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 FCDO Main Building,Westminster | |
| Department overview | |
|---|---|
| Formed | 1782; 243 years ago (1782) (as theForeign Office) |
| Preceding agencies | |
| Jurisdiction | Government of the United Kingdom |
| Headquarters | King Charles Street LondonSW1 51°30′11″N0°07′40″W / 51.50306°N 0.12778°W /51.50306; -0.12778 |
| Annual budget | £8.172bn (resource) & £2.759bn (capital) in 2024–25[1] |
| Secretary of State responsible |
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| Department executive | |
| Child agencies | |
| Website | gov |
TheForeign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) is theministry of foreign affairs and aministerial department of thegovernment of the United Kingdom.
The office was created on 2 September 2020 through the merger of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) and theDepartment for International Development (DFID).[2] The FCO was itself created in 1968 by the merger of the Foreign Office (FO) and theCommonwealth Office. The department in its various forms is responsible for representing and promoting British interests worldwide.
The head of the FCDO is thesecretary of state for foreign, Commonwealth and development affairs, commonly abbreviated to "foreign secretary". This is regarded as one of the four most prestigious positions in theCabinet – theGreat Offices of State – alongside those ofPrime Minister,Chancellor of the Exchequer andHome Secretary.David Lammy was appointed Foreign Secretary on 5 July 2024 following the2024 general election.
The FCDO is managed day-to-day by acivil servant, thepermanent under-secretary of state for foreign affairs, who also acts as the Head ofHis Majesty's Diplomatic Service.Sir Oliver Robbins took office as permanent under-secretary on 8 January 2025.
The expenditure, administration and policy of the FCDO are scrutinised by theForeign Affairs Select Committee.[3]
According to the FCDO website, the department's key responsibilities (as of 2020) are as follows:[4]
In addition to the above responsibilities, the FCDO is responsible for theBritish Overseas Territories, which had previously been administered from 1782 to 1801 by theHome Office, from 1801 to 1854 by theWar and Colonial Office, from 1854 to 1966 by theColonial Office, from 1966 to 1968 by theCommonwealth Office, from 1968 to 2020 by theForeign and Commonwealth Office, and since 2020 by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (this did not includeprotectorates, which fell under the purview of theForeign Office, or toBritish India, which had been administered by theEast India Company until 1858, and thereafter by theIndia Office).[5] This arrangement has been subject to criticism in the UK and in the overseas territories. For example, thechief minister of Anguilla,Victor Banks, said: "We are not foreign; neither are we members of theCommonwealth, so we should have a different interface with the UK that is based on mutual respect".[6] There have been numerous suggestions on ways to improve the relationship between the overseas territories and the UK. Suggestions have included setting up a dedicated department to handle relations with the overseas territories, similarly to the FrenchMinistry of the Overseas, or alternatively the absorption of the Overseas Territories Directorate (OTD) in theCabinet Office, thus affording the overseas territories with better connections to the centre of government.[7]
The FCDO ministers are as follows, with cabinet ministers in bold:[8]
| Minister | Portrait | Office | Portfolio |
|---|---|---|---|
| David LammyMP |  | Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs | Overarching responsibility for the departmental portfolio and oversight of the ministerial team; Cabinet; National Security Council (NSC); strategy; intelligence policy; honours. |
| Jenny Chapman, Baroness Chapman of Darlington |  | Minister of State for International Development, Latin America and Caribbean | International development; Caribbean and Small Island Developing States; soft power (including FCDO arms-length bodies British Council, BBC World Service and Wilton Park); devolution |
| Stephen DoughtyMP |  | Minister of State for Europe, North America and Overseas Territories | Europe; Central Asia; US and Canada; Overseas Territories and Polar regions; Gibraltar; Organisation for Security & Cooperation in Europe and Council of Europe; NATO and Euro-Atlantic security; defence and international security; national security; export controls sanctions; sanctions |
| Catherine WestMP |  | Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Indo-Pacific | India and the Indian Ocean; China and Northeast Asia; Southeast Asia and the Pacific; economic security and growth; economics and evaluation; technology and analysis; departmental operations, including legal |
