Corporate report

FCDO annual report and accounts 2024 to 2025

Updated 11 December 2025

1. Performance report

1.1. Performance overview

The performance overview section of this report sets out key information about the department, including the structures that have been established to ensure we deliver effectively. This section also outlines our objectives and includes a performance appraisal for the 2024 to 2025 financial year.

Foreign Secretary foreword

The world is increasingly volatile. More conflicts than at any time since 1945. The multilateral system under deep strain. Geopolitical tensions rising, increasing competition over resources needed for the green and tech transitions.

Britain has never been able to isolate itself from the world around us. In fact, in today’s world the line between the foreign and the domestic is increasingly blurred. Soaring costs. Rising irregular migration. Increased threat from cyber attacks or disinformation.

That’s why the work of this department matters so much. I am proud to lead our diplomats and development experts in reconnecting Britain with the world.

Together, we are investing in the key relationships and striking the most important deals to make Britain more prosperous and more secure.

We have ushered in a new era in our relationship with Europe while strengthening our enduring bond with the United States. Businesses and citizens want to be able to do business and form lasting connections with these long-standing partners – thanks to the agreements we have struck, this is easier.

But we are not just relying on our nearest neighbours and oldest friends. We have signed a 100 Year Partnership with Ukraine. Struck a landmark free trade deal with India. Held the first ever Ministerial dialogue on economic security with Japan. Hosted an historic State Visit from Qatar.

The importance of these relationships is clear as we respond to conflicts and crises.

We and our allies have been united in pursuing a just and lasting peace in Ukraine. We have been firm in our calls for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, the release of all the hostages, an end to inhumane limits on aid and a return to efforts to secure a two-state solution. And we have shone a spotlight on the catastrophe unfolding in Sudan.

The recent tensions between Israel and Iran underscore the importance of our continued diplomatic efforts to promote stability and peace in the region.

But this department cannot focus solely on crisis management. We also have to address domestic priorities which cannot be solved without effort abroad: tackling climate change, clamping down on irregular migration and boosting economic growth.

Since coming into office, we have formed a new Global Clean Power Alliance, bringing together countries at different stages of the energy transition, determined to accelerate progress. We were the first country in the world to develop legislation for a new sanctions regime specifically targeting irregular migration and organised immigration crime. And we have launched a new Soft Power Council, strengthening our cooperation with Britain’s world-leading creative industries.

To make further progress, the department recognises the need for reform. We are beginning to become more focused on delivery and more open to new ideas and technology. Embracing AI in particular can be transformative, freeing up our staff to spend even more time forging connections all over the world.

Driving forward reform while also responding to a fast-changing world is not easy. Our mettle is being tested, as a department and as a nation.

But after a year in this job, I have seen our potential. Again and again, our brilliant and hardworking staff deliver for Britain, often in incredibly challenging circumstances. I have no doubt they will continue to do so in the year ahead.

Statement from the Permanent Under-Secretary

I am pleased to present this year’s Annual Report and Accounts (ARA) as the new Permanent Under-Secretary for the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO). I would like to thank Sir Philip Barton for his leadership of the department from 2020 to early 2025. Since starting this role in January, I have been committed to ensuring the FCDO continues to serve the British people with purpose and impact.

To support the Government’s priorities, I am proud to present the FCDO2030 reform plan, outlined in this year’s Annual Report and Accounts. Our focus is clear: enhanced strategic thinking and stricter prioritisation to deliver on the things that matter most to the British People. A smaller workforce, with the right capabilities, supported through digital and technological transformation.

Since the new government came into power in July 2024, our diplomatic efforts have been focused on supporting the Government’s Plan for Change as the international strategy and delivery arm of the UK Government. Through deepened international partnerships and strategic influence, we have secured significant investments, supported British businesses abroad, and shaped global decisions that impact our economy at home.

We supported the Department for Business and Trade (DBT) to deliver the International Investment Summit, securing £63 billion of inward investment that will create nearly 38,000 jobs for the UK. The FCDO’s global network has secured new trade partnerships with dynamic, fast-growing economies, opening new avenues for UK growth. Notably, the UK’s accession to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) is a significant step towards enhancing the Government’s global trade relationships and economic growth. Moreover, our engagement with China has unlocked economic opportunities valued at £600 million, with the potential to grow to £1 billion over the next five years.

We strengthened national security by forging defence and migration agreements with Germany, deepening ties with Japan and South Korea, and enhancing NATO commitments. As part of these efforts, 341 individuals, entities, and ships associated with Russian activities were sanctioned between the start of April 2024 and the end of April 2025. These measures have crippled Russia’s military supply chains and financial networks. These actions, part of the Prime Minister’s Plan for Change, ensure the UK’s safety and stability on the global stage.

The Middle East continues to face significant challenges due to ongoing conflicts and humanitarian crises. Despite our continued diplomatic efforts to de-escalate tensions and push for a sustainable ceasefire, the situation remains highly volatile. Amid the recent Israel-Iran escalation, we are monitoring developments and adjusting policies. The UK government has evacuated 383 British nationals and eligible individuals from Israel. For the 2024 to 2025 financial year, we announced spending commitments totalling £129 million to the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPTs). This includes support for humanitarian relief, boosting Palestinian economic development and growth, strengthening Palestinian Authority governance reform, and providing essential services to Palestinian refugees in the OPTs and wider region. In October 2024, we announced an additional funding package of £10 million for humanitarian support in Lebanon. This aid includes essential medical supplies, emergency cash assistance, shelter, and access to clean water. This follows a £5 million announcement in September 2024 to support UNICEF.

In the last year, the FCDO supported British nationals caught up in numerous international crises, including in the Middle East, where we engaged directly with over 5,500 affected British nationals and eligible persons (based on the FCDO’s consular database). This included deploying additional staff into the region and assisting 516 people to leave Lebanon on HMG chartered flights.

We are resetting the UK’s relationship with the Overseas Territories in line with our enduring constitutional responsibilities, following the principle of “nothing about you without you”. We have increased the amount of development assistance that we are providing to the Territories to help fund their essential expenditure. The assistance we have provided on our mutual priorities includes support for policing and border security, helping address environmental challenges and budgetary support for those in most need. We continued to fulfil our commitments under the Antarctic Treaty system, supported delivery of the Arctic Policy Framework, and promoted conservation and sustainable management of the Polar Regions. UK support to BIOT continues during the finalisation of the Treaty with Mauritius over the long-term security of the military base on Diego Garcia.

Despite some of the significant challenges we have faced as a department, we have advanced climate and development goals in ways that promote sustainable economic growth. UK-led reforms helped unlock billons in climate finance from international financial institutions, whilst new development tools – such as the British International Investment facility and the Dhamana Guarantee in Kenya – are mobilising private capital and opening new markets for UK expertise.

Our international leadership secures trade and investment, defends national security, and tackles global challenges, making the UK safer, more prosperous, and better prepared for the future.

Statement from the FCDO’s Lead Non-Executive Director

As this report makes clear, if there was one word to describe the past year for the FCDO, it would undoubtedly be ’change’. The Non-Executive Director team has not escaped that change. In April 2024 we welcomed James Bilefield as a Non-Executive Director with an expertise in digital.

We also bid farewell to John Coffey after more than four and a half years as a Non-Executive Director and Chair of the Audit and Risk Assurance Committee. I am grateful to John for all his support to the department particularly in the area of risk and assurance.

Further NED appointments have been recently confirmed, and I am delighted to welcome Jon Watts and Karen Blackett to the FCDO Non-Executive Director team. Jon brings a wealth of experience in business and the third sector and will chair the Audit and Risk Assurance Committee; Karen brings extensive multinational, government and private sector experience. As they began their terms in the financial year 2025-26 they are not listed as Non-Executive Directors in this report, but will be included next year and in subsequent years.

Amidst all of the change I am proud of the significant strides the FCDO has made. One of the department’s notable achievements this year has been the completion of the rebuild of our technology foundations, including the international roll out of a single IT platform, a global business process platform and a new global communications network. These significant milestones have delivered immediate resilience and efficiency benefits, and position us strongly for the next phase of our digital transformation as we look to integrate advanced technologies, including artificial intelligence, into our operations. We have already implemented AI-driven products and analytics to great effect in our consular and public enquiry services, and our records publishing review processes.

I am pleased that this year the NEDs have been able to continue their visits to the FCDO’s global network, meeting a wide range of colleagues working on the front line of diplomatic, development and consular work. I accompanied Corin Robertson (DG Finance and Corporate) on her visit to our posts in New York, Washington, and Ottawa, joining her in all-staff meetings that provided invaluable opportunities to hear directly from our dedicated staff. Further visits were to our posts in Dublin and The Hague. These interactions have reinforced our belief in the strength and resilience of the FCDO’s global team, as well as being invaluable for deepening our understanding of the huge variety of work the department undertakes and the challenges it faces.

The NED team have supported the department’s senior leadership in navigating the organisation-wide changes this year, through formal governance structures and informally outside the board room. The department is currently reviewing its governance structures to align with, and oversee, the FCDO2030 reform plan. In the meantime, the monthly Management Board and sub-committees provide oversight and assurance over the department’s performance supported by the NED team.

Finally, on behalf of all current and former FCDO NEDs I want to pay tribute to Sir Philip Barton following his retirement from the FCDO earlier this year. His departure marks the end of an era, and I would like to express my gratitude for his dedication and leadership. The NEDs and I have already enjoyed working closely with Sir Olly Robbins, and look forward to doing so more closely over the coming year – a year, no doubt, of further change and opportunity.

FCDO2030

In response to a rapidly shifting global backdrop, the FCDO will undergo significant transformation in the coming years, making us better equipped to deliver enduring impact for the British people. Building on our strong foundations, we are sharpening our strategic focus, investing in professional excellence, and embracing new technology and ways of working. By 2030 we will be a smaller department, but a more modern and effective one.

The guiding principle of FCDO2030 is to deliver the greatest impact for the British people.

FCDO 2030 will focus on 5 key areas:

• Strategy and prioritisation: Developing a clear international strategy that directs our resources and expertise where they will make the greatest difference
• Delivery and impact: Focusing on achieving outcomes that advance the government’s priorities, creating a more secure and prosperous UK and world
• Professional capability: Investing in training for staff, giving them the tools, time, and space to apply their skills and expertise most effectively
• Culture and openness: Bringing in required expertise, more diversity of thought and background, and encouraging more engagement with external partners to better understand the world
• Efficiency and innovation: Streamlining processes to create a modern department that enables our staff to spend more time on the highest impact work

Where we work

282 officially designated overseas posts which breaks down as follows:

• 162 Embassies and High Commissions (of which 5 are temporarily suspended – Damascus, Kabul, Khartoum, Pyongyang and Sana’a)
• 64 Consulates, Consulate Generals and Deputy High Commissions
• 11 Permanent Missions to International Organisations
• 12 Overseas Territories Posts
• 4 Resident Commissioners and Administrators
• 29 Other Representations (of which 3 are temporarily suspended: Gaza, Kaduna and Goma)

FCDO organisation

FCDO Senior Leadership

Rt Hon David Lammy MP
Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs

Baroness Chapman of Darlington
Minister of State (International Development, Latin America and Caribbean)

Stephen Doughty MP
Minister of State (Europe, North America and Overseas Territories)

Catherine West MP
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Indo-Pacific)

Hamish Falconer MP
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan, Pakistan)

Lord Collins of Highbury
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Africa)

Senior staff, as at 31 March 2025

Sir Oliver Robbins
Permanent Under-Secretary (PUS)

Nick Dyer
Second Permanent Under‑Secretary (2PUS)

Corin Robertson
DG Finance and Corporate

Christian Turner
DG Geopolitics and Political Director

Jonathan Allen
DG Defence and Intelligence

Harriet Mathews
DG Africa Americas and the Overseas Territories

Owen Jenkins
DG Indo-Pacific and MENA

Jenny Bates
DG Economics, Climate and Global Issues

Melinda Bohannon
DG Humanitarian and Development

Dame Deborah Bronnert
DG Europe (interim)

Sally Langrish
DG Legal

Performance summary

For further detail on our performance, including specific achievements against our Priority Outcomes, see the Performance Analysis section.

Key achievements against our Priority Outcomes

• Growth: First Japan-UK Economic Ministers’ meeting in Tokyo to promote dialogue on trade and economic security as part of foreign policy on 7 March 2025
• Growth: Supported Indian regional investment as part of expansion of £42.6 billion partnership between India and UK, hosting India’s External Affairs Minister Dr Jaishankar at Chevening House on 5 March 2025
• Security: We made clear the UK’s unshakeable commitment to NATO at its 75th Anniversary Summit, including pledging £3 billion of support to Ukraine each year
• Security: We are leading the way in targeting Russia’s shadow fleet of vessels transporting Russian oil and gas in breach of sanctions. On 24 February, we sanctioned a further 40 oil tankers, bringing the total designated by this Government to 133, alongside 14 ’New Kleptocrats’ fronting strategic sectors of Russia’s economy
• Europe: Deepened UK-Germany defence cooperation across all domains with the signing of the Trinity House Agreement on 23 October 2024. The agreement sets out our mutual commitment to improve and further enhance bilateral defence co-operation to better meet the common challenges of the 21st century and to best secure the common interests of both countries in defence
• Europe: Innovative approaches to implementing the EU’s Entry-Exit System (EES) taken forward with France and the EU Commission at the UK-France juxtaposed controls (including Port of Dover), to improve border fluidity
• Climate and Nature: At COP29, the Prime Minister launched the new Climate Investment Funds (CIF) Capital Markets Mechanism (CCMM), on the London Stock Exchange (LSE), designed to raise up to $75 billion to finance clean energy projects in developing nations. This innovative financial initiative, supported by FCDO and the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero alongside our international partners, marks a pivotal step in global climate funding aiming to direct substantial private sector capital into impactful green infrastructure
• Climate and Nature: We announced new initiatives to tackle deforestation and support indigenous people, including a new 10-year partnership to reduce illegal logging and benefit forest-dependent people
• Migration: The UK and Italy launched a joint taskforce on illicit finance, which held its first meeting in Italy in February 2025
• Migration: In February 2025, the UK and French Interior Minister launched new police and enforcement plans, including state of the art surveillance technology to disrupt smuggling gangs in France
• Development: In August 2024, we announced an £86 million funding package to support Sudan. This initiative provided urgent humanitarian aid to the most vulnerable in South Sudan, Sudan, and Chad, ensuring 180,000 people received food and cash transfers, and 40,000 gained access to safe water
• Development: We launched a new British International Investment facility which will work with the City of London to mobilise billions in pension and insurance funds, to invest in boosting development and fighting climate change

Key achievements for consular services and crisis response:

• Consular and Crisis: In 2024 to 2025, we provided tailored consular assistance to over 22,200 British nationals overseas, including support to families of more than 6,000 British nationals who had died overseas, 3,500 who had been hospitalised and almost 5,000 who had been detained (based on the FCDO’s consular database)

• Consular and Crisis: In 2024 to 2025 we also answered over 400,000 enquiries and issued more than 24,500 Emergency Travel Documents (based on the FCDO’s consular database)

• Consular and Crisis: 85% of service users who accessed consular and crisis support were satisfied (8/10 or above) with the service they received. This continued to exceed the existing benchmark of 80%

1.2. Priority Outcomes and Strategic Enablers: Performance analysis

This section provides a detailed analysis of the FCDO’s progress against our 6 Priority Outcomes for the financial year 2024 to 2025. It also reports progress against our strategic enablers, provides an analysis of external events impacting our progress and gives an overview of our performance in other areas.

