and commitments, performance, and risk

Issues covered

During the period 1 April 2020 to 1 September 2020, the DFID Management Board met four times (28 April, 26 May, 30 June, and 28 July 2020).

The Board monitored the progress of, and made decisions on:

strategic Risk Register
ODA Prioritisation
staff wellbeing/ COVID-19 impact

Members of the DFID Management Board (April 2020 to 1 September 2020)	Tenure	No. of meetings attended April 2020 to 1 September 2020
Nick Dyer, Acting Permanent Secretary (Chair)	1 April 2020 to 1 September 2020	4/4
Marc Bolland, Lead Non-Executive Director	1 April 2020 to 31 August 2020	3/4
Sally Jones-Evans, Non-Executive Director	1 April 2020 to 1 September 2020	2/4
Alan Johnson, Non-Executive Director	1 April 2020 to 1 September 2020	3/4
Richard Clarke, Director General – Policy, Research and Humanitarian	1 April 2020 to 1 September 2020	3/4
Juliet Chua, Director General – Finance and Corporate Performance	1 April 2020 to 1 September 2020	4/4
Moazzam Malik, Director General – Country Programmes	1 April 2020 to 1 September 2020	1/4
Rachel Turner, Acting Director General – Economic Development and International	1 April 2020 to 1 September 2020	2/4
Melinda Bohannon, Director Strategy	1 April 2020 to 1 September 2020	3/4
Tim Jones, Director Finance, Commercial and Delivery	1 April 2020 to 1 September 2020	4/4
Ravi Chand, Chief People Officer	1 April 2020 to 30 April 2020	1/1
Helen Mills, Chief People Officer	1 May 2020 to 1 September 2020	3/3

FCO Management Board

Chair: Lord (Simon) McDonald, Permanent Under-Secretary

Roles and responsibilities

The FCO Management Board provided corporate leadership to the department by delivering policies and services decided by Ministers.

Issues covered

During the period April 2020 to 1 September 2020, the FCO Management Board met four times (7 May, 26 June, 17 July, and 27 July 2020).

The Board monitored the progress of, and made decisions on:

FCO Services Corporate Plan
Global Travel Contract
FCO Top Risk Register
FCO’s COVID-19 response
British Council Review

Members of the FCO Management Board

(April 2020 to 1 September 2020)	Tenure	No. of meetings attended April 2020 to 1 September 2020
Lord (Simon) McDonald, Permanent UnderSecretary (Chair)	1 April 2020 to 1 September 2020	4/4
Miranda Curtis, Lead Non-Executive Director	1 April 2020 to 30 June 2020	2/4
Gaenor Bagley, Non-Executive Director	1 April 2020 to 31 August 2020	4/4
Warren Tucker, Non-Executive Director	1 April 2020 to 31 August 2020	4/4
Menna Rawlings, Director General – Economic and Global Issues	1 April 2020 to 1 September 2020	4/4
Jenny Bates, Director General – Europe	1 April 2020 to 1 September 2020	4/4
Simon Manley, Director General COVID-19	1 April 2020 to 1 September 2020	4/4
Richard Moore, Director General – Political Affairs	1 April 2020 to 1 September 2020	4/4
Tom Drew, Director General – Consular and Security	1 April 2020 to 1 September 2020	4/4
Kumar Iyer, Chief Economist	1 April 2020 to 1 September 2020	4/4
Peter Jones, Chief Operating Officer	1 April 2020 to 1 September 2020	3/4
Andrew Sanderson, Director – Finance	1 April 2020 to 1 September 2020	4/4
Sir Iain MacLeod, Legal Adviser	1 April 2020 to 1 September 2020	3/4
Helen Bower-Easton, Director Communications	1 April 2020 to 1 September 2020	4/4
Jonathan Sinclair, HR Director	1 April 2020 to 1 September 2020	4/4
Liane Saunders, Director Strategy	1 April 2020 to 1 September 2020	4/4
Jill Morris, Overseas Network Representative	1 April 2020 to 1 September 2020	4/4
Nic Hailey, Director General – Transformation	16 June 2020 to 1 September 2020	2/2

FCDO Executive Committee

Chair: Sir Philip Barton, Permanent Under-Secretary

Roles and responsibilities

The Executive Committee (ExCo) meets weekly and takes decisions on strategic choices or challenges relating to sensitive or time-bound issues, day to day running of the department, emerging issues, risks or crises with departmental wide implications.

Issues covered

ExCo escalates issues and advice to the Management Board where a longer-term formal decision is required. ExCo also undertakes periodic horizon scanning and business engagement to identify emerging sources of uncertainty, threats, and trends, referring principal risks that require ongoing monitoring to the Management Board. During the period 2 September 2020 to 31 March 2021, ExCo met 22 times. ExCo discussions included:

Corporate Governance Architecture
Integrated review and spending review
Places for Growth agenda
FCDO resourcing
EU Exit – Strategic implications for FCDO portfolio
COVID-19 global scenarios and preparedness for programmes, diplomacy, and policy
Review of safeguarding process against sexual exploitation and abuse and sexual harassment
Union Strategy
COP 26
G7 Presidency
Business Planning and Resource Allocations

Members of the Executive Committee (2 September 2020 to March 2021)	Tenure	No. of meetings attended 2 September 2020 to March 2021
Sir Philip Barton, Permanent Under-Secretary (Chair)	From 2 September 2020	22/22
Juliet Chua, Director General – Finance and Corporate	From 2 September 2020	22/22
Tom Drew, Director General – Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan and Pakistan	From 2 September 2020	21/22
Moazzam Malik, Director General – Africa	From 2 September 2020	20/22
Vijay Rangarajan, Director General – Americas and Overseas Territories	From 2 September 2020	22/22
Jenny Bates, Director General – Indo-Pacific	From 2 September 2020	19/22
Kumar Iyer, Director General – Delivery	From 2 September 2020	20/22
Nic Hailey, Director General – Transformation	From 2 September 2020	21/22
Sir Iain MacLeod, Legal Adviser	From 2 September 2020	21/22
Sir Tim Barrow, Political Director	From 2 September 2020	6/22 ^{[footnote 19]}
Helen Bower-Easton, Director Communications	From 2 September 2020	19/22
Andrew Sanderson, Financial Controller and Operations Director	From 2 September 2020	22/22
Tim Jones, Director Strategic Finance	From 2 September 2020	22/22
Melinda Bohannon, Director Strategy	From 2 September 2020	20/22
Mervyn Thomas, Chief People Officer	From 1 February 2021	5/5
Rachel Glennerster, Chief Economist	From 2 September 2020	17/22
Charlotte Watts, Chief Scientific Adviser	From 2 September 2020	22/22
Helen Mills, (joint) Chief People Officer	From 2 September 2020 to 31 December 2020	7/15 ^{[footnote 20]}
Jonathan Sinclair, (joint) Chief People Officer	From 2 September 2020 to 26 February 2021	18/19
Liane Saunders, (joint) Director Strategy	From 2 September 2020 to 12 January 2021	15/15
Carole Mundell, (joint) Chief Scientific Adviser	From 2 September 2020 to January 2021	15/15