| Hamish FalconerMP |  | Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Middle East, Afghanistan and Pakistan | Middle East and North Africa; Afghanistan and Pakistan; consular and crisis operations |
| Ray Collins, Baron Collins of Highbury |  | Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Africa | East, Central, West and Southern Africa; African Union; multilateral and human rights (including United Nations and Commonwealth) |
The Foreign Office was formed in March 1782 by combining theSouthern andNorthern Departments of the Secretary of State, each of which covered both foreign and domestic affairs in their parts of the Kingdom. The two departments' foreign affairs responsibilities became the Foreign Office, whilst their domestic affairs responsibilities were assigned to the Home Office. The Home Office is technically the senior.[9]
During the 19th century, it was not infrequent for the Foreign Office to approachThe Times newspaper and ask for continental intelligence, which was often superior to that conveyed by official sources.[10] Examples of journalists who specialized in foreign affairs and were well connected to politicians included:Henry Southern,Valentine Chirol, Harold Nicolson, andRobert Bruce Lockhart.[11]
During theFirst World War, theArab Bureau was set up within the British Foreign Office as a section of theCairo Intelligence Department. During the earlyCold War an important department was theInformation Research Department (IRD) which was used to create propaganda against socialist and anti-colonial movements. The Foreign Office hired its first woman diplomat,Monica Milne, in 1946.[12]
The FCO was formed on 17 October 1968, from the merger of the short-livedCommonwealth Office and theForeign Office.[13] The Commonwealth Office had been created only in 1966, by the merger of theCommonwealth Relations Office and theColonial Office, the Commonwealth Relations Office having been formed by the merger of theDominions Office and the India Office in 1947—with the Dominions Office having been split from the Colonial Office in 1925.
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office held responsibility forinternational development issues between 1970 and 1974, and again between 1979 and 1997.
The National Archives website contains a government timeline to show the departments responsible for foreign affairs from 1945.[14]
From 1997, international development became the responsibility of the separateDepartment for International Development.
WhenDavid Miliband took over as Foreign Secretary in June 2007, he set in hand a review of the FCO's strategic priorities. One of the key messages of these discussions was the conclusion that the existing framework of ten international strategic priorities, dating from 2003, was no longer appropriate. Although the framework had been useful in helping the FCO plan its work and allocate its resources, there was agreement that it needed a new framework to drive its work forward.
The new strategic framework consists of three core elements:
In August 2005, a report by management consultant group Collinson Grant was made public byAndrew Mackinlay. The report severely criticised the FCO's management structure, noting:
The Foreign Office commissioned the report to highlight areas which would help it achieve its pledge to reduce spending by £87 million over three years. In response to the report being made public, the Foreign Office stated it had already implemented the report's recommendations.[15]
In 2009, Gordon Brown created the position of Chief Scientific Adviser (CSA) to the FCO. The first science adviser wasDavid Clary.[16]
On 25 April 2010, the department apologised afterThe Sunday Telegraph obtained a "foolish" document calling for the upcoming September visit ofPope Benedict XVI to be marked by the launch of "Benedict-branded"condoms, the opening of anabortion clinic and the blessing of asame-sex marriage.[17]
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In 2012, the Foreign Office was criticised byGerald Steinberg of the Jerusalem-based research instituteNGO Monitor, saying that the Foreign Office and the Department for International Development provided more than £500,000 in funding toPalestinian NGOs which he said "promote political attacks on Israel". In response, a spokesman for the Foreign Office said "we are very careful about who and what we fund. The objective of our funding is to support efforts to achieve atwo-state solution. Funding a particular project for a limited period of time does not mean that we endorse every single action or public comment made by an NGO or by its employees."[18]
In September 2012, the FCO and theCanadian Department of Foreign Affairs signed a Memorandum of Understanding on diplomatic cooperation, which promotes the co-location of embassies, the joint provision of consular services, and common crisis response. The project has been criticised for further diminishing the UK's influence in Europe.[19]