2024 to 2025 Priority outcomes

Priority outcome 1: Growth

This Government will make Britain the best country to do business with – delivering economic growth, putting more money in people’s pockets, and making this the top priority in our Plan for Change. On taking office, the Foreign Secretary said that the FCDO would be the international delivery arm of the Government’s missions, the first of which is kickstarting economic growth. We are working closely with HM Treasury, Department for Business and Trade (DBT), and other departments to deliver this goal. We are taking action to strengthen the UK’s reputation globally as a stable economy and attractive investment destination; build new strategic economic partnerships that benefit the whole of the UK; assist development and negotiation of agreements to facilitate UK trade and investment; work closely with businesses and investors; secure the international foundations that enhance global economic stability, and support sustainable and inclusive growth in the markets of the future. Our approach complements the Trade Strategy, Strategic Security Review and the Strategic Defence Review; and will help to deliver the Industrial Strategy by building international partnerships that support key growth-driving sectors.

We are an open, outward looking nation, and a leading advocate for free trade. This is why we are resetting relations with our closest neighbours in Europe at the same time as identifying key parts of the world – in Asia, the Middle East, and of course the United States – where we will be directing our economic diplomacy for the good of the UK as a whole. Our work over the last year has now led to the landmark UK-India Free Trade Agreement, and Economic Prosperity Deal with the US, both agreed in May 2025. The FCDO is also actively supporting DBT-led negotiations with the Gulf Cooperation Council, Switzerland, and Republic of Korea, and also Turkey where talks have now formally started. We are determined to deliver market access and smooth supply chains for British firms, and that is why we are resetting relationships in Europe and are negotiating with the EU to improve the conditions for trade and investment. Since our accession in December, we are also an active member of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership.

Case study: Supporting UK business

The FCDO alongside the Department of Business and Trade (DBT), is working closely with businesses and investors to deliver growth across the UK. In the last 12 months the Foreign Secretary and his Ministers have undertaken a series of business-related visits and activities. These included the Foreign Secretary hosting a roundtable with UK and Japanese business leaders, ahead of a visit to Japan in March 2025 with DBT Secretary of State, Jonathan Reynolds, for the inaugural Japan-UK Economic Ministers’ Meeting. In March the Foreign Secretary supported Indian regional investment into the UK, hosting Indian External Affairs Minister Dr Jaishankar at Chevening House to boost the £42.6 billion trading relationship between UK and India. In October 2024 the Foreign Secretary forged greater business ties during his visits to Bahrain and Jordan. The Foreign Secretary’s visit to Ireland in October 2024 also focused on delivering climate-conscious growth for businesses and workers.

Delivering Growth requires new partnership between government and business. The 21st century diplomat will need a very different set of tools: greater economic and technological expertise at all levels, deeper understanding of the UK’s economic strengths and familiarity with our high-growth sectors; and stronger connections with the UK’s nations and regions. Across our work, the FCDO needs a far higher quality of conversation and exchange between foreign policymakers and businesses. To deliver this, the Foreign Secretary in his speech at the British Chambers of Commerce in March 2025, announced a new package of support for engagement with business, including the formation of a new insight service, a Geopolitical Impact Unit; a Diplomatic Advisory Hub within the British Chambers of Commerce to support small and medium enterprises (SMEs); and a placement programme with leading UK businesses.

Key achievements

• New Investment Partnership with Indonesia to create opportunities for UK firms and support Indonesia’s sustainable development, announced on Indo-Pacific Minister visit to Jakarta on 20 January 2025
• reinforced our economic and defence partnership with Australia by hosting the annual Australia-UK Ministerial Consultation (AUKMIN) alongside the Defence Secretary on 15 December 2024
• promoted UK accession to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) on 15 December 2024, strengthening relationships with some of the most dynamic countries in the world. With the UK’s accession, CPTPP accounts for 15% of global gross domestic product (GDP), and could boost the UK economy by up to £2 billion every year in the long run
• the Foreign Secretary announced a new UK-South Africa Growth Plan and a new Strategic Partnership with Nigeria on 3 November 2024
• supported DBT with the International Investment Summit on 14 October 2024, that secured £63 billion of inward investment

Priority outcome 2: Security

The FCDO plays a crucial role in protecting UK national security, mitigating the risks and reducing the impacts of threats from state and non-state actors. The FCDO works with international partners to build our shared resilience and confront the full range of national security threats, including malicious state activity such as cyber threats, sabotage and physical interference, malign trade and investment, and foreign information manipulation and interference.

The UK is committed to taking action against Russian information manipulation. In October 2024 the UK sanctioned three Russian agencies and three senior figures for attempting to undermine and destabilise Ukraine. One of these, The Social Design Agency (SDA) is tasked and funded directly by the Russian state, and has attempted to deliver a series of interference operations designed to undermine democracy and weaken international support for Ukraine. The FCDO also works with other Government departments to detect, disrupt and deter our adversaries to enhance UK security in and through cyberspace. Ransomware attacks by Russian affiliated cybercrime gangs are some of the most harmful cyber threats we face. We have put in place new sanctions, including in February 2025, targeting a key Russian cybercrime syndicate responsible for aiding ransomware attacks around the world.

On strategic stability, we have developed a new capability on strategic affairs, relearning and updating the Cold War manual, in line with the Foreign Secretary’s January 2025 speech. The UK has continued to support Ukraine to defend itself and demonstrate our commitment for as long as it takes. In January 2025 we signed the landmark UK and Ukraine 100 Year Partnership (see case study).

The UK is supporting US efforts to end the fighting and secure a just and lasting peace, leading international discussions on building a ‘Coalition of the Willing’ to ensure Ukraine’s future security. The UK is contributing £2.26 billion to the G7 ‘Extraordinary Revenue Acceleration’ Loans for Ukraine and the FCDO has provided over £100 million in humanitarian assistance. We are continuing our efforts to ensure accountability for Russia’s crimes, announcing £4.5 million to support Ukraine’s domestic war crimes investigations.

The UK has continued to deepen co-operation across Eastern Europe and Central Asia to support our partners’ sovereignty, build resilience and deepen our security partnerships, including through £35 million in defence, development and humanitarian assistance to Moldova, and support to the Armenia and Azerbaijan peace process. We continue to deliver the Government’s Russia strategy, working closely with cross-Whitehall and international partners.

The FCDO pursued a long-term, strategic and pragmatic relationship with China that is rooted in UK and global interests. In October 2024, the Foreign Secretary visited Beijing, and in February 2025 he hosted Foreign Minister Wang Yi in London for a strategic dialogue where they discussed the full range of bilateral issues including areas of cooperation, competition and challenge. The FCDO has continued to lead on efforts to drive up China capability within the FCDO and wider government, and ensure our diplomatic network is better equipped to deal with China’s increasingly active international role. The government’s commitment to the G7-agreed objective of a free and open Indo-Pacific was reaffirmed publicly by the Prime Minister on the day after the general election, and the Foreign Secretary travelled to the region in his first month, visiting India and joining the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Foreign Ministers meeting. By January 2025 FCDO Ministers had undertaken 24 visits to the region.

The UK continued to support the resilience of Pacific Island countries, including through the PM’s attendance at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Samoa. The UK also hosted several major inward visits including the State Visit of Their Majesties the Emperor and Empress of Japan - the first in 26 years – and His Majesty the Sultan of Brunei, who signed the renewal of the Garrison Agreement alongside the Prime Minister, protecting the UK’s only permanent military presence in Asia and second largest overseas military base.

The UK acceded to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) and is assessed by the ASEAN to be on track to deliver 94% of our Plan of Action commitments.

The Middle East and North Africa is crucial to the UK’s national security and economic prosperity, and vital to our migration, international development, climate change and wider foreign policy priorities. We have made a significant contribution in an attempt to de-escalate the Israel/Gaza conflict, working to maintain a ceasefire/reduction in violence; increase aid delivery; and help secure the release of hostages. We have cooperated closely with international allies and partners to contain Iran’s destabilising influence and to prevent it developing a nuclear weapon. We continue to provide vital support on Lebanon, Syria and Yemen. Across the region we continue to combat the threat of terrorism, including from the resurgence of Daesh and other extremist groups and to tackle the threat from irregular migration.

Case study: UK-Ukraine 100 Year Partnership

In January 2025, the UK-Ukraine 100 Year Partnership was signed by the Prime Minister and President Zelenskyy. This historic agreement provides a framework for enduring co-operation between our two countries in support of the Government’s security and growth priorities. The Partnership is one of the steps we are taking to support Ukraine’s and Europe’s long-term security and to help Ukraine to secure a just and lasting peace.

The Partnership provides a framework for the UK and Ukraine to work across the following sectors to enhance our nations’ economies, societies and security:

• Increasing economic and trade cooperation to boost growth: such as scaling existing initiatives like TheCityUK-Ukraine Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) which harnesses external expertise from the city of London, and partnerships between UK and Ukraine businesses to develop drone technology and renewable energy solutions.

• Strengthening our socio-cultural ties: expanding the schools twinning programme, developing a Premier League programme to train students, coaches and teachers in Ukraine and an extended English language training programme targeted at Ukrainian civil servants.

• Boosting our positions as leaders in science, technology and innovation: building partnerships in Ukraine’s energy sector, their critical minerals strategy, and the development of green steel production; and developing a Women in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) programme.

• Strengthening our defence and security: deepen and extend links between our defence industrial bases, build Ukraine’s capability in support of future NATO accession and learn from Ukraine’s unique battlefield experience such as in healthcare, rehabilitation and the use of technology.

Key achievements

• in October 2024, the UK sanctioned three Russian agencies, including The Social Design Agency (SDA), and senior figures for state-funded interference operations aimed at destabilising Ukraine and undermining democracy
• we are contributing £2.26 billion to the G7 ‘Extraordinary Revenue Acceleration’ Loans for Ukraine, we have signed the Defence Export Support Treaty, and in February 2025 we announced our largest package of sanctions in over 2 years, which included over 100 targets, including 40 oil tankers aiding in the Russian President Vladimir Putin’s illegal war in Ukraine
• the FCDO reopened dialogue with China, advancing economic and climate goals while addressing disagreements on non-market practices, cyber activity, and policy issues. Highlights include the Foreign Secretary’s China visit, successful talks with Wang Yi (Chinese Foreign Minister), the Chancellor-led Economic and Financial Dialogue, and the Energy Dialogue led by the Secretary of State for Energy & Net Zero

Priority outcome 3: Europe

Over the last year, the FCDO’s performance has demonstrated a significant strengthening of bilateral relationships, aligning with Government missions. These relationships have proven to be resilient, even when tested by crises.

Strides have been made in shaping a new geopolitical relationship with the European Union (EU) by 2030. This includes establishing new structured cooperation on foreign and security policy, which supports the delivery of cross-government priorities.

We have rebuilt our strategic alliance with the EU to deliver on the Plan for Change and advance our common interests. Ministers across government have stepped up engagement and dialogue with EU institutions and deepened ties in areas of mutual benefit such as Horizon (the EU research programme).

We remain resolutely committed to the sovereignty and self-determination of Gibraltar. All sides agree on the importance of concluding a Treaty. Ministers and officials are working diligently with the Government of Gibraltar, as well as counterparts in the EU and Spain. We will only conclude an agreement that protects sovereignty and UK military autonomy, provides certainty for the people of Gibraltar, and secures future prosperity. (A deal was successfully reached on May 19th at the UK-EU summit.)

We have invested significantly in deepening our bilateral relationships. The Prime Minister’s Lancaster House summit in March 2025 demonstrated our leadership on, and unwavering support for Ukraine and European security. The Prime Minister and Taoiseach of Ireland agreed a renewed programme of bilateral cooperation at the UK/Ireland Summit in March 2025. The UK’s hosting of the European Political Community meeting at Blenheim Palace in July 2024 was a further landmark moment which affirmed the breadth and depth of our strategic engagement. Work towards new or upgraded bilateral treaties with France, Germany and Poland will deliver further opportunities.

Case study: Hosting the European Political Community at Blenheim Palace

On 18 July 2024, just two weeks after the UK election, the UK hosted the fourth European Political Community (EPC) Summit at Blenheim Palace. Alongside 45 European leaders the Prime Minister underlined the continent’s unwavering support for Ukraine in the face of Russia’s war of aggression. The Prime Minister told the plenary that as leaders met in the birthplace of Winston Churchill the continent needed to invoke his values “of liberty and democracy… but also defiance and resolve” to meet the challenges posed by the war. At the summit, which was jointly organised by the FCDO and the Cabinet Office, more than 40 countries joined a call to action to target Russia’s ‘shadow fleet.’

The meeting enabled discussions on shared challenges across our continent. The Prime Minister joined a roundtable to discuss how to tackle organised immigration crime in Europe. He announced new bilateral initiatives on this with Slovenia and Slovakia and a package of up to £84 million to counter irregular migration at source. Roundtables on foreign information manipulation and interference and energy security advanced leader-level discussions on these critical issues for Europe’s future. The summit drew to a close with His Majesty The King hosting a reception for leaders.

The EPC set the tone for the reset relationship the government has achieved with Europe over this year, and was an early example of the leadership the UK has shown in supporting Ukraine and ensuring Europe steps up to the “generational challenge” posed by the war.

Key achievements

• announcement of the UK hosting the 2025 Berlin Process, 7 February 2025. The Summit will support stability, security and economic cooperation in the region, and focus on how to work together to combat the region being used as a transit route for irregular migration
• UK/Ireland Summit on 6 March 2025 agreed a joint statement, setting out a renewed programme of bilateral cooperation, and announced £185.5 million of new investment into the UK. First Foreign Secretary visit to Ireland since 2017 in October 2024.
• signed UK/Germany Trinity House Defence Agreement on 23 October 2024 committing to deepen defence cooperation across all domains. Home Secretary and German counterpart signed Joint Action Plan to deliver more secure borders and increased action against organised crime groups who seek to undermine UK and German border security, 9 December 2024
• on 6 January 2025, the Joint Expeditionary Force activated a UK-led reaction system to track threats to undersea infrastructure and monitor the Russian shadow fleet, enhancing maritime security and ensuring the protection of critical assets

Priority outcome 4: Migration

The FCDO is working to tackle irregular migration through three initiatives: disrupting criminality facilitating the movement of vulnerable people; deterring irregular movement from source and through transit countries; and the swift and efficient return of those without the right to be in the UK. With the Home Office, we have established the new Joint International Irregular Migration Unit, to ensure a united front against people-smuggling and organised crime, safeguarding borders and saving lives.

We are disrupting people smuggling, human trafficking and Organised Immigration Crime (OIC) through closer joint working with international partners, and using critical events such as the OIC Summit in Spring 2025 to secure joint commitments from partners on some of these issues, and bringing together international partners on the shared challenges of tackling OIC globally. We are launching a world-first irregular migration sanctions regime to crack down on people smuggling ringleaders and boost our ability to prevent, combat, deter and disrupt irregular migration and hold the perpetrators accountable.

We are deterring through tackling the drivers of irregular migration which force people to leave their homes. We are ensuring that our work on conflict prevention, humanitarian response, resilient growth and governance takes migratory routes into account. Our country programmes are playing an important role in stemming irregular migration in source and transit countries, and our multilateral partnerships on migration enable us to support an effective border architecture. Our work with the multilateral banks and the UN system supports countries to stabilise their economies and respond to crises, which act as strong push factors for irregular migration.