DFID/FCO Joint Executive Committee

Chair: Lord (Simon) McDonald (FCO Permanent Under-Secretary) and Nick Dyer (Acting DFID Permanent Secretary)

Roles and responsibilities

The Joint Executive Committee (JExCo) was established in June 2020 bringing together the executive members of both DFID and FCO Management Boards to meet weekly, in advance of the FCDO merger. JExCo continued to have delegated authority to make decisions on certain issues, with a specific focus on the implementation of proposals on the transformation portfolio for the FCDO.

Issues covered

The Joint Executive Committee met ten times between June 2020 to 1 September 2020. JExCo discussions included:

FCDO Transformation (including vision, organisational design, risks, resourcing)
Operational planning for the end of EU transition
Senior level Champion Merger workstreams
Integrated Review and Spending Review update and planning
Places for Growth

DFID Executive Committee

Chair: Nick Dyer, Acting Permanent Secretary

Roles and responsibilities

The DFID Executive Committee made decisions on sensitive, time critical, internal policy implementation and operational issues. It took urgent decisions and gave early strategic steers (e.g. on the level of ambition and approach) on issues which required a cross-departmental view, had a cross-departmental impact, or required a co-ordinated response.

Issues covered

During the period April 2020 to 1 September 2020, DFID ExCo met eleven times. ExCo discussions included:

staff wellbeing/COVID-19 impact
COVID-19: strategy, delivery, and risk management
DFID-FCO closer alignment
Integrated Review
implementation of DFID’s Race Action Plan

FCO Executive Committee

Chair: Lord (Simon) McDonald, Permanent Under-Secretary

Roles and responsibilities

Executive members of the Management Board met weekly as the FCO Executive Committee, which had delegated authority to make decisions on certain issues. This Committee also monitored the implementation of agreed proposals not requiring Management Board attention.

Issues covered

During the period April 2020 to 1 September 2020, FCO ExCo met 11 times. ExCo monitored the progress of, and made decisions on:

COVID-19 – strategy, delivery, and risk management
FCO-DFID closer alignment
overseas compensation review
Spending Review and Integrated Review update
British Council review
Policy Programme Portfolio Board/ ODA
reprioritisation
EU transition
Senior Leadership action on Race/ Black Lives Matter

FCDO Staff Advisory Board

Chair: Baroness Helena Morrissey (Lead Non-Executive Director) and Tom Drew (Director General – Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan and Pakistan)

Roles and responsibilities

The Staff Advisory Board (SAB) is comprised of 20 members from across the FCDO, covering the full span of grades below Senior Civil Service and are based in different parts of the UK and overseas.

The Board discusses any issue going to the Management Board and Executive Committee where there are significant impacts on people, strategy, and operations through written and verbal advice.

Issues covered

The input provided by the SAB has helped the Management Board improve its ability to take informed decisions, building on an inclusive culture.

SAB meets monthly and met six times between September 2020 – 31 March 2021. Discussions included:

culture and inclusive leadership
director transition plan
team mergers
risk appetite
People Survey
recruitment and promotion policy
wellbeing and resilience

Prior to the merger, both DFID and FCO had staff advisory boards (the DFID Challenge Board and FCO Sounding Board) providing a formal staff consultation mechanism for proposals coming to the Management Boards and the Executive Committees. Both focused on proposals which would directly affect staff.

FCDO Audit and Risk Assurance Committee

Chair: John Coffey, Non-Executive Director

Roles and responsibilities

The Audit and Risk Assurance Committee (ARAC) is comprised of two Non-Executive Directors and four Non-Executive Members. It meets at least five times a year. The ARAC supports the Supervisory Board and the Accounting Officer to review decisions and processes designed to ensure sound systems of internal control, including the overarching control framework and related assurance mechanisms, risk management, financial accounting and reporting including internal and external audit, Arm’s Length Bodies, counter-fraud and safeguarding. The Committee also reviews other aspects of corporate governance as required. To ensure its independence, the Committee has no executive responsibilities.

Between September 2020 to March 2021, the Committee met twice. Meetings focused on:	Assurance provided by:
Oversight of the FCDO’s risk management approach and risk policy, including oversight of the new risk appetite statement.	Better Delivery Department (BDD)
Oversight of assurances provided by the transformation team on the delivery of the transformation portfolio.	Transformation team
Overview of financial accounting and reporting.	Finance and Control Department (F&C)
Oversight of the FCDO’s control and assurance framework.	F&C
Receiving regular updates and reports from the Internal Audit Department and Internal Audit Investigation Section.	Internal Audit Department (IAD)
Regular reviews of the progress against the Internal Audit Department’s annual audit plans.	IAD
Review of the National Audit Office external audit plans.	National Audit Office

DFID Audit and Risk Assurance Committee

Chair: Alan Johnson, Non-Executive Director

Roles and responsibilities

The Audit and Risk Assurance Committee was comprised of two Non-Executive Directors and three Non-Executive members. It met at least five times a year. The ARAC reviewed and advised the Departmental Board and the Accounting Officer on:

the effectiveness of internal controls, including compliance with corporate rules
the effectiveness of processes and actions in relation to risk management across DFID including for strategic risk
accounting policies, financial statements, and annual reports of DFID and DFID’s Overseas Superannuation
annual audit plans and results for both internal and external audit. Adequacy of management response to issues identified by audit activity
the reporting of fraud and resulting investigations, anti-fraud policies and procedures, whistleblowing processes
in conducting its work, it met regularly with internal and external auditors without the presence of management

Between March 2020 to August 2020, the Committee met four times. Meetings focused on:	Assurance provided by:
Reviewing the 2019 to 2020 Annual Report and financial statements and recommending the approval by the DFID Departmental Board.	Finance & Control Department
Oversight of DFID’s risk management approach and risk policy, including improvements made during the year.	Better Delivery Department
Oversight of the implementation of a new due diligence hub.	Internal Audit Department
Oversight of DFID’s control and assurance framework, including improvements to the annual assurance process through the adoption of continuous assurance during the year.	Internal Audit Department
DFID’s valuation of financial investments.	National Audit Office
Receiving regular updates and reports from the Internal Audit Department and Internal Audit Investigation Section.	Internal Audit Department

FCO Audit and Risk Assurance Committee

Chair: Warren Tucker, Non-Executive Director

Roles and responsibilities

The Audit and Risk Assurance Committee supported the Management Board and Permanent Under-Secretary as Accounting Officer by advising on the effectiveness of arrangements for governance, risk management and internal control. It reviewed the comprehensiveness, reliability and integrity of assurances provided to the Management Board and PUS; challenged the executive and promoted best practice across the FCO. It had no executive responsibilities.

