DfID restructure expected to cost at least £50 million

The Whitehall restructure that will see the Department for International Development (DfID) taken over by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) is expected to cost at least £50 million to the British taxpayer.

The Prime Minister announced the large-scale restructure in June, and has faced criticism over the likelihood that the move would significantly damage the respect and influence the UK has built up overseas. Such criticism has been voiced by former Prime Minister David Cameron, we all as former Labour Prime Ministers Tony Blair and Gordon Brown.

The Labour Party is arguing that the £50 million could have been better spent during this coronavirus crisis paying for more than 2,000 qualified nurses or 8.3 million coronavirus antibody tests. On top of this, the opposition also say that move risks limiting the lifesaving support UK aid provides to the world’s poorest, especially during health crises which do not respect borders, like global pandemics.

Preet Kaur Gill, Labour’s Shadow International Development Secretary, commented: “The government should be completely focused on getting on with its job of governing the country and steering us through the huge challenges we face. Getting rid of an independent Department for International Development during a global pandemic is irresponsible, counter-productive and wrong. It is consistently rated as the most effective and transparent department at delivering real value for money for British taxpayers, whereas the Foreign Office routinely ranks far worse. At a time when we need the global health expertise to drive the global response to Covid-19 and avoid further deadly waves, abolishing the department will undoubtedly put the lives of people here in the UK and those abroad at serious risk.”