We are working with HMG partners to return those with no right to be in the UK to their countries of origin, stepping up international collaboration to help the Home Office secure our borders under the Government’s Plan for Change.

Case study: Upstream migration work in Tunisia

The UK Government, through the FCDO, established, funds and manages the North Africa Migration and Development (NAMAD) programme. It is implemented by the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) and is part of the up to £84 million Upstream Migration Campaign announced by the Prime Minister in 2024. In Tunisia, it aims to reduce the drivers of onward, irregular migration, through increasing the quality of life of migrants in the country, alongside economically vulnerable Tunisian youth. We have seen that boosting livelihood outcomes in Tunisia is an effective way of reducing the push factors that force vulnerable people into seeking a better life elsewhere. NAMAD has supported over 6,000 individuals to date, and in Tunisia, this has seen migrants and Tunisian youth gain valued qualifications, improving their chances of gaining meaningful employment. As part of HMG’s wider efforts, this has helped to reduce the number of people making the irregular journey from Tunisia to Europe, which have decreased by over 80% in the last year. The Foreign Secretary visited Tunisia in January 2025 where he learnt more about this programme, and met with Tunisian counterparts to strengthen our wider migration cooperation.

Key achievements

• development of legislation for the world’s first sanctions regime designed to target irregular migration and organised immigration crime to secure UK borders in a decade of national renewal
• multilateral engagement to strengthen migration management through international fora, including the European Political Community and the G7. This includes our new £4 million commitment to address irregular migration at source, by tackling people smuggling and human trafficking, while supporting vulnerable communities, through the UN’s Migration Multi-Partner Trust Fund
• a new commitment to Italy’s Rome Process, which aims to tackle the root causes of illegal migration — including conflict, economic hardship and climate change
• new bilateral agreements on border security and disrupting smuggling networks signed with key partner governments, including Iraq and Germany
• new regional cooperation to address the drivers of irregular migration, including a new £5 million programme in North Africa to tackle the drivers of irregular migration across the Mediterranean, and strengthening regional migration management in East Africa
• establishment of the new FCDO/Home Office Joint International Irregular Migration Unit to ensure a united front against people-smuggling and organised crime, safeguarding borders and saving lives
• through our international engagement, we have supported Home Office to deliver an 11% increase in returns over the past 12 months

Priority outcome 5: Climate and nature

The Foreign Secretary set a clear priority to restore the UK’s global leadership position on climate and nature and made his first set-piece speech on these issues, the Kew Lecture, in September 2024. Two new Special Representatives, for Climate and Nature respectively, were appointed to boost UK diplomatic engagement.

The UK made significant contributions at the three major climate conferences in late 2024. At the 29th UN Climate Conference (COP29), attended by the Prime Minister and Foreign Secretary, the UK announced an ambitious new Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC), leading global efforts. The UK also played a key role in establishing the New Collective Quantified Goal (NCQG) for global climate finance.

During the 16th UN Biodiversity Conference (COP16), the UK supported the creation of the ‘Cali Fund’ through an important agreement on Digital Sequence Information (DSI).

At the 16th UN Desertification Conference (COP16), 37 decisions were adopted along with the Riyadh Political Declaration, with $12 billion of finance mobilised for land and drought resilience.

At the G20 Summit in November 2024, the Prime Minister launched the Global Clean Power Alliance (GCPA), co-chaired by Brazil. Twelve international partners signed the Finance Mission statement, supported by leading financial institutions and industry representatives. In April 2025, the UK hosted the International Energy Agency Future of Energy Security Summit, where the Prime Minister announced a global initiative to unblock and diversify clean energy supply chains.

The UK achieved significant outcomes, including financing modern climate partnerships and Just Energy Transition Partnerships (JETPs) in Indonesia, South Africa, and Vietnam. For instance, over $2 billion has been invested in South Africa’s energy transition since the pledge was made at COP26 in November 2021. Since 2011, UK International Climate Finance (ICF) programmes have helped over 110 million people adapt to climate change and reduced or avoided 105,720,000 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions. The UK also announced a new 10-year partnership to combat deforestation and support indigenous people.

On adaptation, the UK, along with other G20 members, endorsed the first-ever G20 Ministerial Statement on Disaster Risk Reduction under Brazil’s Presidency. This included commitments on early warning systems, disaster preparedness, and innovative finance to enhance resilience. The UK successfully advocated for a minimum 50% allocation from the new Loss and Damage Fund for Small Island Developing States (SIDS) and Least Developed Countries (LDCs), emphasising country-led approaches. These measures aim to prioritise support for the most vulnerable regions and communities affected by climate change.

Case study: Co-chairing the Green Climate Fund

The Green Climate Fund (GCF) is pivotal in aiding developing countries to combat climate change. In 2024, the UK co-chaired the GCF Board with the Dominican Republic, pushing an ambitious agenda to support the most vulnerable.

We approved 44 funding proposals worth $2.5 billion, the most approved projects in a single year, bringing the GCF’s portfolio to over $15 billion in funding and $60 billion with co-financing. This crucial investment advances efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and enhance climate resilience.

Other notable achievements include the approval of a Policy for Results-Based Payments for Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation in Developing Countries (REDD+) by the GCF Board in 2023, and our successful advocacy to use Somalia as a test case for enhancing GCF delivery in fragile and underserved countries, which was followed by a commitment of $100 million for Somalia.

In 2024, 65% of GCF adaptation funding targeted LDCs, SIDS, and Africa, with significant private sector involvement to de-risk capital flows. The UK will continue to ensure the GCF supports those most vulnerable to climate change.

Key achievements

• we announced our signing of a guarantee to the Innovative Finance Facility for Climate in Asia and the Pacific (IFCAP). Our guarantee will unlock over $1.2 billion in additional climate finance for projects to build climate resilience and enable a shift to a low-carbon economy in Asia and the Pacific, at no upfront cost to the UK
• the UK and Norway launched a new Green Industrial Partnership to enhance cooperation across clean energy sectors, creating thousands of skilled jobs and driving economic growth. The partnership aims to make Britain a clean energy superpower by 2030
• the Prime Minister launched the Global Clean Power Alliance (GCPA) at the G20 Summit in November 2024, with a first mission focused on finance co-chaired by Brazil as we approach COP30

Priority outcome 6: Development

At this time of profound change, with conflicts overseas undermining security and prosperity at home, the Prime Minister has taken the decision to increase spending on defence to 2.5% of GDP from 2027, funded by reducing Official Development Assistance (ODA) to the equivalent of 0.3% of Gross National Income (GNI) by 2027 and reinvesting it into defence. The ODA budget will be gradually reduced, outside of the reporting year of this report, to help smooth the transition.

Our approach, led by the Minister for Development Baroness Chapman, balances the UK’s proud tradition of supporting the world’s most vulnerable and poverty reduction with our fundamental responsibility to protect British interests in an increasingly unstable world. Our work on development is critical for the UK’s interests, making the world safer, more secure and better off.

We have to work harder than ever to make sure it delivers for the British public and our Plan for Change.

The UK continued supporting sustainable and inclusive growth, mobilising $1.2 billion in direct investment and creating a $22 billion investment pipeline for the Africa Green Industrialisation Initiative. This resulted in £1.31 billion invested and 59 TWh of electricity generated in 2023 to 2024. Economic Partnership Agreements and the Developing Countries Trading Scheme facilitated £12.3 billion worth of goods exports. We announced Growth and Investment Partnerships (GIPs) in Indonesia, South Africa and Uganda, and advanced partnerships with the EU, Japan and Korea to invest alongside in strategic markets. The UK also continued through British International Investment (BII) to support sustainable and inclusive growth in markets of the future to accelerate progress towards the SDGs through new growth and investment partnerships. By 2024, BII has invested £1.31 billion, mobilising £800 million of private capital and providing jobs for one million people.

The UK has driven significant financial reforms, unlocking $30 billion in World Bank lending, doubling the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) fund for the poorest countries and championing innovations like climate resilient debt clauses to make the system more resilient. In December 2024, the UK announced our contribution to the World Bank’s International Development Association (IDA) 21st Replenishment to support the world’s 78 poorest and most vulnerable countries.

In 2024 the UK spent £1,416 million of bilateral ODA on humanitarian assistance, an increase of £534 million (60 per cent) from £882 million in 2023.

This reflected growing humanitarian needs and the humanitarian impact of global crises and conflicts in 2024. This enabled us to provide urgent humanitarian support to some of the world’s most vulnerable people. At the request of the Rwandan Ministry of Health, in October 2024 we sent 16 medical experts to support Rwanda in tackling an outbreak of Marburg virus which was declared on 27 September 2024. The emergency medical team provided support for intensive care, operating theatres, infection control and prevention, and emergency medical services across health facilities in Kigali, the capital of Rwanda. They provided informal teaching and mentoring for nurses, training for local health staff; and quality improvements across health facilities. They completed 1,370 nursing interventions and 176 patients benefited. The team stayed for 64 days and the outbreak was declared over on 20 December. Additionally, we championed private capital mobilisation, deploying £100 million for the FCDO’s public markets programme, MOBILIST, which helps businesses list on stock exchanges to attract private investment.

In 2024, the UK’s £52 million contribution to the UN humanitarian Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) enabled the humanitarian system to assist 4.1 million people out of 35 million people in 45 countries. This included an estimated 987,000 people provided with critical health care, 420,000 with nutrition support, 772,000 with water and sanitation, 130,000 with camp management assistance, 991,000 with food and agricultural inputs, 151,000 with shelter and non-food items, 72,000 with education, and 1.6 million with protection assistance.

We have provided £4.25 million since 2022 to support tech-enabled open-source projects that monitor and document human rights violations in countries like Myanmar, Sudan, and Ukraine.

During 2024 to 2025, through the Preventing Sexual Violence Initiative (PSVI), we supported justice for hundreds of survivors in three landmark cases on conflict related sexual violence (CRSV) and crimes against humanity in Africa plus life-saving support to around 60,000 survivors in DRC, Colombia, Iraq and Turkey. The UK’s Women, Peace and Security commitments are also being delivered – for example through the deployment of expertise in Sudan, the UK supported establishment of the Taqaddam coalition, working alongside 200 women to shape a national conference to find a political solution. Our conflict resolution partner organisations facilitate backchannels in negotiations, enable local mediators and provide specialist advice, for example on ceasefire negotiations.

We launched a new global campaign to advocate for family-based care for all children around the world and established a new global alliance of countries and international organisations to advocate for sustainable, lasting reform of children’s social care around the world.

For the Girls’ Education and Skills Partnership with Nigeria and Bangladesh, we made significant strides in 2024 to 2025. We developed 31 gender‑focused curricula and teaching materials, reviewed by 226 public and private sector actors, now used to teach 6,054 students. Additionally, 5,499 girls and young women enrolled in skilling and empowerment programmes, supported by 255 female mentors providing career counselling, peer support, and leadership development.

Our efforts led by the Gambian Government defeated a bill seeking to overturn the ban on Female Genital Mutilation (FGM).

Our Women’s Economic Leadership and Empowerment programme (Work and Opportunities for Women) had strengthened the position, safety and conditions of 250,000 women in global supply chains through 13 partnerships with UK based Multinational Companies.

Our investments across health, education and women’s empowerment have helped build human capital and drive growth. On health, we have worked with countries and a range of international partners (including Gavi, Global Fund and UNFPA) to save lives, prevent disease, build systems and protect rights.

With the UK support, last year Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance vaccinated over half the children born worldwide.

We supported the mpox response by providing financial support to Uganda to procure laboratory essentials, support the DRC government’s National Preparedness and Response Plan, and helped Rwanda to deliver its overall response. We pivoted to support government partner health systems by working with other G7 countries to unlock an IMF fund (worth up to $46.8 billion, as of November 2024) to be used for pandemic preparedness; pushing the World Bank to launch a new Health Systems trust fund which will reduce the health impacts of climate change and build resilience; and leveraging $350 million from others for UNFPA sexual and reproductive health supplies and services.

Case study: Deployment of the UK’s Emergency Medical Team (UK-EMT) to support healthcare delivery and capability in Lebanon

In response to the 2024 conflict in Lebanon, the UK-EMT was deployed to support overwhelmed healthcare services. They established a physiotherapy ward at Saida Hospital, provided critical training and equipment, and conducted over 550 patient consultations. This intervention not only addressed immediate healthcare needs but also strengthened the capacity of local health workers and provided UK-EMT valuable experience. This care and training meets the UK’s priority for responding to humanitarian crises and addressing and reducing disability. It relieves pressure on health and social welfare systems for the lifetime of the patient and their family and supports the capacity strengthening of Lebanese national responders.

To ensure lasting impact, a handover event was held with Lebanese stakeholders, where the UK’s contributions were recognised. The Senior Adviser to the Minister of Health praised the rehabilitation centre as a model for future healthcare projects, marking the successful UK‑Lebanon partnership. “The establishment of a rehabilitation centre at the Saida Hospital may be considered as a blueprint. Its transformation from an emergency recipient to a centre of specialised knowledge and exemplary burn care highlights how focused efforts can address national health priorities.”

Key achievements

• launched in 2024 to 2025 a £50 million British International Investment (BII) Africa Resilience Investment Facility and publicised a £100 million Mobilisation Facility partnership with the City of London
• in July 2024 the Foreign Secretary announced a financial support package for the Caribbean following the Category 5 Hurricane Beryl. This included up to £500,000 for Caribbean countries most affected, and immediate relief to meet the needs of those whose homes and livelihoods were impacted. We delivered immediate humanitarian relief (including 800 shelter kits and 1,620 buckets) capable of supporting up to 4,000 people via the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency to St Vincent and Grenada
• we progressed local improvements on women’s rights in over 100 countries; launched the FCDO’s Women’s Rights Organisations Signature Initiative and supported women’s rights movement in the climate and humanitarian sector
• we launched a new global campaign to advocate for family-based care for all children around the world and established a new global alliance of countries and international organisations to advocate for sustainable, lasting reform of children’s social care around the world
• in August 2024, we responded to devasting flooding in Bangladesh by committing to an additional £450,000 in humanitarian aid (taking the total to nearly £500,000), reaching over 36,000 individuals affected by the floods. This swift response underscores our dedication to providing timely and effective support in times of crisis

Strategic Enablers

Key activities or operations that build capacity and capability, facilitating the department to execute its strategy and deliver outcomes.

Strategic Enabler 1

People and capability

The FCDO is working through the workforce planning implications of a tight fiscal environment, while continuing to prioritise its work and meet its commitments. Our resourcing processes and policies have been updated to support a stable workforce which maximises the capability of our staff. Workforce controls introduced in April 2024 remain in place, including on cross‑government and external recruitment, but with business‑led flexibility to support delivery. The Executive Committee has quarterly reviews on the size, shape, and cost of our workforce, with agile management measures. As part of workforce management, we launched a Voluntary Exit Scheme in November 2024, which aims to reduce headcount during 2025-26 (and monitors diversity data as part of the process).