The Committee was chaired by FCO Non-Executive Director Warren Tucker and was comprised of two further independent members, Helen Pernelet and Simon O’Regan. The Chief Operating Officer, National Audit Office Director, Head of Internal Audit, Finance Director, and other Directors attended as required. The Committee met at least five times a year, with one meeting devoted to the review and external audit of the FCO accounts and had Deep Dive sessions into specific operational risks (e.g. cyber security and commercial). A regular review of the Committee’s effectiveness was undertaken using NAO guidance and an annual meeting was held with the ARAC Chairs of all the FCO Arm’s Length bodies.

Between April 2020 to August 2020, the Committee met six times (three ARAC meetings, two Cyber Deep Dive meetings and an ARAC ALB Chairs meeting). Meetings focused on:	Assurance provided by:
Reviewing and approving the 2019 to 2020 Annual Report and financial statements.	Finance Directorate
Regular reviews and updates from Finance Directorate.	Finance Directorate
Review of Atlas Programme.	Finance Directorate
Providing an annual assurance opinion to the PUS.	Internal Audit Department
Internal Audit and Fraud Annual report.	Internal Audit Department
Regular updates and reports from Internal Audit Department and Anti-Fraud and Corruption Unit.	Internal Audit Department
Approval of Internal Audit Department Annual Plan and Strategy 2020-21.	Internal Audit Department
Review of the Raising Concerns Policy.	Human Resources Directorate
Regular reviews and updates of Risk Management.	Strategy Directorate
Review of Information Risk.	Strategy Directorate
Cyber Security deep dive discussions.	Knowledge and Technology Directorate
Annual meeting with Audit and Risk Assurance Committee Chairs of the Arm’s Length Bodies	Audit and Risk Assurance Committee Chairs of the Arm’s Length Bodies

FCDO Investment Committee

Chair: Juliet Chua, Director General Finance and Corporate Performance

Roles and responsibilities

The Investment Committee provides assurance to the Management Board on work underway to:

develop and oversee the FCDO’s approach to achieving value for money at departmental, portfolio and programme level
oversee design, implementation and changes to the management frameworks that guide investment decisions to achieve value for money
oversee and shape overall portfolio mix to meet FCDO commitments
scrutinise major and high-risk projects and programmes, assessing whether the programme should proceed and if it offers value for money

Issues covered

The Investment Committee met twice between 2 September – 31 March 2021. The following issues were covered:

Terms of Reference Review
Management Information update
Value for Money update
sub-committee structure and oversight
Approvals Review process
the new FCDO Programme Operating Framework

DFID Investment Committee

Chair: Juliet Chua, Director General Finance and Corporate Performance

Roles and responsibilities

Issues covered

The role of the Investment Committee was to provide assurance to the DFID Management Board on work underway to:

provide leadership and challenge overall portfolio development and performance
improve value for money across DFID spend, focused on portfolio and programme-level management, as well as priority VFM enablers
strengthen the VFM framework that is embedded in our culture, systems, guidance, reviews, and accountabilities
quantified efficiencies policy and implementation for the next Spending Review – the Investment Committee oversight of reporting to HM Treasury

DFID’s Investment Committee met four times between April 2020 – 1 September 2020. The following issues were covered:

Management Information update
Chief Economist’s Office update
results
value for money update
Procurement and Commercial Department update
Terms of Reference review

FCO Investment, Infrastructure and Operations Committee

Chair: Peter Jones, Chief Operating Officer

Roles and responsibilities

The FCO Investment, Infrastructure and Operations Committee (IIOC) provided oversight and assurance of the FCO’s Estates, IT, programme, and other investments, in support of the Permanent Under-Secretary as Chief Accounting Officer. It ensured that decisions delivered value for money and met business needs for the FCO and One HMG partners overseas.

The IIOC remained accountable to the FCO Management Board and formally reported to the Board on decisions it took and asked the Board to approve any proposed investments over £15 million based on the IIOC’s recommendations. The Committee provided the same level of oversight on the FCO programme spending with scrutiny focused on capacity, delivery model, financial requirements, and fiduciary risk.

Issues covered

The FCO Investment, Infrastructure and Operations Committee met nine times between April 2020 – 1 September 2020. The following issues were covered:

Tokyo (Estates strategy)
outline business cases: Hong Kong, Ashgabat, Jordan Police Professionalisation, Somalia Low Level Defectors Programme, Tunisia World Bank projects, Anti-smuggling and Trafficking Nigeria-Niger, Support to Syria Civil Defence, Freetown and Bamako
full business cases: Ottawa, COP 26 venue – Scottish Events Campus Ltd and UK National Authority for Counter Eavesdropping
Dynamic Purchasing System
ECHO2 continuity of service
training and support provision to Afghanistan Justice and Human Rights Partnership
Anguilla COVID-19 Emergency Financial Aid Programme
Global Asset Management Plan
Global travel contract
Turkey Financial Services
Security Awareness in Fragile Environments Training contract
Global Facilities Management Asia Pacific Generation 2 contract
extension of Memorandum of Understanding with the International Organisation for Migration

FCDO People Committee

Chair: Juliet Chua, Director General Finance and Corporate Performance

Roles and responsibilities

The FCDO People Committee has the following responsibilities:

promote prioritisation and collective ownership to develop and implement the People plan/strategy
progress, support and optimize HR policy development and delivery
provide quality assurance of HR policy and strategy
assess the cumulative impact of policy changes on overall workforce shape and trends

Issues covered

The People Committee met twice between 2 September 2020 – 31 March 2021.

The following issues were covered:

HR People Journey roadmap
review of HERA programme
mandatory staff Safeguarding training
Country Based Staff Strategy

FCDO Strategy Committee

Chair: Sir Philip Barton, Permanent Under-Secretary

Roles and responsibilities

The Strategy Committee is responsible for making sure the department is fit for the future. It focuses on challenge and strategic oversight, recommending changes to the FCDO’s strategic direction, building strategic capability, and assessing coherence and links into UK Government strategy.

Issues covered

The Strategy Committee met once between 2 September 2020 – 31 March 2021.

