Future of Department for International Development

That the Parliament expresses concern regarding the future of a Department for International Development separate from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO), following reports that a UK Government Cabinet reshuffle could result in a single, merged department; recognises what it sees as the need for a strong international development sector, which has been supported by a coalition of aid groups, including the British Red Cross, Cafod and Oxfam; considers with concern that the key poverty reduction goals of the aid budget could be blurred by working within an FCO with different political objectives; believes that this would undermine the UK’s reputation as a world leader in global development, and hopes that the UK Government will reject this option, which it believes would limit the department’s effectiveness and create incoherence.