The Capability and Career Paths Framework aims to strengthen our skills for the future and put capability at the heart of everything the FCDO does. We are delivering a programme to establish and launch a Capability Framework as a tool for staff to measure their current capabilities across seven capability clusters and five cross-cutting capabilities such as Operational Delivery, Leadership and Management, Core Civil Service skills, and Strategy and Policy. The launch of our internal Capability Hub provides a wealth of information on different career paths for FCDO staff, supports career planning and helps to identify opportunities for learning and development to support career aspirations.

By being able to describe the FCDO’s capabilities in a structured way and capture the proficiency levels of the skills held by the FCDO workforce, we can make evidence-based decisions on which capabilities we need to invest in to build skills for the future.

The Overseas Employment Framework (OEF) made progress in modernising and simplifying the compensation package for colleagues posted overseas. The review focused on developing a more transparent system, incorporating internal feedback to ensure the policies reflect current needs. Policies are now being finalised ahead of implementation for future overseas recruitment rounds.

We continue to refine and embed our resourcing processes including the continuous improvement of the overseas recruitment boards. We are also working with Cabinet Office on the implementation of changes to the Civil Service Jobs platform, and on improvements with wider Civil Service recruitment systems and processes.

We maintain a continued commitment to leadership development in the FCDO. The Leadership Labs have been launched to work with the organisation’s senior leaders to develop greater confidence in leading through complexity. We continue to build on the early success of the culture enquiry and have developed an evolving culture observatory built on data points from our UK offices and across our global network. In addition, we use an annual leadership conference to build a collective approach. We have taken an in-depth review of line management and identified it as an area of focus. We have also introduced professional change management support as an additional in-system service for senior leaders. The work will be scaled to have impact on the whole organisation.

What’s next?

As part of FCDO2030 we will focus on:

• reviewing planning for the next phases of the capability programme to ensure our organisation reform plans are appropriately reflected in how we further embed this new approach in our workforce strategy and operating model
• we are reviewing the FCDO’s target operating model and resourcing model as part of wider organisational reform to enhance the FCDO’s delivery focus and ensure we can adapt effectively to a volatile and complex global context
• our organisational design and leadership approach will be continued throughout 2025-26 and will be aligned with the broader FCDO2030 reform programme
• the FCDO will be reviewing its strategic direction on Diversity and Inclusion, in alignment with the Foreign Secretary’s challenge to the department to be more open and diverse

Strategic Enabler 2

Place and property

The FCDO manages around 6,500 properties in 282 locations across 180 countries overseas. The overseas estate hosts 35 government departments and bodies – this is around 5,000 staff. For example, UK Visas and Immigration staff based at FCDO properties overseas assist with visa applications, and the Department for Business and Trade has an overseas network in support of UK trade, exports and investment.

The FCDO also manages a UK property portfolio as an owner, landlord and tenant. We handle owned and leased properties, including those from the Government Property Agency (GPA) and Crown Estate. The Government Property Strategy sets out how the public estate will be transformed, delivering savings and achieving better value for money. It has been confirmed that several Government buildings in London will close and the FCDO will be hosting other government departments in our King Charles Street, London office.

With the FCDO2030 being launched, the programme will set out our plans to ensure that we are fit for a changing world and workplace, and we will ensure that the estate can support the plans.

The National Audit Office (NAO) has examined whether the FCDO has a clear overarching strategy for meeting its current and future overseas estate requirements, is set up to manage its overseas estate effectively and is managing its maintenance programme and capital projects effectively. The audit resulted in fourteen key findings and made seven recommendations. The NAO published their report on 23 May 2025. The Public Accounts Committee has called for an oral hearing into the cost of maintaining the FCDO’s overseas estate, on 10 July. We accept the National Audit Office’s findings about managing the FCDO overseas estate and have already taken several actions to prioritise urgent work. We have also started a delivery plan that will allow us to address their recommendations.

What’s next?

The FCDO place strategy will be developed alongside wider Civil Service reform and the implications of the Spending Review for the FCDO.

Strategic Enabler 3

Digital, data and cyber security

Over the past year the FCDO’s Digital, Data and Cyber Security function has delivered the remaining critical foundations of its technology platform which have delivered immediate resilience and efficiency benefits and will enable us to more easily deploy and integrate advanced technologies into our delivery.

The Osprey programme delivered faster and more secure devices to c.24,500 colleagues across 285 countries, reducing deployment timelines for complex locations from 15 to 24 months to 6 months, and ending the Firecrest contract on time. Annual savings are forecast at £5.4 million. The completion of the Echo 2 programme, delivering a new global communications network for the FCDO and British Council, will save the FCDO £20 million annually over 5 years. GovWifi has been deployed to over 200 sites for secure staff and visitor access globally. The Orbit programme supports around 1,000 Consular and Crisis staff, with future AI capabilities enhancing service efficiency.

Efforts continue to implement the FCDO’s Data Strategy, enhancing structures, skills, and expertise to fully utilise data as a strategic asset. The Data and Analysis skills framework boosted staff skills with the DataCamp platform launched in June and increased interest in e-learning following September’s learning week. The FCDO’s Data and Information platform and governance structures are evolving to meet AI usage requirements. FCDO.ai drives AI adoption with a responsible AI Framework ensuring ethical, sustainable, and secure AI use. An enterprise generative AI solution (Copilot Chat) is available to all staff, with global training starting in April. Additional AI solutions are in development, with AI‑augmented products already enhancing consular and public enquiry services, records publishing reviews, and analytical capabilities.

The transformation of the FCDO’s Digital, Data and Cyber-Security function remains a priority with investment in our Cyber Security capabilities being prioritised for 2025 to 2026. A refreshed Digital, Data and Cyber Security Strategy for the FCDO is being finalised as part of wider FCDO2030 reform work. Plans to develop and grow our Digital, Data and Cyber workforce and increase our access to expertise are in progress.

What’s next?

In FY 2025 to 2026, we will prioritise investments to enhance Cyber and Information Security capabilities, develop digital, data, and AI skills to boost diplomatic and public services, and reduce operating costs while increasing workforce productivity. We will iterate our technology and data platforms, implement changes to our operating model for agility and efficiency, and invest in operational technology research and development through the recently formed FCDOx team.

Strategic Enabler 4

Project delivery

The FCDO focuses on ensuring that the delivery of our projects maximises the value for money and results we deliver for the UK while minimising waste. In 2024 to 2025 we have continued to grow our Project Delivery capability – with nearly 2000 learning places utilised and 140 external qualifications, and new mandatory learning for our senior leaders on delivery. On x-HMG accreditation, 97 of our delivery professionals were accredited at foundation level, plus 2 at practitioner level – and we continue to build our capability with a pipeline of 8 in practitioner and 110 in foundation, working towards accreditation. As a reflection of our continuing improvement, 2 FCDO teams were awarded Government Project Delivery Awards this year – in inclusion and delivery categories.

We have strengthened our strategic supplier engagement to ensure a sustainable and efficient supply chain, leveraging supplier knowledge for value and innovation. Our Strategic Supplier Relationship Management (SSRM) now includes various sectors like data, digital, and estates, allowing rapid contingency solutions during challenges like USAID and planned FCDO ODA cuts. This facilitated service continuation for vulnerable recipients amid supplier liquidation. A supply chain mapping exercise revealed the complexity of the FCDO’s supply chain, with 117 suppliers for 328 contracts and approximately 3,500 organisations involved. We enhanced engagement through regular roundtables and strategic supplier masterclasses for FCDO staff. This year, we received two Government Commercial Function Awards for best supplier function and overall commercial excellence.

What’s next?

We will continue to develop the delivery network through learning pathways – including accreditation – and provide dedicated support to the growing FCDO Project Management profession. In the supplier area, activity will likely be dominated by risk management and mitigation as we continue to deal with the impact of the significant cuts to ODA. Close engagement with suppliers is critical, given risks to their viability. The FCDO2030 reform plan will reshape the corporate operating model – the finance delivery model will adapt to support the business through the transformation and future operational needs.

External factors with significant impact on the FCDO’s work

Sudan

Impact analysis: The FCDO has been at the forefront of addressing the humanitarian crisis in Sudan, demonstrating a significant commitment to respond to this critical issue. The department’s efforts have been instrumental in providing emergency aid and supporting political processes aimed at ending the conflict.

Performance and achievements: In the past year, the FCDO has focused on three objectives on Sudan: humanitarian aid, protection of civilians and pushing for a political solution and end to the war in Sudan.

As part of supplying humanitarian aid, the UK doubled its aid to the Sudan response, providing £226.5 million last year in emergency food assistance, shelter, drinking water, emergency health care, education as well as particularly to those affected by sexual and gender-based violence.

The UK’s aid efforts in Sudan have yielded significant results: treating over 98,000 children with severe malnutrition, providing basic water services to over 744,000 people, and assisting over 229,000 food-insecure individuals with cash, vouchers, and food. Additionally, more than 350,000 people were supported through protection projects, and over 71,000 victims of International Humanitarian Law (IHL) violations received cash assistance. Our aid also reached over 700,000 people affected by conflicts in Chad, South Sudan, Libya, and Uganda, and provided safe learning spaces and psychosocial support for 200,000 vulnerable children in refugee and host communities across several countries. This is supporting Sudanese refugees in the wider region to enable them to return when it is safe to do so, helping to reduce the drivers of irregular migration, including to Europe.

The UK has actively worked to protect civilians in Sudan. As a UN Security Council member, we introduced a resolution in partnership with Sierra Leone for civilian protection and aid access, vetoed by Russia. In March 2025, Lord Collins advocated for international action against sexual violence. We support the ICC’s investigation into war crimes and NGOs collecting evidence of ongoing atrocities. In early 2025, senior FCDO officials visited Port Sudan to deliver messages about civilian protection to Sudanese authorities.

To push for a political solution, we convened the London Sudan Conference which brought together likeminded and regional countries with multilateral organisations. This brought coherence around key principles, including a commitment to a civilian democratic future for Sudan and the need for a civilian-led transition.

Future objectives and risks: Looking ahead, the department aims to continue its support for Sudan by sustaining life-saving humanitarian aid and supplying sexual and reproductive health services. Additionally, the department will push for greater access to border crossings and routes to ensure the safe delivery of aid. The department is also exploring additional coordination work on the protection of civilians, which was first proposed at the London Sudan Conference. The department continues to work with co-hosts to maintain the political momentum generated by the conference.

However, significant risks remain. The conflict is escalating and increasingly spilling over into neighbouring countries. Millions are displaced and at risk of famine. The department must navigate the complexities of the political landscape and work with international partners to maintain momentum.

Middle East

Impact analysis: During 2024 to 2025, the FCDO has been actively engaged in delivering UK priorities – such as security, humanitarian, climate change, migration and growth – in the Middle East and North Africa. This includes by addressing significant issues in the region, particularly in relation to Iran, Israel and Gaza, Lebanon, Syria and Yemen. Our priorities have included supporting ceasefires, securing the release of hostages, ensuring provision of humanitarian aid, and working to advance long-term peace and stability in the region.

Performance and achievements: On Israel and Gaza, the government’s actions have been in support of our goal of building long-term peace in the region – from restoring funding to United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), to suspending relevant arms licences, to imposing sanctions on those who incite extremism and violence in the West Bank to providing £129 million in humanitarian assistance to the Occupied Palestinian Territories. Our approach has been to support a two state solution, which the government considers to be the only sustainable route to peace and security for Palestinians and Israelis alike.

On Iran, the UK continued to work with international allies to prevent Iranian development of a nuclear weapon, to limit Iran’s destabilising activity in the region, and to counter threats by Iran against the UK. In Lebanon, the UK played a leading role to help the country return to security and stability, including by building the capability and legitimacy of the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF). Since the fall of Bashar al-Assad, the UK has played a leading role in efforts to ensure an inclusive, representative and non-sectarian political transition that respects the rights of all Syrians. We have led the way in providing support and mobilising funding for the government of Yemen, and have acted with partners to reduce the threat from Houthi rebels, including through sanctions and targeted military action. We have deepened our political, economic and security relationships with Gulf partners, including through the Qatar State Visit, the UK’s accession to the Comprehensive Security Integration and Prosperity Agreement (C-SIPA), the trilateral security and economic pact with Bahrain and the US, and made progress towards a Free Trade Agreement with the Gulf Cooperation Council, which could boost trade by over £15 billion in 2035.

Future objectives and risks: Looking ahead, the department will continue to advance UK interests in the region, including by striving to increase security and stability, working with our international partners to de-escalate, reduce conflict, support long-term solutions, and provide humanitarian support to those in need.

However, significant risks remain, including the potential for regional escalation, continued access and coordination challenges in the delivery of international aid, and the ongoing humanitarian challenges, including the crises in Gaza and Yemen.

The FCDO’s risk profile

The FCDO continues to face a high-risk profile, with a more volatile international context and a tighter resource environment. Risk management in the FCDO is one of the themes underpinning the Internal Audit and Investigations Directorate (IAID) limited annual assurance opinion, which notes that a fundamental shift is needed in the first line of the business to improve the maturity of risk management across the organisation through embedding risk management into broader decision-making, through better compliance with the risk management framework and better use of tools like the Risk Management Platform. The FCDO categorises risk in seven areas, which we regularly report to the FCDO’s senior leadership:

Strategy and context risks remain a serious concern, including the continuing effects of the conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East and a volatile international environment. Changing priorities amongst allies and partners and challenges to international institutions, along with the rapid pace of events, require close monitoring, analysis and diplomatic efforts by teams across the FCDO.

While Policy and programme delivery risks have generally been stable or gradually improving over most of 2024 to 2025, the announced ODA reductions have increased the challenges in this space, particularly in a global environment where other donors are also cutting their commitments. The FCDO is currently undertaking a process of re-prioritisation on ODA funded work, and considering how best to fulfil our role as a strategic development partner. And some long standing policy risks have declined or been transferred to other organisations – UK/EU relationships, for example, moving to Cabinet Office. The impact of these risks on the financial health of organisations is being monitored to ensure the continuation of supply if suppliers experience financial distress.

Public service delivery and operations has emerged as one of the most acute areas of risk for the department, particularly maintaining our global estate and managing the threat of cyber-attacks. Mitigation of both of these risks will be long term projects requiring financial and personnel commitments. With Cyber Security and Data in particular, there is a balance to be struck between protecting our core systems while still being in a position to take advantage of new advances, such as the growing role of AI in the department.

People risks remain challenging in the 2024 to 2025 period, but with some notable progress on workforce management, including launching a voluntary exit scheme. Ensuring that the FCDO maintains the right level of staffing, with the right expertise, in the right locations remains a priority, balanced against the ambition to reduce overall departmental headcount.

Safeguarding remains a departmental priority, with risks to both programme beneficiaries and FCDO staff being of the utmost concern. The FCDO receives a report of a safeguarding incident almost every day, a quarter of which directly involve the FCDO staff. A major challenge will be maintaining a focus on safeguarding against Sexual Exploitation, Abuse and Harassment (SEAH) across the aid and development sector as donor spending reduces and SEAH risks rise. We mitigate risks through building staff and partner capabilities, continuously improving policies and procedure, investing in safeguarding programming, and engaging with stakeholders.

Financial and fiduciary risks have generally been stable across 2024 to 2025. The announced ODA reduction has created some new challenges, but greater clarity around future allocations between ODA spending departments as set out at Spring Budget will help reduce uncertainty in the long term. Fraud continues to be a key concern, with increased work on both proactive identification and prevention and ensuring a robust reporting and investigation function.