The following issues were covered:

strategic capability in the FCDO
review of FCDO strategic horizon scanning

FCDO Senior Leadership Board

Chair: Sir Philip Barton, Permanent Under-Secretary

Roles and responsibilities

The FCDO Senior Leadership Board (SLB) comprises the PUS, DGs and Political Director, the Chief People Officer, and a Non-Executive Director. The primary focus of the SLB is on the management and deployment of leadership resource at Senior Civil Service (SCS) grade 2 and above.

The SLB also oversees the performance, talent, and broader aspects of management of the SCS2 and above cadre within the FCDO, ensuring best use of existing SCS resource, improving diversity and inclusion within the cadre, while bringing on and through talented staff as the FCDO goes through transition and transformation periods.

Issues covered

The FCDO Leadership Board met six times between 2 September 2020 – 31 March 2021. The following issues were covered:

SLB recommendations on a number of appointments at SCS Grade 2 both in the UK and overseas
oversight of Director restructuring within the FCDO
formal sign off for upgrades of roles to SCS and new SCS roles
agreement to the FCDO approach to talent management and performance at SCS
continued best use of, and building diversity in, the senior leadership cadre

DFID Senior Leadership Committee

Chair: Nick Dyer, Acting Permanent Secretary

Roles and responsibilities

The DFID Senior Leadership Committee (SLC) comprised the Permanent Secretary, DGs and the Chief People Officer.

The Senior Leadership Committee had responsibility for:

ensuring DFID’s Senior Civil Servant structure and roles were designed to meet DFID’s future and changing leadership needs
undertaking overall workforce planning and management for the SCS cadre to meet organisational priorities. Ensuring effective leadership at the start and then cascading responsibilities
managing DFID’s SCS workforce, including ratifying all SCS appointments
managing SCS performance and associated reward
leading on SCS talent and succession management
SCS cadre management

The Senior Leadership Committee met monthly.

Issues covered

The DFID Senior Leadership Committee met four times between April 2020 – 1 September 2020. The following issues were covered:

ensuring DFID’s SCS structure and roles had responded to DFID’s priorities and general oversight of all SCS recruitment
setting up the end of the performance year to ensure robust assessment of SCS performance
continuing the focus on honest and meaningful talent conversations with SCS for career and development planning purposes and addressing development needs, issues, gaps, and risks
building leadership capabilities across the SCS cadre

FCO Senior Appointments Board

Chair: Lord (Simon) McDonald, Permanent Under-Secretary

Roles and responsibilities

The FCO Senior Appointments Board (SAB) comprised the PUS, DGs, the Director of Human Resources plus a Non-Executive and independent members at DG level.

The main focus of the Board was recommending appointments to the FCO’s most senior jobs at home and overseas at Senior Management Structure Pay Bands 2 and above.

Issues covered

The FCO Senior Appointments Board met four times between April 2020 – 1 September 2020. The following issues were covered:

a number of senior appointments both in the UK and overseas agreed
succession planning and talent pipelines, including diversity in the FCO’s senior leadership
longer term workforce planning, including signing off any changes to the footprint of jobs within the Senior Management cadre and had oversight of SMS strategic workforce planning

FCDO Transformation Board

Chair: Nic Hailey, Director General – Transformation

Roles and responsibilities

The Transformation Board is a temporary structure and is accountable to the Management Board for delivery of the transformation portfolio.

The Transformation Board:

monitors delivery against plans
sets the direction and controls the design parameters for the FCDO new operating model
scrutinises change proposals and provides feedback to ensure consistency with Ministers’ overall vision
leads communications about changes and their sequencing
actively consults and engages with the network and other key stakeholders across government

Issues covered

The Transformation Board met 44 times from June 2020 to March 2021 and discussed a wide range of issues, including:

strengthening programme delivery
the future operating model and organisational design
the overall scope of the Transformation Portfolio, key milestones and major risks
staff engagement and communications
new cross-HMG country plans, implementation and delivery
measuring progress of the transformation portfolio
creating an inclusive and diverse FCDO culture
Digital, Data and Technology transformation programme plan
a new operating model for finance
an enhanced role for the FCDO’s International Academy
building staff capability

Board Effectiveness Evaluation

The 2020 to 2021 Board Effectiveness Evaluation found that the FCDO had effectively established a functional Supervisory Board and supporting Boards/Committees since its launch in September 2020. There was complete attendance at the Supervisory Board meetings in 2020 to 2021. Across the FCDO’s supporting Boards and Committees, meetings took place in 2020 to 2021 with high levels of attendance Recommendations were made to further improve its effectiveness, which will be actioned in 2021 to 2022. The focus in 2021 to 2022 will be on further developing the role of the NEDs and maximising use of the insights and challenge they bring.

Risk Management and Internal Control

The FCDO’s Board Framework includes the following complementary risk roles:

the Management Board is responsible for continually assessing FCDO’s risk appetite, monitoring our identification of and response to principal risks (the most significant risks to our performance and reputation) and promoting a sound risk management culture and approach
the Executive Committee ensures risk is integrated in strategic decision-making, leads rapid reviews of significant risks and considers risk as part of resource allocation
the Supervisory Board seeks assurance of the department’s risk management framework and risk appetite
the Audit and Risk Assurance Committee advises the Board and the Accounting Officer on the strategic processes for risk, control and governance and provides assurances relating to the management of risk and corporate governance
sub-committees of the Management Board (Delivery, Strategy, Transformation, People and Investment) consider risk within the scope of their remit

The Management Board monitors risk exposure in seven categories of risk, set out in a Risk Appetite Statement:

strategy and context: Risk arising from pursuing diplomatic and development objectives which are undermined by a changing context, a lack of clarity or a weak evidence base. These risks undermine our delivery, influence, and impact
policy and programme delivery: Risk arising from implementation of our core business of diplomacy and development, due to weaknesses in influence and engagement, programme delivery, commercial management, resourcing and/ or operational support. These risks undermine our impact, influence, and reputation
public service delivery and operations: Risk arising from weaknesses in the delivery of consular services or the delivery of internal operations which support our core business and wider Government, including security, legal, technology and information and property risks, impacting delivery, our people and British citizens
people: Risk arising from weaknesses in leadership and engagement, culture and behaviours and/or workforce capacity and capability, impacting on performance
safeguarding: Risk arising from failure to establish and maintain strong safeguards to prevent harm to beneficiaries of our programmes or the environment, resulting in ethical violations and reputational damage.
financial and fiduciary: Risk arising from our funds being used for unintended purposes or not managed in accordance with requirements, commitments, and constraints, resulting in poor value for money, compliance failures and reputational damage
reputational: Risk arising from political or adverse events, including delivery failures and ethical violations, damaging FCDO’s and/or the UK’s reputation

The FCDO’s approach to risk is summarised in our Risk Appetite Statement. We accept higher risk when it is justified by the context we work in or the expected contribution to our mission. For example, we will accept risk to address national security threats; deliver humanitarian support; support long-term change to foster open societies and reduce fragility and conflict; influence entrenched situations; and innovate to tackle global challenges. We accept only limited risks to public service delivery and operations, including consular services for UK citizens, prioritising stability. We are committed to reducing risks of fraud and sexual exploitation, abuse and harassment, showing zero tolerance for inaction or mishandling. We accept that the risks we take to achieve our mission could impact our reputation, but we limit our exposure through escalating reputational risks swiftly, investing in good risk management and learning and communicating effectively about our global priorities and impact.