In 2011, the then Foreign Secretary,William Hague, announced the government's intention to open a number of new diplomatic posts in order to enhance the UK's overseas network.[20][21] As such, eight new embassies and six new consulates were opened around the world.[22]
On 16 June 2020, Prime MinisterBoris Johnson announced the merger of the FCO with the Department for International Development.[23] This was following the decision in theFebruary 2020 cabinet reshuffle to give cross-departmental briefs to all junior ministers in the Department for International Development and the Foreign Office.[24] The merger, which created the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, took place in September 2020[25] with a stated aim of ensuring thataid is spent "in line with the UK's priorities overseas".[26] The merger was criticised by three former prime ministers –Gordon Brown,Tony Blair andDavid Cameron – with Cameron saying that it would mean "less respect for the UK overseas".[27] The chief executive ofSave the Children, Kevin Watkins, called it "reckless, irresponsible and a dereliction of UK leadership" that "threatens to reverse hard-won gains in child survival, nutrition and poverty".[27]
In November 2021, it was reported that anemployment tribunal had ruled that the FCDO had racially discriminated against Sonia Warner, a black senior civil servant, by treating her unfairly in a disciplinary process.[28]
On 21 February 2022, UK Minister for Africa announced a new £74 million financial package to support women entrepreneurs across Nigeria, who own businesses and small and medium enterprises (SME's).[29]
In 2022, Maria Bamieh settled an employment claim against the Foreign Office for more than £400,000 shortly before her claim was due to be heard by an employment tribunal. She said that the Foreign Office failed to support her when she attempted to expose corruption at theEU's rule of law mission (EULEX). The Foreign Office said : "We have agreed to settle this long-running case without any admission of liability and continue to strongly refute these allegations."[30]
Following a prior announcement by the then Foreign SecretaryWilliam Hague, the FCO opened theDiplomatic Academy in February 2015.[31] The new centre, opened by theDuke of Cambridge, was established in order to create a cross-government centre of excellence for all civil servants working on international issues.[31] The Diplomatic Academy serves to broaden the FCO's network and engaged in more collaborative work with academic and diplomatic partners.[31]
The FCDO, through its core departmental budget, funds projects which are in line with its policy priorities outlined in its Single Departmental Plan.[4] This funding includes bothOfficial Development Assistance (ODA), and non-ODA funds. The funds are used for a wide range of projects and serve to support traditional diplomatic activities.[4]
The FCDO plays a key role in delivering two, major UK government funds which work to support the government'sNational Security Strategy and Aid Strategy.[4]
The FCDO also supports a number of academic funds:
In 2021, the UK government cut its overseas aid budget from 0.7% to 0.5% of Gross National Income[40] despite UK legislation against such a move.[41][42] These cuts, amounting to GBP 4 billion,[43] reduced funding for humanitarian intervention by 44%[44] in places likeYemen andSyria.[43] It also cut funding for the fight againstpolio,malaria andHIV/AIDS.[45] Funding for girls education worldwide was also reduced by 25%.[46][47]
TheGlobal Innovation Fund (GIF) announced the first two investments made under its 'Innovating for Climate Resilience fund', which was launched atCOP26 with support from the UK's Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) and in partnership with the Adaptation Research Alliance and the Global Resilience Partnership.[48]
According to the FCDO and Foreign Secretary, the UK committed over £100 million in aid to the OPTs (Occupied Palestinian territories) for the 2023/2024 period, of which £35 million was specifically provided toUNRWA before it was suspended in January 2024.[49][50] The funding was suspended after allegations surfaced that members of staff atUNRWA had been involved in the 7 Octoberattacks by Hamas in Israel in 2023; however, in July 2024, UK Foreign SecretaryDavid Lammy announced that the UK would resume funding toUNRWA.[51][52]
In April 2006, a newexecutive agency was established, FCO Services (now FCDO Services), to provide corporate service functions.[53] It moved toTrading Fund status in April 2008, so that it had the ability to provide services similar to those it already offers to the FCDO[54] to other government departments and even to outside businesses.