Reputation risks continue to be carefully monitored by the department, in particular maintaining public confidence in our work and our influence with key stakeholders. Managing supplier compliance with ethical standards, conducting thorough economic and financial risk monitoring, minimising exposure to sanctions and adverse media, together with messaging around the ODA cuts, the FCDO reform and civil service efficiency have all been key mitigations for this risk.

Performance in other areas

Evaluation arrangements

The FCDO’s evaluation policy and strategy set out principles and standards for evaluation and outcomes to advance and strengthen the practice, quality and use of evaluation. The strategy outlines specific actions to increase strategic evaluation, ensure all evaluations are high-quality, improve learning, and strengthen our evaluative culture, expertise and capability. We have a proportionate approach to evaluation, which sits alongside routine monitoring and accountability mechanisms. We will invest in evaluation for policies, programmes and strategies where the most learning can be generated. Evaluations will take place at the central level, with assessments used to identify the most strategic areas for investment. It will also take place at local levels, where teams are best positioned to identify their own evaluation opportunities and learning needs, with central support to ensure quality and proportionality.

The department is committed to transparency and has a metric measuring the number of evaluations published. Evaluation reports are currently published on gov.uk and since April 2024, the FCDO has registered planned and completed evaluations on the cross-government Evaluation Registry.

The FCDO Evaluation Unit launched the new Strategic Impact Evaluation and Learning Programme (SIEL) in late 2024 to support the delivery of robust impact evaluation in areas of strategic importance. In 2024 to 2025 the focus of the programme was building capability across the department and identifying specific areas where experimental approaches could generate important learning for the department. In 2025 to 2026 the programme will continue capability building and launch the first evaluations. The Evaluation Unit will also continue to support thematic and portfolio evaluations on topics such as gender and social inclusion, climate and health.

Scrutiny arrangements

The Independent Commission for Aid Impact (ICAI) scrutinises UK aid spending. ICAI operates independently of government and reports to Parliament through the House of Commons International Development Committee. ICAI’s formal remit is to provide independent evaluation and scrutiny of the impact and value for money of all UK government ODA. This involves carrying out several evidence-based reviews on strategic issues faced by the UK government’s aid spending, informing and supporting Parliament in its role of holding the UK government to account and ensuring ICAI’s work is made available to the public. ICAI’s mandate covers all ODA, by whichever department this is spent.

Safeguarding

The FCDO continued to contribute to driving international efforts to Prevent Sexual Exploitation, Abuse and Sexual Harassment (PSEAH) as detailed in our annual progress report published in April 2025. We helped launch the Common Approach to Protection against SEAH (CAPSEAH) in June 2024. CAPSEAH channels existing safeguarding standards towards a more aligned safeguarding approach for humanitarian, development and peace operations. Already over 210 organisations have endorsed CAPSEAH, including many major donors and international organisations.

In September 2024, the FCDO agreed to invest over 5 years in 3 programmes for tackling SEAH: global tools and coordination to prevent SEAH; building the capability of organisations to tackle SEAH; and strengthening support for survivors. We continued to work with INTERPOL to ensure delivery of Project Soteria which we fund to improve vetting. In October 2024 the FCDO’s Management Board agreed to improve our own screening during recruitment, in line with the Misconduct Disclosure Scheme.

The FCDO’s support to the Humanitarian Quality Assurance Initiative has led to 204 organisations being audited to ensure they meet the Core Humanitarian Standard which underpins CAPSEAH. Our funding for the Resource and Support Hub has led to free support to thousands of aid organisations to strengthen their safeguarding approach.

Internally, in September 2024 the safeguarding against SEAH policy for all staff was updated. It launched alongside new mandatory training for line managers on how to respond sensitively to SEAH disclosures. We collected data on staff’s experience of SEAH by adding questions to the annual People Survey.

The number of safeguarding concerns reported to the FCDO in 2024 to 2025 was 346. These are cases across our programme portfolio (253 of the 346, or 73%), as well as internal cases. Internal cases include cases where either the survivor or subject of complaint is an FCDO staff member. The majority of cases were recorded as SEAH.

93 of the SEAH cases for 2024 to 2025 were internal, 29% more than last year. Of the 93, 54% related to FCDO staff as the subject of complaint and 46% to non-FCDO staff as the subject of complaint with the survivor being an FCDO staff member. Work continued internally to raise awareness of SEAH and to encourage staff to report when incidents do occur.

In 2024 to 2025, we closed 83 internal cases: in 59% of cases FCDO staff were the subject of complaint and the remainder non-FCDO staff. In all cases where the allegation was proven (22%), action up to and including dismissal was taken. For the remaining cases, in 24% other management action was taken such as training; in 24% there was no survivor or witness engagement; in 11% allegations were not upheld or no further action was taken; and 19% of the cases were referred to other organisations including criminal bodies.

Of 305 external cases (ie FCDO staff not directly involved) that were closed in FY 2024 to 2025, 33% resulted in disciplinary action (3% of which included criminal referral) and 12% resulted in referral to other agencies including criminal referral. In 12% of closed external cases, partner organisations were recommended to take other action such as strengthening their safeguarding policies and processes. In 19% of closed external cases, the allegations were not upheld or there was insufficient evidence. 24% were logged as advisory as they did not have a connection to FCDO funding.

1.3. Financial review

In 2024 to 2025, the FCDO successfully managed its finances within all Parliamentary and HM Treasury controls.

This year, the wider UK ODA context continued to be challenging with further costs incurred to support the people of Ukraine and Afghanistan escape oppression and conflict and find refuge in the UK, and others seeking asylum. The FCDO found £991 million savings at the beginning of the year to support these projected costs. By the end of the calendar year, these pressures reduced allowing the FCDO to spend an additional £540 million to ensure the UK delivered on its target to spend 0.5% of GNI as ODA in the calendar year.

The FCDO’s control totals include ringfenced budgets set by HM Treasury where underspends cannot be utilised elsewhere and that cannot be exceeded. These include ringfences for depreciation, funding for the Integrated Security Fund which sits on the FCDO’s baseline, research and development, and financial transactions portfolios. As such, small underspends in each ringfenced budget can cumulatively build to a large overall underspend.

Resource AME expenditure is volatile in nature and the FCDO takes a conservative approach towards forecasting its requirements, to ensure that there is no breach of the Parliamentary control. This budget cannot be used for programming, which scores to the DEL budget.

In 2024 to 2025, the FCDO underspent by £381 million against a total allocated budget of £12.9 billion (3%), including a DEL underspend of 1.8%. Despite a challenging year, the department successfully managed all Parliamentary and HM Treasury controls.

The FCDO’s guarantee exposure has grown from £7.8 billion at March 2024 to £8.2 billion at March 2025, mainly due to additional guarantees to help Ukraine’s recovery and a new portfolio guarantee with the Asian Development Bank. The guarantee portfolio is focused primarily on supporting Ukraine and climate action. The FCDO’s use of guarantees supports the system of Multilateral Development Banks to bolster the scale of their lending by enabling them to lend more than their credit policies would otherwise allow.

The public sector budgeting framework

The FCDO’s spending is broken down into several different spending totals, for which Parliament’s approval is sought. The spending totals which Parliament votes are:

• Resource departmental expenditure limit (resource DEL) – programme funds, running costs, frontline diplomacy and development, the overseas platform, scholarships, grants to international organisations and other bodies supporting FCDO objectives, and associated non-cash items
• Capital departmental expenditure limit (capital DEL) – investment in capital assets, capital grants, research and development, loan funding to the British Council, and investments in assets to create growth in the future for either the UK or our partner governments
• Resource annually managed expenditure (resource AME) – less predictable day-to-day spending – in the FCDO’s case, this includes non-cash accounting costs related to financial guarantees, impairments, provisions, unrealised foreign exchange gains or losses, the impact of changes in the valuation of the FCDO’s development investments, and the refund of certain taxes and duties paid by certain foreign and Commonwealth governments
• Capital annually managed expenditure (capital AME) – this covers the FCDO’s capital injections in its wholly owned self‑financing public corporation, British International Investment (BII) and IFRS 16 lease dilapidation provisions

2024 to 2025 Outturn compared to Supplementary Estimate

	Outturn (£m)	Budget (£m)	Saving (£m)	Saving (%)
Resource DEL	8,606.0	8,729.0	123.0	1.4%
Capital DEL	2,651.0	2,737.0	86.0	3.1%
Resource AME	349.0	521.0	172.0	33.0%
Capital AME	881.0	881.0	0.0	0.0%
Total	12,487.0	12,868.0	381.0	3.0%

The main financial performance indicators used to monitor the FCDO’s activities are:

• the budgetary control totals established through the main and supplementary estimates
• the profiling of these costs on a monthly basis
• the variance between actual and budgeted costs

Any significant variances in each operational area are identified and explained on a monthly basis. Where required, action is taken to understand and address movements.

Outturn against estimate variances

This explains how the FCDO’s spending compared to the amounts voted by Parliament in the estimates. The figures are shown in the Statement of Outturn against Parliamentary Supply (SOPS).

Resource DEL

SOPS 1.1: headings A through to I – an underspend of £123 million (1.4%) of £8.7 billion budget.

The following underspends are ring-fenced in the FCDO’s settlement and cannot be used to cover other expenditure:

• £66 million for depreciation and impairments for assets under construction when brought into use as a result of favourable market conditions and fewer assets acquired
• £11 million for the Integrated Security Fund

Of the remaining £46 million underspend, the main drivers relate to:

• £11 million operating income over achievement. The timing of income can be unpredictable and therefore difficult to re‑spend in the year
• £35 million unallocated contingency budget to deal with year-end risks and audit adjustments

Resource AME

SOPS 1.1: heading J – an underspend of £172 million (33%) of £521 million budget.

Resource AME is volatile in nature and the FCDO takes a conservative approach towards forecasting its requirements, to ensure that there is no breach of the Parliamentary control. We need to ensure there is sufficient headroom in budgets to accommodate the impact of unforeseen global events on foreign exchange rate volatility and market conditions. However, if the impacts are favourable, this can lead to large underspends and sometimes negative Resource AME.

Resource AME forecasts in the year were tested to ensure that they were taut and realistic and necessarily provided cover for a reasonable worst case. This included ensuring that there was sufficient budget cover for new guarantees entered into in the year (notably Government of Ukraine and Asian Development Bank (IFCAP) see Note 13 to the Financial Statements).

Resource AME expenditure

Resource AME expenditure	2024 to 2025 Actual
	£000
Financial instruments unrealised foreign exchange losses/gains, e.g. peacekeeping forward purchase contracts and promissory notes	702
Reimbursement of duties and taxes	59,887
Provisions, in particular, financial commitments to the Gavi vaccines alliance	(54,827)
Impairments (revaluation of worldwide properties) and AME depreciation	(9,853)
Movement on defined benefit pensions	573
Loan discounting	(39,848)
Development capital fair value revaluations	23,228
Financial guarantees	369,418
Total	£349,280

The underspend of Resource AME in the year is due to:

• favourable foreign exchange rates and stable economic conditions resulting in minimal Resource AME spend on balance sheet valuations
• an increase in HM Treasury discount rates resulting in higher than anticipated discounting on provisions and loans
• improvement in underlying variable rates on guaranteed loan balances

Capital DEL

SOPS 1.2: headings A, C, D, E, F and H – an underspend of £86 million (3.1%) of £2.7 billion budget.

Capital DEL underspend relates to:

• £66 million is in respect of underspend relating to leased assets accounted for under IFRS 16. The FCDO had to secure sufficient budgetary cover for new and renewed leased assets and additional cover was secured to ensure that there was no risk of breaching parliamentary control totals. This is a non-cash budget type and could not have been spent on other activities
• The remaining £20 million is primarily due to the retention of unallocated contingency funds set aside for year-end risks and audit adjustments

Capital AME

SOPS 1.2: Headings J and K – there was a full spend of capital AME.

This represents investments in the FCDO’s wholly owned self-financing public corporation, British International Investment (BII) and IFRS 16 lease dilapidation provisions.

Budget to accounts reconciliation

The FCDO’s resource outturn (DEL and AME) was £8.95 billion compared to £10.9 billion net resource in the consolidated statement of comprehensive net expenditure CSoCNE.

The key differences are that:

• capital grants and research and development (that meets ESA 10 criteria for the national accounts) are treated as expenditure in the resource accounts but as capital in budgets
• the CSoCNE does not include EU attribution, in line with rules on activities charged directly

Trend analysis

The chart below shows overall spending trends for the last 5 outturn years and plans for 2025 to 2026.

For resource DEL and capital DEL, the reduction in 2021 to 2022 reflects the decision to reduce the overall amount spent on aid from 0.7 to 0.5% of GNI from calendar year 2021. The growth in 2023 to 2024 reflects increased ODA spend arising from an improvement in the GNI and the £2.5 billion total DEL additional resources provided to the UK ODA allocation in 2022 and 2023 as part of the 2022 Autumn Statement. The growth in 2024 to 2025 reflects increased ODA spend arising from an improvement in the GNI and the additional resources provided to the UK ODA allocation as part of the 2024 Autumn Budget.

The increase in the FCDO’s capital expenditure budget over the spending review period reflects the government’s ambition to unlock new finance for green growth. This will be achieved with significant capital investment in new strategic initiatives to support clean and green infrastructure in partner countries through UK‑backed investments, loans and expertise.

During the main estimate process in 2024 to 2025 the FCDO reduced its ODA budget by £991 million CDEL to manage the forecasted pressure from ODA eligible in-donor refugee costs. This pressure reduced towards the end of the calendar year and as a result, HMT provided an additional £400 million of Capital AME which was invested into British International Investment (BII).

Resource AME is used primarily for accounting adjustments to provisions and financial instruments and to reflect unrealised foreign exchange movements. The increase in the FCDO’s Resource AME spend for guarantees is a result of new guarantee agreements signed in the year.

Capital AME budget is used to make investments in the FCDO’s wholly owned self‑financing public corporation, BII. Capital injections into BII contribute towards the FCDO’s financial transactions target for 2024 to 2025. The FCDO received an additional £400 million of CAME in 2024 to 2025 which was invested into BII.

The information in the trend analysis ties to common core tables (Annex C), where further breakdowns are provided.

Analysis of the consolidated statement of financial position

Category	2024 to 2025 £000	2023 to 2024 £000	Change £000	Change (%)	Explanation of movement between 2023 to 2024 and 2024 to 2025
Property, plant and equipment	2,468,938	2,350,482	118,456	5%	Increase is largely due to additions and positive revaluations of buildings excluding dwellings and plant and machinery. This is offset partially by disposals and depreciation. A more detailed breakdown of the balance can be found in Note 5.
Right of Use assets	1,417,991	1,451,684	(33,693)	(2)%	Movement is due to additions, disposals and depreciation of right of use assets. Refer to Note 16 for a detailed breakdown of the reported balance.
Financial investments	15,561,800	14,368,778	1,193,022	8%	Additions of £1,134 million, including capital addition of £880 million shares in BII and positive revaluations of existing investments. Offset against disposals of £36 million. For more details refer to Note 6 of the financial statements.
Trade and other payables (current and non-current)	7,255,609	6,748,199	507,410	8%	Increase in promissory notes of £434 million due to increased deposits offset against drawdowns. Refer to Note 10 for a detailed breakdown of the reported balance.
Provisions (current and non-current)	954,810	1,009,277	(54,467)	(5)%	Movement is largely due to provision utilisations partially offset by unwinding of discounts and new amounts provided for (particularly in relation to the Voluntary Exit Scheme). For more details refer to Note 11 of the financial statements.
Financial guarantee	1,093,541	722,886	370,655	51%	Movement primarily due to new guarantees entered into during the year. Details in Note 13 of the financial statements

Contingent liabilities

The FCDO has a portfolio of investment and guarantee financial instruments. Guarantees and other instruments, eg callable capital, create a contingent liability for the FCDO. This means that the department must consider the risk that it will be exposed to a call upon the contingent liability and the impact of that on in-year budgets.

