Letter from the Permanent Secretary Matthew Rycroft to Dame Diana Johnson, Chair of the HASC and Dame Meg Hillier, Chair of the Public Accounts Committee (accessible)
Published 7 December 2023
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Sir Matthew Rycroft KCMG CBE
Permanent Secretary
2 Marsham Street
London SW1P 4DF
07 December 2023
Migration and Economic Development Partnership Funding
Dear Dame Diana and Dame Meg,
At the evidence sessions on 29th November and 4th December respectively, you and your Committees asked me about payments the UK Government had made to the Government of Rwanda for the purposes of the Migration and Economic Development Partnership.
As I said then, the total the UK Government paid in the financial year 2022-23 was £140m. This comprised an initial investment of £120 million through an Economic Transformation and Integration Fund (ETIF) which is for the economic development and growth of Rwanda. A separate payment of £20 million was also paid in this timeframe to support initial set up costs for the relocation of individuals.
I set out why Ministers had decided to announce payments in the 2023-24 financial year in our Annual Reporting and Accounts next summer, for reasons of balancing the public interest. I fully recognise the public interest in transparency and accountability of public authorities for expenditure and the broad public interest in furthering public understanding of the issues with which public authorities deal. However, this must also be balanced against public interests which work the other way. For example, you will recognise the importance of respecting commercial confidence and the maintenance of confidence between international partners.
Since then, Ministers have agreed that I can disclose now the payments so far in the 2023-24 financial year. There has been one payment of £100m, paid in April this year as part of the Economic Transformation and Integration Fund mentioned above. The UK Government has not paid any more to the Government of Rwanda thus far. This was entirely separate to the Treaty - The Government of Rwanda did not ask for any payment in order for a Treaty to be signed, nor was any offered. Any additional funds will be announced in our Annual Report and Accounts in the usual way.
In the 2024-25 financial year, we anticipate another payment of £50m as part of the ETIF as agreed with Government of Rwanda when the Migration and Economic Development Partnership was signed.
All of these payments are covered by the Ministerial Direction of 16th April 2022. Given the public interest, this letter will be published on GOV.UK.
Yours sincerely,
Sir Matthew Rycroft KCMG CBE