More information on the FCDO’s risk profile during 2020 to 2021 and how the Management Board reviews the principal risks can be found in the FCDO Performance Report above.

We have set risk management rules for our portfolio of policy programmes through a new Programme Operating Framework. A new FCDO Risk Management Policy was published in July 2021, aligned to the principles set out in the UK Government’s ‘The Orange Book: Management of Risk – Principles and Concepts’.

A new FCDO Internal Control Framework has been developed which outlines our system of internal control, including the relationship between risk, control and assurance. It covers all FCDO activity across international policy, programme delivery, consular and corporate, including in our leadership of overseas alignment. It has been designed to support the Permanent Under-Secretary as Accounting Officer, by providing reasonable assurance that risks are being managed to an acceptable level and that our objectives are met in a way that complies with legislation and government policy; protects our staff from harm; protects UK funds from misuse; and delivers value for money.

The FCDO has three lines of defence in place for risk management. Posts and geographic, thematic and multilateral directorates (the ‘first line’) identify, assess, own and manage risk on a day-to-day basis. Central functions (‘second line’) are responsible for overseeing and supporting risk management. They set policies, process and guidance and support their implementation; alert management to emerging risks; and monitor compliance and effectiveness. Internal Audit (‘third line’) provides an objective evaluation of the adequacy and effectiveness of the framework of governance, risk management and control. This includes periodic analysis of the maturity of the FCDO’s risk management systems and controls. Further independent scrutiny is provided by the National Audit Office, the Independent Commission for Aid Impact, the Infrastructure and Projects Authority and Parliamentary bodies (such as the Foreign Affairs Committee, Public Accounts Committee and International Development Committee).

FCDO’s Risk Appetite Statement defines the level and type of risk exposure we will tolerate to achieve our objectives at organisational level. At posts, and within programmes, Heads of Mission and senior responsible owners (SROs) respectively, will be responsible for determining risk appetite, using their professional judgement and drawing on the FCDO Risk Appetite Statement, evidence and the views of relevant Partners Across Government, Directors and Directors-General when appropriate. Heads of Mission escalate risks which are outside appetite to UK Directors, and UK Directors do likewise to Directors General and, if needed, to the Management Board. Risks are escalated to Ministers whenever senior staff consider a risk justifies ministerial attention.

Risk management systems have been in place for the year under review and up to the date of approval of the annual report and accounts, through legacy departments April-August 2020 (p.14-15) and through the FCDO from September 2020 onwards.

FCDO Assurance Process on Management of Interests and Business Appointments

All FCDO staff are required to comply with the Diplomatic Service Regulations and/or the Civil Service Code and the Civil Service Management Code. The FCDO currently has legacy DFID and FCO policies, processes, and systems in place to comply with Business Appointment rules and to manage Conflicts of Interest including control and compliance. There is a requirement for all staff to declare and obtain approval from their line manager prior to accepting any offer of secondary employment, to ensure that there is no potential conflict of interest and it complies with the Business Appointment Rules.

During the period 1 April 2020 to 31 March 2021, there have been no referrals for advice from DFID, the FCO or the FCDO to the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments (ACOBA) for senior civil servants at Permanent Secretary and Director-General levels. Transparency data for other senior staffing grades for the period 1 April 2020 to 1 September 2020 is published as follows for DFID and the FCO. Publication of the FCDO transparency data for the period 2 September 2020 to 31 March 2021 is under development.

The FCDO is working to bring together these policies, processes, and systems to ensure control and compliance through FCDO’s Corporate Rules, which will ensure that three lines of defence are in place within the organisation through operational management, monitoring of policies and processes and robust audit processes.

The FCDO’s Special Advisers, Supervisory Board and Management Board members are required to declare private interests, financial or otherwise, which might present a conflict or be perceived to arise while performing public duty. This Register of Interests is updated regularly with any new interests which must be disclosed by members, following best practice in meeting the requirements set out in:

paragraph 4.15 of the Corporate governance in central departments: code of good practice (April 2017)
paragraph 4.3 Code of Conduct for Board Members of Public Bodies (June 2019)
paragraph 6.4.3 of the Government Financial Reporting Manual (FReM) (December 2020)

Board members are expected to remove themselves from any discussion where there might be a danger of bias or financial interest.

In line with the above, all Special Advisers, Supervisory Board and Management Board members have declared any relevant interests, or confirmed they do not consider they have any relevant interests. The Accounting Officer has considered these returns and the following relevant interests are set out in public.

Personal data losses

The FCDO recorded 84 personal data incidents in 2020 to 2021. This is similar to the previous year (85 incidents recorded in 2019 to 2020). There was initially an increase of incidents due to the COVID-19 crisis consular repatriation related work, which resulted in a large increase in work involving personal data. Of the 84 incidents that were reported and investigated, 70 were considered personal data breaches under General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), as defined by the Information Commissioner’s Office as “a breach of security leading to the accidental or unlawful destruction, loss, alteration, unauthorised disclosure of, or access to, personal data”. The table below shows the breakdown of personal data breaches under GDPR in 2020 to 2021:

Category	Nature of incident	1 April 2020 to 31 March 2021
A	Human Error	51
B	Technical Issue	1
C	Sharing Personal Information	–
D	Supplier/Partners Across Government (PAG) Breach	15
E	Deliberate Contravention of Data Protection (DP) Regulation	3

15 incidents were considered serious enough to be reported to the Information Commissioner’s Office. Most of these were linked to the COVID-19 crisis work and steps have been taken to improve staff awareness of these issues, within the crises teams.

We received 120 Subject Access requests (SARs) under the Data Protection Act in 2020 to 2021, as detailed in the table below:

	FCO April 2020 – 1 September 2020	DFID April 2020 to 1 September 2020	FCDO 2 September 2020 to March 2021	Total
Number of SARs	51	6	63	120

These figures do not include incidents involving visa or passport section information, as these are handled and reported on by UK Visas and Immigration and HM Passport Office, respectively.