Contingent liabilities of £2,181 million are disclosed in accordance with International Accounting Standard 37 in Note 12. In addition, certain contingent liabilities, where the likelihood of a transfer of economic benefits is remote are disclosed in the Parliamentary accountability and audit report.

Contingent liabilities are increasingly a key feature of the FCDO’s financial position and need to be monitored closely with regards to their amount, timing and potential impact on future cash flows.

The FCDO ensures that it complies with HM Treasury’s Contingent Liability Approval Framework, which includes best practice when designing guarantees and indemnities, and an enhanced checklist to assess contingent liability proposals.

Financial guarantees

The FCDO has a guarantee portfolio with total current exposure of £8.2 billion used to leverage financing primarily through the Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs). Calls on these guarantees could lead to unpredictable costs in year, and significant trade-offs for a constrained ODA budget, particularly if there is a default in a region with high concentration risk. See Note 13 for more information on the FCDO’s governance of guarantees.

Detail of the type of spend incurred over the year

Financial guarantees

MDB resources are becoming increasingly stretched. Several countries are constrained in their ability to borrow more from the MDBs, despite significant need.

Guarantees allow the MDBs to provide additional loans that go beyond their credit limits, by insuring the MDBs against the risk of default on these loans. Over the last number of years, guarantees to the MDBs have become an increasingly important part of the FCDO’s toolkit for supporting middle-income countries.

No ODA is scored up front when a guarantee is issued (only if the guarantee is called). This means that guarantees can mobilise large volumes of financial assistance without immediate trade-offs with other UK ODA-funded projects.

To manage the risks from the guarantees, we agree terms which give the FCDO time to plan between a missed payment and a guarantee being called. We track the maximum possible pay-out in any given year and monitor our exposure to single countries/regions. The long maturity of MDB loans means that the maximum payout in any single year is relatively low compared to the volumes of finance that we are guaranteeing.

Guarantees for Ukraine are now an important part of the portfolio. Since Russia’s illegal invasion in February 2022, UK guarantees for up to US$5 billion of MDB lending to Ukraine have been announced as part of our wider package of economic support. At 31 March 2025, c.US$3 billion of UK guaranteed lending to Ukraine has been disbursed. These guarantees enable vital budget support financing, to fund public sector salaries and social safety net payments. Alongside our guarantees for Ukraine, we announced at COP26 the “Room to Run” guarantee, which became operational in October 2022. This is the FCDO’s largest single guarantee agreement to date and will enable the African Development Bank to provide up to US$2 billion of additional lending to governments and businesses across Africa.

Although no ODA is scored up front, there is a budgetary impact when movements in the fair value of the guarantees are scored as Resource AME. As at 31 March 2025, the FCDO has entered into guarantees totalling £8,210 million. The fair value of these guarantees is £1,094 million of which £370.7 million has been charged to Resource AME in the year.

British Council loan funding

In 2021 to 2022, the Government committed to providing the British Council with a loan facility of up to £200 million to help support their short-term cash flow and restructure. By March 2024, £197 million had been drawn down and this was restructured into a term loan. In the year to 31 March 2025, the FCDO has extended the loan for a further 18 months to September 2026.

Official Development Assistance (ODA)

As set out in the Chancellor’s Spring Statement, the UK ODA budget will be gradually reduced to 0.3% of forecast GNI by 2027, to fund the necessary increase in spending on defence in response to pressing security challenges.

There will be greater certainty and stability for the FCDO’s ODA budget as it will no longer be automatically exposed to the volatility of fluctuations in GNI or spending by other government departments, including demand-driven refugee and asylum costs in the UK.

ODA spending was guided by the government’s strategic priorities, including focusing ODA on low-income countries, maximising value for money, and meeting the FCDO’s financial commitments to multilateral organisations.

In 2024 to 2025, spend on ODA programming was approximately £9 billion, around 70% of the FCDO’s overall budget. This does not include the ODA eligible portion of operating costs. As the FCDO’s role as spender and saver of last resort for UK ODA, we found savings of £991 million at the beginning of the year to support other government department spendings, primarily in-donor refugee costs from the Home Office. By the end of the calendar year, these pressures reduced allowing the FCDO to spend an additional £540 million. The FCDO predominantly used this resource to bring forward planned multilateral contributions from 2025 to 2026 and 2026 to 2027 into 2024 to 2025 to help manage pressures in future years.

The Provisional Statistics on International Development confirmed that the UK spent £14.1 billion on ODA in calendar year 2024 and the ODA:GNI ratio was 0.50%. The final ODA spend ratio will be confirmed in autumn 2025. Further information on 2024 to 2025 ODA outturn and indicative 2025 to 2026 ODA spending plans is contained in Annex A.

1.4. Sustainability report

Overall strategy for sustainability

Climate change and nature loss are the most serious multipliers of other global threats and their effects are intensifying. Five of the top ten global risks for the decade ahead identified by the World Economic Forum^{[footnote 1]} relate to climate, the environment and nature.

In support of our work internationally, we aim to lead by example by reducing the environmental impact of our own operations, both to protect our environment and to create a sustainable FCDO workplace. In 2024 to 2025 the FCDO continued its work to achieve the UK Greening Government Commitment targets (GGCs) that mainstream climate change and sustainability themes into our business practices and operations.

Underpinning our efforts, the FCDO maintains an ISO 14001 Environmental Management System (EMS), with externally certified accreditation since 2006. The certification covers our offices in King Charles Street, London, and Hanslope Park, Milton Keynes, driving continual improvement in environmental performance and ensuring that the FCDO complies with its statutory environmental obligations.

We have also worked in the past year to understand in greater detail the environmental impacts of our global estate of embassies, high commissions and consulates, to enable us to take data-driven actions to improve our global sustainability and assist with the FCDO’s transition to net zero by 2050.

UK Greening Government Commitments

The FCDO measures its annual performance against the GGC targets for its core UK estate. The GGCs demonstrate how the UK government is working to improve the environmental performance of its estate and operations. We are actively engaged in embedding sustainability metrics into our ways of working, operations, policy, design, and procurement of our goods and services.

The 2021 to 2025 GGC framework reflects the current scope of the FCDO’s UK estate. From 2021 to 2022, the FCDO’s GGC targets cover the FCDO’s 2 joint headquarters: King Charles Street in London and Abercrombie House in East Kilbride, in addition to sites in:

• Lancaster House and Carlton Gardens in London
• Hanslope Park in Milton Keynes
• Wilton Park in Sussex
• British Council sites throughout the UK

Although FCDO Services, Wilton Park and the British Council are executive agencies with their own annual reports and accounts, all their related impacts are included in the environmental figures in this report and the FCDO baseline, in line with our GGC scope.^{[footnote 2]}

Mitigating climate change: working towards net zero by 2050

Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the UK estate fell by 45% in 2024 to 2025 compared to the baseline year of 2017 to 2018. This is a slight increase on the previous year, we have not met our current target to reduce emissions by 56% by 2025. This increase is in part due to an increase in fuel oil emissions due to operational issues with biodiesel resulting in a switch to low sulphur fuel oil. To reduce carbon emissions in the UK estate we have focused on installing energy efficient lighting, air source heating and on-site renewable energy at Hanslope Park.

We continue to review further opportunities to reduce emissions in our buildings to meet our Net Zero goals. Estates commissioned a study and investment requirement to gradually phase out the oil fired heating at Hanslope Park, and increase the amount of efficient electric air source heating, variable refrigerant technologies, and solar power on site. Staff engagement on sustainability, colder weather resulting in increased heating and changes to occupancy of our buildings are all factors which could potentially impact our ability to further reduce our GHG emissions in future.

Table 1 provides headline greenhouse gas emissions consumption and carbon emission figures associated with the FCDO’s in-scope UK operations (aligned with GGC scope as detailed above) for 2024 to 2025.

Table 1: FCDO UK greenhouse gas emissions consumption

Greenhouse gas emissions consumption, 2024 to 2025		KWh-km	tCO2e [footnote 3]	GBP (£)[footnote 4]
Greenhouse gases:	Electricity[footnote 5]	20,585,845	4,639	£6,770,495
	Self Generated Electricity from renewable sources	93,370	–
	Gas	3,423,645	626	£507,409
	Heating oil	2,158,572	554	£101,240
	Biodiesel	1,229,482	23	£249,410
	Biomass	67,893	1
	Whitehall district heating scheme	4,045,770	1,075	£231,681
	District heating	553,690	101
	Fugitive[footnote 6]		150
	Domestic flights	708,551	114	£191,411
	UK rail	3,861,381	137	£463,448
	Private mileage, Car Services & Car Hire	1,071,138	193	£317,759
	Fleet	678,021	97
	Taxi, Underground & Bus	151,623	17	£170,018
TOTALS:
Emissions by scope:	Scope 1 (Energy direct)	–	1,451	–
	Scope 2 (Energy indirect)	–	5,433	–
	Scope 3 (Official business travel only)	–	843	–

Greening Government Commitments: progress against direct greenhouse gas emissions

In 2024 to 2025, the direct emissions of our UK estate increased by 29% since the baseline year of 2017 to 2018. We aimed to reduce direct emissions by 30% by 2025 compared to our 2017 to 2018 baseline and missed meeting this target. As our direct emissions are a small subset of our overall emissions, relatively small fluctuations to the overall tonnage of direct emissions will result in a bigger percentage change for this target. Recent increases in emissions are due to an increase in heating oil and natural gas emissions since the baseline year due to operational reasons. We have introduced air source heating at Hanslope Park which is supplemented by solar panels, and we continue to review further opportunities to decarbonise heating on our UK estate and reduce future direct heating emissions.

In line with the GGCs, this target comprises of direct emissions from the UK estate and operations. This includes emissions arising from fuel use and fugitive emissions across the estate and on sites. This target does not include transport emissions or emissions arising from grid electricity use – these are still captured under the overall emissions target above (table 1).

Greening Government Commitments: progress against greenhouse gas emissions consumption

GGC - UK Direct Greenhouse Gas Emissions (tCO₂e)

• 2025 Target Total	705
  2024 to 2025	1,354
  2023 to 2024	1,021
  2022 to 2023	943
  2021 to 2022	754
  2017 to 2018	1,007

Domestic flights^{[footnote 7]}

In 2024 to 2025, our emissions from UK domestic flights decreased by 76% since the baseline year of 2017 to 2018 and have decreased on last year and we have met our target to reduce emissions from domestic flights by 30% by 2025.

Table 2 below provides headline domestic UK flight data for 2024 to 2025.

Table 2: Domestic flights

Domestic flights		2024 to 2025
Non-financial indicator	Domestic UK Km travelled	708,551 Km
	Carbon (tCO2e)	114 tonnes CO2e

Greening Government Commitments: progress against domestic flights target

GGC: UK Domestic Flights by Emissions (tCO₂e)

• 2025 Target	329
  2024 to 2025	114
  2023 to 2024	181
  2022 to 2023	145
  2021 to 2022	61
  2020 to 2021	16
  2019 to 2020	362
  2018 to 2019	561
  2017 to 2018	470

The FCDO is committed to reducing the number of UK domestic flights and increasing sustainable travel options as operations embed hybrid working practices. Our duty travel policy requires all staff travelling within the UK and between England and Eurostar destinations to travel by train by default. This policy and increased use of technology to collaborate without the necessity for travel will help the FCDO reduce emissions.

International travel

Table 3 below provides headline official duty international travel data for staff in the UK,^{[footnote 8]} covering flights and rail booked through our official travel provider for 2024 to 2025. International travel is categorised as other travel under GGCs framework and not included in the emissions target.

Table 3: International travel for staff in the UK

International travel
International Air Travel	Distance travelled (km)	152,183,019 km
	Carbon (tCO2e)	27,058 tonnes CO2e
International Rail (Eurostar)	Distance travelled (km)	676,895 km
	Carbon (tCO2e)	3.02 tonnes CO2e

In line with the 2021 to 2025 GGC framework, the FCDO reports on the distance travelled by international flights and Eurostar with a view to better understand and reduce related emissions where possible in the future.

Government Fleet Commitment

The FCDO is committed to the Government Fleet Commitment (GFC) as set out in the Department for Transport’s Road to Zero strategy. The Office for Zero Emission Vehicles (OZEV) required all UK Departments to transition 25% of their car and small van fleets to Ultra Low Emission Vehicles (ULEV) by the end of 2022 and for 100% of the government car and van fleet to be fully zero emissions at the tail‑pipe by 31 December 2027.

The FCDO’s UK fleet requirements are supplied and managed by FCDO Services, currently 20% ULEV in the fleet and 2% zero emissions. We have missed the sub-target to have 25% fleet ULEV, and we are now jointly focused on transitioning to electric vehicles and aim to meet the GFC’s 2027 commitment for the UK fleet to be 100% vehicles with zero tail-pipe emissions.

Minimising waste and promoting resource efficiency

The FCDO’s UK estate waste tonnage has decreased by 29% since the 2017-18 baseline, we have met the GGC target to improve our waste management by reducing the overall amount of waste generated by 15% by 2025, we have also met the target to send less than 5% of overall waste to landfill. Waste has decreased marginally on last year. The FCDO continues to aim for zero waste to landfill, increase recycling rates and reducing overall waste produced from FCDO operations.

Table 4 below provides headline waste disposal figures and costs across FCDO’s UK operations for 2024 to 2025.

Table 4: waste disposal

2024 to 2025		Waste tonnes	Financial indicator [footnote 9]
Total waste		570	£219,598
Total waste by method of disposal	Recycled/reused	306
	Landfill	0.02
	Waste incinerated with energy recovery	224
	Waste incinerated without energy recovery	0
	Waste composted/food waste	19
	ICT waste recycled, reused and recovered (externally)	20

Greening Government Commitments: progress against waste target

In 2024 to 2025, the FCDO recycled 61% of waste from our UK estate – a slight decrease compared to waste recycled in the previous year. Our ambitious target is to increase the proportion of waste which is recycled to at least 70% of overall waste, which we have not met currently. We continue to work to improve the way we stream, segregate and recycle waste, and this year have renewed waste signage as well as increasing food waste and compostable packaging recycling across our UK estate. We will continue to undertake communications campaigns to educate and inform staff on the importance of good waste management practices.

Consumer single use plastic usage and reuse schemes

In line with the government’s 25 Year Environment Plan, the FCDO continues to work to remove consumer single-use plastic from across the UK estate and achieve zero avoidable plastic waste by the end of 2042. We continue to work with supply chains to identify alternatives to single use plastic, including promoting the use of reusable cups in FCDO cafes and using Vegware and compostable items where single-use items are necessary. Globally, FCDO Green Teams at post continue to embed lessons learned from the 2018-2020 #BeyondPlastic campaign, to eliminate avoidable single-use plastic.