As of 2017Sir Simon Gass isNon-Executive Director andChair of the FCDO Services Board.[55]
FCDO Services operates globally in 250 destinations across 168 countries; with office regions covering Asia & Pacific, Europe & Central Asia, Middle East & Africa and The Americas.[56]
The services FCDO Services offer are "Digital and Cloud", "Securing your Buildings and Spaces", "Logistics", "Translation andInterpreting" and "Technical Security fromUK NACE".[57]
It is accountable to the secretary of state for foreign, Commonwealth and development affairs, and provides secure support services to the FCDO, other government departments and foreign governments and bodies with which the UK has close links.[58]
Since 2011, FCDO Services has been developing the Government Secure Application Environment (GSAE) on a securecloud computing platform to support UK government organisations.[59] It also manages the UK National Authority for Counter Eavesdropping (UK NACE) which helps protect UK assets from physical, electronic andcyber attack.[60]
FCDO Services is a public sector organisation, it is not funded by the public and has to rely on the income it produces to meet its costs, by providing services on a commercial basis to customers both in the UK and throughout the world. Its accounting officer and chief executive is accountable to the secretary of state for foreign, Commonwealth and development affairs and to Parliament, for the organisation's performance and conduct.
The FCDO Global Response Office is based in an undisclosed location. It operates 24/7, every day of the year. It takes calls from British Nationals overseas, usually in emergency situations such as lost passports, hospitalisations, deaths and arrests.[61]
The historical records of the FCO was transferred to a permanent loan toKing’s College London in 2007 likely from the review to reduce due to cost reduction of non core activities at the FCO.[62] The collection consists of 90,000 artifacts from the early 16th Century (mainly of Tudor England) to present.
As well as embassies abroad, the FCDO has premises within the UK:
The FCO formerly also used the following building:
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office occupies a building which originally provided premises for four separate government departments: the Foreign Office, the India Office, the Colonial Office, and the Home Office. Construction on the building began in 1861 and finished in 1868, on the plot of land bounded by Whitehall, King Charles Street, Horse Guards Road andDowning Street. The building was designed by the architectGeorge Gilbert Scott.[64] Its architecture is in theItalianate style; Scott had initially envisaged aGothic design, butLord Palmerston, then prime minister, insisted on a classical style.[64] The English sculptorsHenry Hugh Armstead andJohn Birnie Philip produced a number of allegorical figures ("Art", "Law", "Commerce", etc.) for the exterior.
In 1925 the Foreign Office played host to the signing of theLocarno Treaties, aimed at reducing tension in Europe. The ceremony took place in a suite of rooms that had been designed for banqueting, which subsequently became known as the Locarno Suite.[65] During the Second World War, the Locarno Suite's fine furnishings were removed or covered up, and it became home to a Foreign Office code-breaking department.[65]
Due to increasing numbers of staff, the offices became increasingly cramped and much of the fineVictorian interior was covered over—especially after theSecond World War. In the 1960s, demolition was proposed, as part of major redevelopment plan for the area drawn up by the architectLeslie Martin.[64] A subsequent public outcry prevented these proposals from ever being implemented. Instead, the Foreign Office became a Grade Ilisted building in 1970.[64] In 1978, the Home Office moved to a new building, easing overcrowding.
With a new sense of the building's historical value, it underwent a 17-year, £100 million restoration process, completed in 1997.[64] The Locarno Suite, used as offices and storage since the Second World War, was fully restored for use in international conferences. The building is now open to the public each year overOpen House Weekend.
In 2014 refurbishment to accommodate all Foreign and Commonwealth Office employees into one building was started byMace.[66]
International relations are handled centrally from Whitehall on behalf of the whole of the United Kingdom and its dependencies. However, the devolved administrations also maintain an overseas presence in the European Union, the U.S. and China alongside British diplomatic missions. These offices aim to promote their own economies and ensure that devolved interests are taken into account inBritish foreign policy. Ministers from devolved administrations can attend international negotiations when agreed with the British Government, e.g. EU fisheries negotiations.[67]
The Foreign Affairs Committee examines the expenditure, administration and policy of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) and other bodies associated with the Foreign Office
This article incorporates text published under the BritishOpen Government Licence:"Our ministers".GOV.UK. Foreign Commonwealth & Development Office. Retrieved27 July 2024.Chevening Awards are supported by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office
Marshall Scholarships are mainly funded by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office
The Forced Marriage Unit (FMU) is a joint Foreign and Commonwealth Office and Home Office unit
UK Government policy advisers from... Foreign and Commonwealth Office
Part of: Foreign & Commonwealth Office
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