Internal Audit Annual Assurance Opinion

The Internal Audit Department is required to comply with “Public Sector Internal Audit Standards: Applying the Institute of Internal Auditors international standards to the public sector”. These require that, at year end, the Head of Internal Audit forms an opinion regarding the adequacy and effectiveness of the FCDO’s frameworks for governance, risk management and control. The opinion is based on the audit work performed in the year, and up to the date of the finalisation of the Annual Assurance Report to the Audit and Risk Assurance Committee. This includes:

the results of internal audits completed or in draft
any follow-up action taken in respect of audits from previous periods
the effects of any significant changes in the FCDO’s control environment
any matters arising from previous Internal Audit annual assurance reports to either DFID, or the FCO
the results of consultancy work undertaken during the year
the consideration of value for money embedded within each review undertaken by Internal Audit
formal audit evidence and work
evidence gathered through being part of either DFID, the FCO or the FCDO as an in-house audit service.

In the Annual Assurance report 2020 to 2021, the Director of Internal Audit expressed the opinion that “the FCDO had adequate and effective frameworks for Governance, Risk Management and Control.” This opinion covers the period 1 April 2020 to 31 March 2021.

The FCDO has faced a year of unprecedented challenges and its control frameworks and governance have come under sustained and significant pressure; initially as it adapted to the COVID-19 pandemic and then through the Autumn and New Year as it dealt with the merger of the FCO and DFID.

Across the department’s audit and management assurance programme, several cross-cutting risks and issues were identified in 2020-21. Key themes were as follows:

transformation and merger
risk management
resourcing, work-force planning and strategy
staff welfare and resilience
IT risks
Country-Based Staff management
exposure to risk in the ODA portfolio
risks arising from COVID-19
safeguarding vulnerable people against sexual exploitation, abuse and harassment

The department has faced an increased exposure to risk across all its risk categories and its ability to control and manage these risks has been constrained compared to ‘normal’ years. As a result, the FCDO is outside of its target risk appetite on a number of its principal risks. The FCDO’s risk profile summarises the risks on the FCDO Principal Risk Report, which covers the breadth of the department’s work.

Nonetheless, throughout the year Internal Audit’s work found that the FCDO’s systems have flexed, adapted, and largely held up despite this significant strain. Internal Audit consistently found that management was cognisant of the risks it was dealing with and taking steps to mitigate and manage them as best they could, within the constraints created by the pandemic and merger. To deal with COVID-19, both legacy departments transitioned at pace to fully remote working and when the merger was announced, they put in place an effective governance structure to bring together the departments. This included creating new leadership committees, clarifying high-level decision-making and oversight, and appointing a senior leadership team in a short time. This senior structure has since overseen the development of a robust risk management framework, organisational design work, a strategic political and programmatic recalibration through the Integrated Review and has set out a pathway for full integration of all corporate systems, by 2022.

Whistleblowing

The FCDO is committed to the highest standards of integrity, probity, and accountability. It seeks to conduct its affairs in a responsible manner taking into account the proper use of public funds, the requirements of relevant legislation and the high standards required in public life. The FCDO has whistleblowing arrangements in place that meet the UK’s legislative framework, as set out in the Public Interest Disclosure Act (PIDA) and allow concerns about breaches of the Civil Service Code, fraud, safeguarding and other risks to be reported confidentially and outside line management arrangements. A confidential hotline and reporting concerns e-mail account, managed by specialist staff, are promoted through our internal and external websites, as are other routes including the Nominated Officer network and Staff Counsellors. We monitor and maintain the effectiveness of our whistleblowing arrangements through the FCDO’s dedicated specialist Internal Audit and Investigations Directorate and Human Resources Directorate. The Audit and Risk Assurance Committee receive reports regularly and monitor the whistleblowing policy, to ensure the appropriate operation and investigation of all matters reported under the policy. In the FCDO, all reports are treated seriously and we act on all concerns.

Corporate Governance Code

The FCDO has sound governance arrangements in place and is compliant with the Corporate Governance in Central Government Departments: Code of Good Practice 2017, with three exceptions. Firstly, the FCDO does not have a Nominations and Governance Committee, but it has a Senior Leadership Board, chaired by the PUS. This carries out a similar role to a Nominations Committee, overseeing the performance, talent, and broader aspects of management of the Senior Civil Service within the FCDO. Ann Cormack is the Non-Executive Director sitting on this Board. Following the merger, the FCDO is putting in place a reward strategy for its Senior Civil Servants, including those who are members of the Diplomatic Service, and those at Board level. Secondly, junior Ministers are not members of the Supervisory Board, but they attend when relevant items are discussed. Lastly, the requirement for the Supervisory Board’s regular agenda to include scrutiny of Arm’s Length Bodies is fulfilled through other means, namely via the Management Board’s oversight, who will assess compliance with the code in Financial Year 2021/22.

Independent Commission for Aid Impact and National Audit Office Audit Reports

The Accounting Officer also takes account of findings from the work of the Independent Commission for Aid Impact, an Arm’s Length Body which is detailed below, and the National Audit Office.

During the year, ICAI examined and reported on a broad range of topics across ODA spending departments, including the UK’s support to the African Development Bank Group, assessing legacy DFID’s results in nutrition, the UK’s approach to tackling modern slavery through the aid programme, the UK’s work with Gavi the vaccine alliance, sexual exploitation and abuse by international peacekeepers, management of the 0.7% ODA spending target and UK aid spending during COVID-19: management of procurement through suppliers. The FCDO publishes its responses to ICAI reports and gives evidence on them to the House of Commons International Development Select Committee.

In April 2020, the NAO published a review of legacy DFID’s support to women and girls. The review assessed whether legacy DFID took a robust approach to developing its 2018-2030 Strategic Vision for Gender Equality; how DFID translated its Strategic Vision into practical action; and whether DFID knew what progress it is making against the aims of the 2018 Strategic Vision. The report acknowledged that legacy DFID was recognised as a global leader on gender equality. Legacy DFID welcomed and accepted the NAO’s recommendations which built on existing steps to deliver improvements. Since the merger, the FCDO has publicly committed to retaining and building on the Strategic Vision for Gender Equality, taking full advantage of our diplomatic and development levers. The FCDO is developing a new Programme Operating Framework. This will include a new rule that all programmes and policies will consider the impact of their interventions on gender equality, disability inclusion and other excluded groups. This will build on our legal commitment to consider gender equality in all UK development assistance, under the International Development (Gender Equality) Act 2014.

