Government must reassure Foreign Office staff after aid cuts, says SNP MP

An SNP MP has called on the UK Government to give “urgent reassurance” that jobs will be protected at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) in East Kilbride following the announcement of cuts to aid spending.

SNP business, trade and development spokesperson Chris Law spoke on Friday following Anneliese Dodds’s resignation as international development minister over the decision to cut overseas aid to fund a boost to defence spending.

It is understood that prior to her resignation Ms Dodds had been due to visit the FCDO office in East Kilbride in an official capacity.

Mr Law said the 1,500 staff based at the office, which was formerly the headquarters for the Department for International Development (DFID) before its amalgamation into the Foreign Office, needed “reassurance” that their jobs will be protected.

The Dundee Central MP also criticised the decision to slash the aid budget, saying that Ms Dodds was “absolutely correct” to say in her resignation letter that the cuts would undermine the Government’s core foreign aid objectives.

“Anneliese’s decision to resign is a principled stance in the face of what are deeply damaging cuts to the world’s most vulnerable from Keir Starmer and his government,” he said.

“She is absolutely correct in her resignation letter – the Prime Minister cannot claim that his government will continue to deliver on their core foreign aid objectives, all whilst slashing the spending required to deliver on them.

“Just last year the Labour government were promising to raise aid spending back to the 0.7% target as soon as the fiscal circumstances allow – they need to now make clear to the wider aid sector if they have abandoned this promise.

“The UK Government must also give urgent reassurance to the 1,500 members of FCDO staff based in East Kilbride who previously worked for DFID that their jobs will continue to be protected, in light of these additional cuts.”

Earlier this week, the Prime Minister announced that defence spending will be increasing to 2.5% of GDP by 2027, with a view to it hitting 3% in the next parliament.

But to fund it, development assistance aid will be slashed from its current level of 0.5% of gross national income to 0.3% in 2027.

A UK Government spokesperson said: “The FCDO remains committed to a long-term presence in Scotland.”