Paper

The FCDO’s UK paper usage has decreased by 90% in 2024 to 2025 compared to the 2017 to 2018 baseline. This has been achieved due to increased use of new technology, including Office 365. We have met the GGC target to reduce paper usage by 50% from our 2017 to 2018 baseline by 2025, however, paper usage has increased marginally on the previous year

Table 5 provides headline paper consumption figures across the FCDO’s operations for 2024 to 2025.

Table 5: paper consumption

	2024 to 2025
Paper consumption	Reams A4 equivalent
Total paper consumption	3,216

Greening Government Commitments: progress against paper consumption

GGC: UK Paper Consumption (reams of A4 equivalant)

• 2025 Target	15,367
  2024 to 2025	3,216
  2023 to 2024	4,835
  2022 to 2023	4,705
  2021 to 2022	5,283
  2020 to 2021	1,573
  2019 to 2020	16,781
  2018 to 2019	20,278
  2017 to 2018	30,734

Finite resource consumption and reducing our water consumption

The FCDO’s overall water usage in the UK decreased by 32% in 2024 to 2025 compared to the 2017 to 2018 baseline, we have met our target to reduce water consumption by 8% by 2025. We continue to encourage the efficient use of water in UK offices and seek to repair and replace water devices with efficient alternatives when required.

Indirect water usage, including water embodied in products and services is part of our water footprint, and we will incorporate this into future conversations and plans to reduce our overall environmental impacts.

Table 6 below provides headline water consumption figures and costs across the FCDO’s UK operations for 2024 to 2025.

Finite resource consumption – direct water consumption		2024 to 2025 cubic metres	Financial indicator [footnote 10]
Total consumption	Supplied	49,192	£196,640

Greening Government Commitments: progress against water target

GGC: UK Water Consumption (m³)

• 2025 Target	66,594
  2024 to 2025	49,192
  2023 to 2024	56,125
  2022 to 2023	52,492
  2021 to 2022	36,271
  2020 to 2021	33,530
  2019 to 2020	60,055
  2018 to 2019	60,615
  2017 to 2018	72,385

Normalised performance

Overview

To allow for comparison between years and organisations, the following table normalises sustainability impacts by staff numbers. As we continue to develop hybrid ways of working, we will work with other departments to review approaches for normalising performance in the future. For the purposes of GGC reporting, the FTE covers both the FCDO and in scope Arms Length Bodies (ALBs).

Table 7: Normalised performance

Impact per FTE	2024 to 2025	2023 to 2024	2022 to 2023	2021 to 2022
Greenhouse gas emissions	0.87 tonnes of CO2e per FTE	0.80 tonnes of CO2e per FTE	0.78 tonnes of CO2e per FTE	0.82 tonnes of CO2e per FTE
Direct emissions	0.15 tonnes of CO2e per FTE	0.11 tonnes of CO2e per FTE	0.11 tonnes of CO2e per FTE	0.08 tonnes of CO2e per FTE
Waste arising	65 Kg per FTE	65 Kg per FTE	60 kg per FTE	56 kg per FTE
Paper consumption	0.36 reams per FTE	0.54 reams per FTE	0.57 reams per FTE	0.60 reams of A4e per FTE
Water consumption	5.51 cubic meters per FTE	6.27 cubic meters per FTE	8.08 cubic meters per FTE	4.13 cubic meters per FTE

The FCDO’s global operations

Carbon emissions arising in the FCDO global estate present a significant challenge for the organisation. We aim to ensure our global operations are managed towards becoming Net Zero by 2050 or earlier and have an interim target to reduce energy use in the global estate of 20% by 2025. Modernising our overseas estate through replacing end-of-life infrastructure, rationalisation, moving to modern offices, and investing in cleaner energy has reduced our carbon emissions as well as driving down costs.

During 2024 to 2025, we have continued to develop our global Net Zero estate pathway, targets and investment requirements for the overseas estate. Our purpose is to align with the UK domestic aim to achieve Net Zero by 2050 and other UK Greening Government Commitment targets. This focus allows us to reduce our carbon emissions progressively, maximise opportunities to significantly reduce energy costs and increase our energy resilience in overseas locations. Investment in overseas solar and battery storage during this reporting year has demonstrated a clear ability for the FCDO to further net zero objectives and achieve a return on financial investment for the UK Government.

One example of this is a solar photovoltaic and battery storage project at the British Embassy in Harare. This investment is transforming how we manage energy in a region where power supply challenges and rising diesel prices need to be mitigated. The solar array can generate an impressive 2000kWh per day when conditions are optimal. This is a key step towards reducing our reliance on fossil fuel sources. The achievements in Harare have also informed several more renewable power projects which commenced during 2024 to 2025.

The FCDO has also committed to transitioning as much of our non-armoured overseas vehicle fleet as possible to fully electric vehicles by 2030. Since 2018, the FCDO has mandated Low Emission Vehicles (LEVs) as the default option when replacing overseas non-armoured fleet vehicles except where local conditions make an electric or hybrid vehicle impractical or costs are excessive.

Sustainable procurement

The FCDO Commercial Directorate continues to prioritise sustainability in procurement, aligning with the Public Services (Social Value) Act 2012 and Greening Government Commitments (GGCs). This report outlines the systems in place and actions taken to buy sustainably, embedding compliance with Government Buying Standards (GBS) and reducing supply chain impacts and risks.

Sustainable procurement policy

The Sustainable Operations and Programme Board (SOPB) remains central to overseeing the FCDO’s environmental policy and sustainable operations agenda. This includes continued endorsement of the Commercial Directorate’s Sustainable Procurement Policy, which outlines how sustainability is embedded into commercial operations and describes collaboration with Estates, Security and Network Directorate (ESND) to meet Net Zero obligations by 2050 and minimise environmental impact.

The policy outlines the FCDO’s commitment to embedding sustainability into public procurement and addresses 3 main pillars of sustainability:

• Environmental: Minimising negative environmental impacts such as energy emissions and the materials used in manufacture across the duration of a product lifecycle
• Social: Monitoring supplier ethical behaviour, ensuring fair and safe working conditions, and implementing social value initiatives during procurement
• Economic: Ensuring value for money while minimising environmental damage and waste

Carbon reduction plans

The FCDO Commercial Directorate continues to consider carbon reduction plans in the procurement process for contracts valued at £5 million or more per annum. As part of assessing supplier technical and professional ability, tenders require bidding suppliers to provide a carbon reduction plan, ensuring their commitment to achieving net zero by 2050 in the UK. The FCDO reviews suppliers’ environmental policies under the Supplier Code of Conduct and monitors environmental performance measures annually at the organisational level as part of the Annual Declaration process.

Social value

The FCDO considers social value in contracts valued at £115k (excluding VAT) or over, where relevant and proportionate, requiring detailed social value plans from suppliers, aligned to Cabinet Office prescribed Social Value thematic outcomes that are most relevant to the requirement. Although overseas requirements are out of scope of this requirement, the FCDO continues to consider social value for overseas requirements where proportionate and relevant. Recent contracts for international development projects included commitments to local employment and sustainable practices.

Example 1: Social value through inclusive recruitment at Green Growth Nepal (GGN) Project: The Green Growth Nepal (GGN) project exemplifies the commitment to social value through an inclusive recruitment model that supports the development of young national professionals. Experts provide strategic guidance and mentorship to young Technical Support Staff (TSS), fostering an environment of continuous learning and innovation. This structure ensures that institutional expertise is effectively passed on, securing a sustainable pipeline of skilled professionals. Additionally, GGN is committed to gender inclusivity, with significant representation of women across all programmatic areas, including leadership roles. This approach not only promotes workplace inclusivity but also strengthens organisational capacity through diverse perspectives.

Example 2: Diverse Supply Chains in Nepal in Business (NiB) Project: The Nepal in Business (NiB) project focuses on creating diverse supply chains as part of its social value activities. The project has conducted assessments to understand the market and guide implementation planning. NiB has hosted socialisation events to encourage greater diversity in the supply chain and advertised opportunities for in-country operational service provision widely, including through local job sites and newspapers. The project also emphasises accessibility for disabled owners and employees, requiring a minimum of 20% job creation for marginalised communities as part of the grants criteria. This commitment to diversity and inclusion is embedded within NiB’s procurement processes and partnerships.

Supply Partner Code of Conduct

The FCDO Supply Partner Code of Conduct included within programme contracts is an integral and binding part of standard contract terms and conditions. This code sets high but realistic standards for ethical and safeguarding behaviour, social responsibility, and value for money. The inclusion of the Code in contracts means that high but realistic standards for ethical and safeguarding behaviour are set out and measured against organisational level KPIs. The Code of Conduct is applied to the lead contractor plus the entire delivery chain. The FCDO Commercial Supply Chain Ethics and Risk Team monitors compliance with Code. Compliance to Code KPIs is reviewed on an annual basis. It ensures that supply partners are committed to high environmental standards, continuous improvement, and stringent financial management to reduce waste and improve efficiency.

The FCDO Commercial Directorate is reviewing the current Code of Conduct, bringing it up to date for today’s FCDO and in line with Government’s missions.

Supply chain management

The Supply Chain Management team continues to strengthen strategic relationships and manage risks, with a cohesive approach to market management. The FCDO Commercial Market Engagement Team and devolved Commercial teams overseas are critical in engaging and understanding the markets and sectors to identify potential sustainability related risks and applying relevant mitigations where possible.

Supply partners and their delivery chains act on behalf of the government and interact globally with other country governments, other aid donors and their delivery partners, and many other stakeholders, including citizens. These interactions must therefore meet the highest standards of ethical and professional behaviour to uphold the reputation of the government. The FCDO Supply Chain Management brings together strategic relationship managers, supply chain risk analysts and market creation leads responsible for important work such as engagement with SMEs in the implementation of FCDO’s policies and ensures a comprehensive approach to market management and one cohesive voice to the supply chain on priority matters.

Supply partners and their delivery chains must be committed to high environmental standards, recognising that FCDO activities may change the way people use and rely on the environment, or may affect or be affected by environmental conditions. They must demonstrate they have taken sufficient steps to protect the local environment and community they work in. They must also identify environmental risks that are imminent, significant or could cause harm or reputational damage to the FCDO or the communities we work in.

Category approach

The FCDO specifically promotes the use of Government Buying Standards (GBS) in its guidance for operational cost contracts. Programme suppliers are expected to embrace FCDO values and demonstrate Corporate Social Responsibility by considering economic, social, and environmental factors.

Suppliers are required to comply with GBS for sustainable procurement and work with the FCDO to support the government’s agenda to meet the Greening Government Commitments (GGCs). Disposal organisations must contractually commit to acceptable disposal practices, including compliance with the European Community Directive on Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment. These practices, whether operated locally, regionally, or internationally, should also comply with International Labour Organisation core standards on labour and social matters.

Programme procurement teams will not select bidders that have been prosecuted or served notice under environmental legislation in the last three years unless the FCDO is satisfied that the bidder has taken remedial action to prevent future occurrences or breaches. Suppliers must provide requirements in accordance with applicable national and international laws and FCDO policy.

In alignment with the FCDO’s commitment to sustainability, the following examples illustrate how sustainable procurement practices have been integrated into Facilities Management (FM) category procurements:

Example 1: UK FM – Air Source Heat Pumps (ASHP) and Solar Panels: Efficiency Redefined: New ASHP system in Hanslope Park has decreased carbon emissions in this building by 79%, reducing the gaseous waste output from 9,200 kg CO2 to 1,900 kg CO2 per year. To complement the ASHP systems, solar PV panels have been installed across Hanslope Park buildings. These PV panels have already generated 10,925 kWh of clean energy, offsetting the increased electricity demand of the new heating systems.

Example 2: Asia Pacific FM – Hong Kong LED lighting replacement project installation: The project resulted in annual energy reduction of 54,217 kWh (annual carbon reduction of 38,493.72 CO2-e; equivalent to avoiding 70 flights from Hong Kong to Singapore).

Reducing environmental impacts from ICT and digital

The FCDO remains committed to improving the sustainability of its technology platforms and digital products, as well as being a strong advocate for the potential for digital, data and technological solutions to reduce its carbon footprint.

We have continued to streamline and update old technologies through our Global IT Network Infrastructure and our End User Computing device, monitor, docking station and smartphone refresh. Managed WiFi Rollout & ELAN Expansion projects have jointly contributed to the decommissioning of the vast majority of ex-Firecrest LAN infrastructure. There’s a net-reduction in the amount of infrastructure being used to serve the same volume of users.

In terms of the M365, a move to a cloud based service has effectively caused a reduction to the requirements to host physical hardware in data centres. This is then to be followed by the removal of servers globally (including distributed server network) and the requirements to hold stock levels of the servers has ceased to exist.

With the conclusion of the Osprey project, we are now faced with the challenge of managing over 20,000 laptops distributed globally. Repatriating these devices back to the UK for disposal would not only incur significant costs but also result in a substantial carbon footprint. To address these concerns, we are initiating a project that aims to dispose of laptops locally in various countries around the world.

This initiative will focus on recycling or refreshing the old devices, allowing them to be donated to charities and schools. By doing so, we not only reduce the environmental impact but also contribute positively to local communities by providing valuable resources to those in need. This project aligns with our commitment to sustainability and responsible resource management, ensuring that we minimise waste and promote the reuse of technology wherever possible.

The FCDO continues to overhaul its digital, data and technology function to ensure it has the structures, processes, and skills to meet the needs of FCDO now and into the future. Ensuring IT recycling is integrated into project delivery is one of the key sustainability aspects being discussed and improved, along with the creation of targets and requirements for sustainability data to be outlined at the start of all projects as part of Operational Readiness Reviews. These improvements will contribute to improving our data capture and management for sustainable IT.

Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) compliance statement

The FCDO has reported on climate-related financial disclosures consistent with HM Treasury’s TCFD-aligned disclosure application guidance, which interprets and adapts the framework for the UK public sector. The FCDO considers climate to be a principal risk, and has therefore complied with the TCFD recommendations:

• Governance: recommended disclosures (a) and (b)
• Risk Management: recommended disclosures (a) to (c)

The FCDO has not complied with the TCFD recommendations and recommendations disclosures around:

• Metrics and targets: recommended disclosures (a) to (c)

This is not in line with the central government’s TCFD-aligned disclosure implementation timetable for Phase 2 which requires disclosures on the metrics and targets used to assess and manage relevant climate-related risks and opportunities. Disclosure and explanations can be found below. The FCDO plans to provide recommended disclosures for strategy in future reporting periods in line with the central government implementation timetable.

PHASE 1: Governance arrangements

The FCDO continues to remain compliant with Phase 1 of the TCFD requirements. Energy, Climate and Environment (ECE) is recognised as a principal risk which is formally recorded on the Principal Risk Report (PRR). See Section 2.1 Corporate governance report for more detail on the department’s approach to risk management and internal control as part of its Governance Statement. This section outlines how the FCDO identifies, assesses, and manages risks to achieving its objectives. The section also describes how the department ensures effective internal control systems are in place including oversight of principal risks such as ECE.

PHASE 2: Risk management

The department has established structured processes to systematically identify, assess, and manage climate-related and environmental risks across its operations, ensuring enhanced resilience and alignment with sustainable development goals.

Programme risk management:

Climate and Environmental Risk Assurance (CERA) is embedded throughout the programme cycle:

Concept Stage: Initial identification of climate and environmental risks to programme objectives.

Business Case: Rapid risk screening determines programme risk ratings and whether further mitigation is required.