All NAO reports are published on its website.

Arm’s Length Bodies

The Permanent Under-Secretary is the FCDO’s Accounting Officer and responsible for:

one executive agency: Wilton Park
four executive Non-Departmental public bodies (NDPB): the Commonwealth Scholarship Commission; Westminster Foundation for Democracy; Great Britain-China Centre; and the Marshall Aid Commemoration Commission
two advisory NDPBs: Independent Commission for Aid Impact; and the UK India Round Table

In addition, the FCDO sponsors the British Council (a public corporation, NDPB and Charity) and FCDO Services (which is a trading fund and an executive agency). Both bodies are outside the FCDO accounting boundary. The FCDO is also a 100% shareholder in a public limited company (CDC Group plc). The FCDO operates an arm’s-length relationship for its shareholding, meaning that day-to-day operations and investment decisions are independent of government. The FCDO’s relationship with each NDPB is agreed and set out in a published Framework Agreement. This includes sections on funding levels, jointly agreed priorities, performance measures, engagement, financial controls and the governance framework. Information on each of the FCDO’s Arm’s Length Bodies is outlined below.

Further summary information is provided in Note 6, Note 17 and at Annex D outlining core income and expenditure for each entity alongside staffing numbers ^{[footnote 21]}.

British Council

The British Council is the UK’s international organisation for cultural relations and educational opportunities. It is a charity governed by Royal Charter, a public corporation and a non-departmental public body sponsored by the FCDO. The FCDO provides the British Council with Grant-in-Aid (GiA) in regular amounts not related to a specific contract. In 2020-21 the Council received £149 million GiA, of which £135 million was ODA. The Council publishes its own Annual Report and Accounts.

FCDO Services

FCDO Services is an agency of FCDO as well as a Trading Fund. As a Trading Fund, FCDOS provides a range of integrated secure services worldwide to the FCDO, other UK public bodies and foreign governments and international organisations closely linked to the UK. FCDOS generates its own income to fund its activities. The FCDO holds an investment in FCDOS, comprised of 100% of its Public Dividend Capital of £4,981,000. The Annual Report and Accounts can be found at www.fcdoservices.gov.uk.

Wilton Park

Wilton Park brings fresh thinking to the development of international policy, advancing practical solutions to critical global issues. As an Executive Agency of the FCDO, it is administratively distinct from but legally part of the department. In 2020 to 2021 it adapted its core product from residential to virtual events, so as to keep operating through the pandemic. In 2020 to 2021 total operating expenditure was £6,580K and total operating income was £2,683K. FCDO provided funding of £3,425K to cover lost income as a result of the impact of COVID-19. Wilton Park produces its own Annual Report and Accounts document, and its Accounts are consolidated with the FCDO’s.

Great Britain China Centre (GBCC)

The Great Britain China Centre works to advance the UK’s interests with China through political dialogues, legal exchanges and capability building. The GBCC’s strategy focuses on three key areas of engagement, which are convening bilateral dialogues; strengthening the UK’s China knowledge and capabilities; and delivering projects which support legal and judicial reform in China. The GBCC receives £500,000 grant-in-aid per annum from the FCDO.

Marshall Aid Commemoration Commission (MACC)

The Marshall Aid Commemoration Commission was established under the 1953 Marshall Aid Commemoration Commission Act as an Executive NDPB. The Commission awards up to 50 postgraduate scholarships to exceptional American scholars for post-graduate study at leading UK universities. The FCDO provided MACC with Grant-in-Aid of £2.7million in 2020 to 2021. In 2020 to 2021, the Scholarships Unit represents the FCDO at MACC board meetings. The Foreign Secretary signs off the MACC annual report, and appointments to the MACC Board, including the Chair. The Annual Report and Accounts can be found at www.marshallscholarship.org.

Independent Commission for Aid Impact (ICAI)

The Independent Commission for Aid Impact scrutinises UK aid spending. ICAI operates independently of government and reports to Parliament through the House of Commons International Development Committee or their ICAI Sub-Committee. ICAI’s formal remit is to provide independent evaluation and scrutiny of the impact and value for money of all UK government ODA. This involves carrying out a small number of evidence based thematic reviews on strategic issues faced by the UK government’s aid spending, informing and supporting Parliament in its role of holding the UK government to account and ensuring ICAI’s work is made available to the public. ICAI’s mandate covers all ODA, whichever department it is spent by. The expenditure by ICAI in 2020 to 2021 was £3.2 million.

Westminster Foundation for Democracy (WFD)

WFD supports democratic practices in developing democracies. WFD is supported by both Grant-in-Aid and via the Inclusive and Accountable Politics (IAP) programme from the FCDO. GiA expenditure in 2020-21 was £3.2 million. IAP expenditure in 2020-21 was £3.2 million. The relationship between the WFD and the FCDO is governed by a Framework Document. The Foreign Secretary is accountable to Parliament for the activities of WFD and has responsibility for approving their strategic objectives, the appointment of the CEO, the Board, and laying of the WFD accounts before Parliament. Democratic Governance and Media Freedom Department is the sponsoring team in the FCDO and is the principal source of advice to the Foreign Secretary and the PUS on these matters. Officials report regularly to Ministers on WFD-related issues, in particular on funding, corporate planning and review-related issues. The Annual Report and Accounts can be found at www.wfd.org.

Commonwealth Scholarship Commission (CSC)

The Commonwealth Scholarship Commission in the UK awards scholarships and fellowships to Commonwealth citizens for postgraduate study and professional development. The CSC was established by an Act of Parliament in 1959 to manage the UK contribution to the Commonwealth Scholarship and Fellowship Plan (CSFP). Its status was subsequently reaffirmed in the International Development Act 2002. CSC is an executive non-departmental public body. The FCDO is the lead department and main sponsor. The FCDO provided the CSC with grant-in-aid in 2020-21 of £25.4 million. You can read the CSC’s Annual Report.

Closing Statement

I am satisfied with the FCDO’s governance arrangements in terms of safeguarding the use of taxpayers’ money. The effectiveness of the department’s corporate governance is continuing to improve, flexing and responding to the changing environment for the department. The work delivered in 2020-21 and the priority placed on governance controls across all areas of the department has assured me that the FCDO’s overall performance, governance framework, risk management and internal controls are satisfactory. There were no ministerial directions during the reporting period 2020 to 2021.

Sir Philip Barton KCMG OBE

Accounting Officer for the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office

17 September 2021

Development Goals – A comprehensive approach”. November 2020. EU engagement in the World, p12-15

Remuneration Report. The UK Parliament website holds the Register of Members’ Financial Interests.

How to publish central government transparency data – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk); International Development (Reporting and Transparency) Act 2006 (legislation.gov.uk); Freedom of Information Act 2000 (legislation.gov.uk); Managing public money – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) ↩
Due to COVID-19 pressures, the Cabinet Office did not commission updated Single Departmental Plans from Government departments for the 2020-21 Financial Year ↩
These figures are calculated by the World Bank and not the FCDO, click here to see more information. ↩
The UK used the International Financing Facility for Immunisation to frontload funding to COVAX: US$448 million early in 2021. The FCDO’s payment profile is spread over 8 years starting in November 2021. ↩
Please note that COVID-19 figures have been calculated based on the methodology set out in Statistics on International Development (SID): Provisional UK Aid Spend 2020. Therefore, programmes with a COVID-19 spend under £1 million have been excluded. For more information, please see section 7.9 in the Provisional SID 2020. Finalised COVID-19 spend figures for 2020 will be published in the Final SID in late September, will be the most up to data sources to used, and will be found on the SID gov.uk page. ↩
CSSF Programme funded: 2020-21 allocation £1,513,000 ↩
We are unable to comment on how the EU Exit altered centrally agreed Strategic Objectives or Priority Outcomes in 2020-21, as these were not established for the 2020-21 Financial Year. ↩
The Financial Review section of this report provides detail on the spend incurred over the 2020-21 Financial Year on EU Exit. ↩
Eurostat. Sustainable development in the European Union: Monitoring report on progress towards the SDGs in an EU context. 2020 edition. Goal 17 p307-320 ↩
European Commission Staff Working Document SWD(2020) 400 final “Delivering on the UN’s Sustainable ↩
FCDO’s commitment to COVAX AMC is through IFFIm bonds so although FCDO have not disbursed any funds, our pledge has already enabled a response. See Section 3, Note 11 to the Departmental Accounts for more information on COVAX AMC. ↩
tCO2 e stands for tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent. The GGC’s definition for reporting requirements for CO2 e is: “A universal unit of measurement used to indicate the global warming potential of a greenhouse gas, expressed in terms of global warming potential of one unit of carbon dioxide”. ↩
tCO2 e stands for tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent. The GGC’s definition for reporting requirements for CO2 e is: “A universal unit of measurement used to indicate the global warming potential of a greenhouse gas, expressed in terms of global warming potential of one unit of carbon dioxide” ↩
tCO2 e stands for tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent. The GGC’s definition for reporting requirements for CO2 e is: “A universal unit of measurement used to indicate the global warming potential of a greenhouse gas, expressed in terms of global warming potential of one unit of carbon dioxide”. ↩
Flag cars are vehicles used by Heads of Mission for official and representational purposes. ↩
A full list of Ministers that served in DFID, FCO and the FCDO during 2020-21 can be found in the ↩
Until 18 January 2021, Sir Tim Barrow was based in Brussels and serving as Head of the UK Mission to the European Union. The Political Director role requires frequent, often ad hoc, travel which has an impact on attendance at regular corporate engagements. ↩
Two meetings were not attended due to exceptional circumstances. ↩
Until 18 January 2021, Sir Tim Barrow was based in Brussels and serving as Head of the UK Mission to the European Union. The Political Director role requires frequent, often ad hoc, travel which has an impact on attendance at regular corporate engagements. ↩
Eight meetings were not attended due to exceptional circumstances. ↩
Note 17 includes further information of FCDO’s associated entities within and outside of the accounting entities. The British Council, the UK India Advisory Council, FCDO Services and British Inter-government Services Authority are not consolidated for the purpose of the Annual Accounts. The UK China Forum is a subsidiary of the Great Britain-China Centre (GBCC) and is consolidated as part of GBCC group. ↩

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1.1 Performance overview

Foreword by the Foreign Secretary: 2020-21 FCDO Annual Report and Accounts The Rt Hon Elizabeth Truss MP

Lead Non-Executive Director’s introduction to the Annual Report 2020 to 2021 Baroness Helena Louise Morrissey DBE

Our department

About the FCDO

Transformation in 2020 to 2021

The FCDO’s structure and people

Global distribution of FCDO Posts

Delivering effectively

Governance arrangements

Approach to risk management

DFID approach pre-merger (April to August 2020)

FCO approach pre-merger (April to August 2020)

FCDO approach post-merger (September 2020 to March 2021 and onwards)

Transparency

Scrutiny

Evaluation arrangements

Safeguarding

Aims and objectives in 2020 to 2021

Performance appraisal for 2020 to 2021

FCDO key achievements

Delivering maximum impact

Future plans

1.2 Performance analysis

PO 1: Shape the international order and ensure the UK is a force for good in the world by: supporting sustainable development and humanitarian needs; promoting human rights and democracy; and establishing common international standards

Global goals

Activities and achievements in 2020 to 2021

PO 2: Make the UK safer and more resilient to global threats

Global Goals

Activities and Achievements in 2020 to 2021

PO 3: Extend and amplify the UK’s influence in the world, including through successful application for ASEAN dialogue partner status

Global Goals

Activities and achievements in 2020 to 2021

FCDO’s Risk Profile

1.3 Financial review

The public sector budgeting framework

2020 to 2021 Outturn compared to Estimate

Outturn Against Estimate Variances

Resource DEL

Resource AME

Capital DEL

Capital AME

Budget to Accounts Reconciliation

Trend analysis

Spending Trends: combined FCO and DFID budgets, £ million

Analysis of the Consolidated Statement of Financial Position

Detail of the type of spend incurred over the year

COVID-19

Analysis of FCDO’s COVID-19 expenditure

EU Exit

Analysis of departmental group’s EU Exit expenditure

Official Development Assistance

1.4 Sustainability Report

Section 1: Overall strategy for sustainability

Environmental management system

Greening Government Commitments

Section 2: Greenhouse gas emissions

Greening Government Commitments: Progress Against Greenhouse Gas Emissions Consumption

Domestic flights

Greening Government Commitments: Progress Against Domestic Flights Target

Section 3: Waste management and minimisation

Greening Government Commitments: Water Reduction Process

Waste Disposal (Tonnes)

Single-use plastics – #BeyondPlastic

Paper

Greening Government Commitments: Progress Against Paper Consumption

Section 4: Water Consumption

Greening government commitments: progress against water target

Total office water consumption (m3)

Section 5: Normalised performance

Overview

Section 6: The Global Picture

Overview

Fleet

Global Travel

Section 7: Sustainable Procurement

Section 8: Broader Impacts

Climate change adaptation

Biodiversity and natural environment