Detailed Assessment: Where necessary, a Climate Risk and Adaptation Assessment (CRAA) or Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) is conducted.

Risk Evaluation: Formal assessment of likelihood, consequences, and responses to identified risks.

Integration into programming:

The Programme Operating Framework provides a structure for programme teams to incorporate climate and environment considerations into programming:

Nature Protection: Integration of nature-based solutions and environmental safeguards.

Paris Agreement Alignment: Assessment of climate impacts and risks to ensure programme compliance.

International Climate Finance (ICF): Identification, recording, and balancing of adaptation and mitigation funding.

The Climate and Environmental Risk Management (CERM) process complements the Programme Operating Framework and follows three core steps:

1. Assess: Identify risks to delivery of strategic plans from projected climate stressors.

2. Address: Develop mitigation strategies and identify climate co-benefits.

3. Document: Update risk registers and develop a climate and environment risk management profile.

Corporate and estate risk management:

A dedicated sustainability team oversees the FCDO Sustainability action plan, which focuses on the sustainability of our estate and corporate operations, including emissions reduction, waste minimisation, nature recovery and climate resilience. These sustainability principles are being extended to the global estate through the Net Zero Programme, which includes energy efficiency projects, data collection, best practice sharing, and toolkit development aiming to achieve net zero emissions by 2050. More details can be found on our corporate sustainability performance for 2024 to 2025.

PHASE 2: Metrics and targets

Phase 2 (metrics and targets pillar) and Phase 3 (strategy pillar) of TCFD are significantly more complex for the FCDO due to the department’s extensive global network and diverse operational footprint. The nature and impact of climate-related risks vary considerably across regions and programme types, meaning that a single, standardised approach is not currently in place.

As a result, the department’s approach to climate risk is highly contextual.

Climate risk is embedded as a core consideration in all business plans, country plans, and policy programmes, but it is assessed and managed within the local context. This decentralised approach ensures relevance and effectiveness but also means that risk is disaggregated and addressed differently across the organisation.

Consequently, the FCDO does not yet have defined climate-related metrics and targets that span the entirety of its operations, nor does it have a single, organisation-wide climate risk strategy. Instead, climate considerations are integrated into planning and decision-making at the operational level, with approaches and mitigations customised to the specific risks and needs of each area of the department’s work.

To progress towards full alignment with the metrics and targets and strategy pillars of the TCFD, the department plans to, amongst other things, undertake a review of local risk registers to identify recurring and significant climate-related risks. This will inform the development of a strategic, organisation-wide approach to assessing and managing aggregate climate risks. In parallel, the department will work towards defining a consistent set of metrics and targets to benchmark and report progress, enabling more effective risk management and strategic decision making in line with long term climate resilience goals.

 Broader impacts and reporting requirements

Nature recovery and biodiversity action planning

The FCDO UK estate does not hold significant landholdings or natural capital. We continue to explore our potential to improve nature recovery and biodiversity across our UK estate. This year we have been developing our nature recovery and biodiversity action plans for our UK estate and operations, considering a natural capital approach where appropriate; this outlines our plans to increase biodiversity and integrate nature conservation into our operations and processes.

Our offices in Hanslope Park offer the opportunity for the FCDO to maintain biodiversity and encourage habitats and local plant species. Continuous management is undertaken in Hanslope Park to plant trees and maintain the pond and wildflower meadow. Refurbishments to the quad in King Charles Street have made the courtyard a more sustainable environment in central London. Trees and planting provide a pleasant environment and drainage issues will partly be resolved through soft landscaping to absorb runoff water.

Adapting to climate change

This year we have developed a climate change risk assessment and adaption plan for our UK estate and operations in line with the Greening Government Commitments. This work has included stakeholder engagement, screening climate risks, conducting a climate change risk assessment and developing an adaptation plan which contains a range of recommended actions to help us increase resilience to climate change. The FCDO’s Sustainable Operations and Programme Board will review progress against this plan to ensure we are improving performance.

There is a sustainability toolkit available to all staff via the intranet, which includes guidance on how staff can reduce their impact on the environment and contribute to the FCDO’s sustainability goals, this will be reviewed to ensure tools and guidance are aligned with our UK estate climate change adaptation plans.

Procurement of food and catering services

The FCDO’s in-house catering provision works through the contract arrangements to meet and embed the Government Buying Standards (GBS) for food and catering services.

Sustainable construction

The FCDO adheres to sustainable construction standards, follows the GBS and continues to support the government’s timber procurement policy. In 2024 to 2025, as part of the FCDO UK Facilities Management projects, 1,200 tonnes of waste was disposed of and 100% of construction and demolition waste was recycled.

Sir Oliver Robbins KCMG CB
Accounting Officer for the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office
16 July 2025

2. Accountability report

2.1. Corporate governance report

This section of the annual report and accounts sets out the FCDO’s corporate governance structures 2024 to 2025.

FCDO ministers

The Rt Hon David Lammy MP, Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Affairs
Appointed 5 July 2024
The Foreign Secretary has overall responsibility for the work of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office.

Baroness Chapman of Darlington, Minister of State for International Development, Latin America and Caribbean
Appointed 18 July 2024
Responsibilities include: Development Policy and Partnerships, Global Health, Economic Development and Partnerships, Humanitarian, Food Security and Resilience, Migration and Conflict, Latin America, Caribbean Small Island Developing States, Research and Evidence, Scholarships, Tertiary Education and Partnerships, Girls’ Education, International Finance, and Energy, Climate and Environment.

Stephen Doughty MP, Minister of State for Europe, North America and Overseas Territories
Appointed 8 July 2024
Responsibilities include: Overseas Territories and Polar, US and Canada, EU and Strategy, North, Central and West Europe, Western Balkans and Mediterranean, Gibraltar Negotiations Taskforce, Eastern Europe and Central Asia, Defence and International Security, National Security, Cyber, Information and Technology Threats, Sanctions, Illicit Finance and Anti‑Corruption.

Catherine West MP, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Indo-Pacific
Appointed 9 July 2024
Responsibilities include: India and Indian Ocean, North East Asia and China, South East Asia and Pacific, Analysis, Growth, Technology and Analysis, Commercial, Finance, Estates, Security and Network, Internal Audit and Investigations, Human Resources, Organisational Improvement, Information and Digital, Protocol, Legal, Communication, Soft Power, Devolution, FCDO Services, BBC World Service, British Council.

Hamish Falconer MP, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan, Pakistan
Appointed 18 July 2024
Responsibilities include: Afghanistan and Pakistan, Middle East and North Africa, Consular and Crisis.

Lord Collins of Highbury, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Africa
Appointed 9 July 2024
Responsibilities include: East, Central and Southern Africa, West Africa, Sahel, Sudan and South Sudan, Democratic Governance, Civil Society and Civic Space, Gender Equality and Rights, Gender and Children in Conflict, Multilateral and Human Rights, Prime Minister’s Special Envoy for Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict.

Former ministers during the financial year:

• Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Affairs: The Rt Hon Lord Cameron (to 5 July 2024)
• Deputy Foreign Secretary and Minister of State (Development and Africa): The Rt Hon Andrew Mitchell MP (to 5 July 2024)
• Minister of State (Middle East, North Africa, South Asia, UN and the Commonwealth): Lord Ahmad (to 5 July 2024)
• Minister of State (Indo-Pacific): The Rt Hon Anne-Marie Trevelyan (to 5 July 2024)
• Minister of State: Rt Hon Lord Benyon (to 5 July 2024)
• Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Americas, Caribbean and Overseas Territories): David Rutley MP (to 5 July 2024)
• Minister of State (Europe): Nusrat Ghani MP (to 5 July 2024)
• Minister of State (Development): The Rt Hon Anneliese Dodds MP (8 July 2024 to 28 February 2025)

FCDO special advisers

FCDO Special Advisers (since July 2024): Jonathan Garvie, Thomas Raines, William Heilpern, Benjamin Judah.

Previous Special Advisers: Scott Giffin (July 2024 to October 2024), Kieran Cunningham (October 2024 to February 2025), Baroness Liz Sugg (to July 2024), Laurence Mann (to July 2024), Alan Sendorek (to May 2024), Daniel Cohen (January 2024 to May 2024).

Directors’ report

Elements of the statutory requirements of the Directors’ report are detailed in the governance statement. These include:

• details of the senior official board members
• names of the Non-Executive Directors
• composition of the Management Board
• details of company directorships and other significant interests held by senior management
• information on personal data related incidents where these have been formally reported to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO)

Statement of Accounting Officer’s responsibilities

Under the Government Resources and Accounts Act 2000 (the GRAA), HM Treasury has directed the FCDO to prepare, for each financial year, consolidated resource accounts detailing the resources acquired, held or disposed of, and the use of resources, during the year by the department (inclusive of its executive agencies) and its sponsored non‑departmental public bodies designated by order made under the GRAA by Statutory Instrument 2023 no. 1360 (together known as the ‘departmental group’, consisting of the department and sponsored bodies listed at Note 19 to the accounts). The accounts are prepared on an accruals basis and must give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the department and the departmental group and of the income and expenditure, Statement of Financial Position and cash flows of the departmental group for the financial year.

In preparing the accounts, the Accounting Officer of the Department is required to comply with the requirements of the Government Financial Reporting Manual and in particular to:

• observe the Accounts Direction issued by the Treasury, including the relevant accounting and disclosure requirements, and apply suitable accounting policies on a consistent basis
• ensure that the department has in place appropriate and reliable systems and procedures to carry out the consolidation process
• make judgements and estimates on a reasonable basis, including those judgements involved in consolidating the accounting information provided by non-departmental public bodies
• state whether applicable accounting standards as set out in the Government Financial Reporting Manual have been followed, and disclose and explain any material departures in the accounts
• prepare the accounts on a going concern basis
• confirm that the Annual Report and Accounts as a whole is fair, balanced and understandable and take personal responsibility for the Annual Report and Accounts and the judgements required for determining that it is fair, balanced and understandable

HM Treasury has appointed the permanent head of the department as Accounting Officer of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office. The permanent head of the department has appointed the Second Permanent Under-Secretary as Additional Accounting Officer for the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, effective from 3 July 2023, with responsibility for the activities and expenditure related to Official Development Assistance programmes and allocations and development finance instruments. The Additional Accounting Officer is personally accountable to Parliament and at the same time supports the permanent head of the department in their role as Principal Accounting Officer for the Department as a whole. This appointment does not detract from the head of department’s overall responsibility as Accounting Officer for the department’s accounts.

The Principal Accounting Officer of the department has also appointed the Chief Executives or equivalents of its sponsored Arm’s Length Bodies (ALB) as Accounting Officers of those bodies. The Principal Accounting Officer of the department is responsible for ensuring that appropriate systems and controls are in place. This is to ensure that any grants that the department makes to its sponsored bodies are applied for the purposes intended and that such expenditure and the other income and expenditure of the sponsored bodies are properly accounted for, for the purposes of consolidation within the resource accounts. Under their terms of appointment, the Accounting Officers of the sponsored bodies are responsible for safeguarding the public funds for which they have charge; for ensuring propriety, regularity, value for money and feasibility in the handling of those public funds; and for the day-to-day operations and management of the body.

The responsibilities of an Accounting Officer, including responsibility for the propriety and regularity of the public finances for which the Accounting Officer is answerable, for keeping proper records and for safeguarding the assets of the department or non-departmental public body for which the Accounting Officer is responsible, are set out in ‘Managing Public Money’ published by HM Treasury.

Statement on the disclosure of relevant audit information

As the FCDO Accounting Officer, I am responsible for ensuring that the department has an effective governance framework that provides strategic direction and management of the organisation. In particular, I am responsible for overseeing delivery of ministerial strategic and policy priorities, ensuring accountability and delivery of efficient and effective organisational performance and ensuring that the supporting governance systems function as they are designed to – securing value for money and managing risk. I have taken all the steps that I ought to have taken to make myself aware of any relevant audit information and to establish that the FCDO’s auditors are aware of that information. So far as I am aware, there is no relevant audit information of which the auditors are unaware. I also confirm that this annual report and accounts as a whole is fair, balanced, and understandable and that I take personal responsibility for the annual report and accounts and the judgments required for determining that it is fair, balanced, and understandable.

Governance statement

FCDO Non-Executive Directors (NEDs)

Beverley Tew, Lead Non-Executive Director

Beverley sits on the Supervisory Board. She attends the Management Board, the Audit and Risk Assurance Committee, People & Operations Committee, Development Committee and the Strategy Committee.

Beverley is a chartered accountant and an experienced chief financial officer, commercial leader and non-executive director in the public and private sectors. Her executive roles have included Finance Vice President at Burberry PLC and Group CFO at the BBC. She has worked in the international development sector for the last 10 years as a Trustee and Chair of the Audit Committee of Plan International (UK). She is also a Crown Representative in the Government Commercial Function (Cabinet Office).

John Coffey, Non-Executive Director

John sits on the Supervisory Board. He is Chair of the FCDO Audit and Risk Assurance Committee and attends the Management Board, Investment and Delivery Committee and Health and Safety Committee. John was also a Non-Executive Director of Turkish Bank UK Ltd where he is Chair of the Audit and Risk Committee. John has 4 decades’ experience in the financial services sector. While John held his role for the whole of the period covered by this report, he stepped down from the FCDO on 30 April 2025. John Coffey was replaced by Jon Watts in May 2025. Full details of his replacement will be published in next year’s report.

James Bilefield, Non-Executive Director

James was appointed on 15 April 2024 and reappointed on 27 May 2025. James sits on the Supervisory Board and attends the Management Board and People and Operations Committee. James is an experienced chair and non-executive director, and has served on a broad range of public, private and not-for-profit boards across the technology, business services, cultural and charitable sectors. He is an advisor to McKinsey & Company and SystemIQ. James was previously a serial digital entrepreneur and chief digital officer following a successful investment banking career at JP Morgan Chase.

Recruitment for additional Non-Executive Directors has been in process during the reporting period. New candidates are expected to take up their roles in the next financial year; details will be set out in next year’s report.

FCDO Non-Executive Members (NEMs)

Chris Wood

Chris Wood is a NEM of the FCDO’s Audit and Risk Assurance Committee. Chris is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales and is currently a Fellow and Bursar of St Hilda’s College, Oxford. He is also a Non-Executive Director and Chair of the Audit Committees for Navitas University Partnerships Europe, Publica Group, and HR Wallingford Group; and serves on the Audit Committee for the House of Lords.

Fiona Thompson

Fiona Thompson is a NEM of the FCDO’s Audit and Risk Assurance Committee. She is a UK chartered accountant and is currently Chair of the London Sinfonietta and serves on the boards of the Fenton Arts Trust and the ODI (formerly the Overseas Development Institute).

Diagram: FCDO top-level boards and committees

FCDO top-level boards and committees

At the time of writing, the FCDO’s network of top-level boards and committees is being reviewed to ensure its suitability to support Ministers and senior officials in setting and achieving the department’s strategy and objectives. The section below outlines the governance structures as they have operated during the reporting period. Details on any changes will be reflected in next year’s report.

FCDO Supervisory Board

Chair: Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Affairs
Members: Permanent Under-Secretary, Second Permanent Under-Secretary, NEDs, all FCDO Ministers, DG Finance and Corporate, Finance Director

The Supervisory Board provides strategic direction and oversight. Supports and challenges the department with a view to the long-term health, reputation and success of the FCDO.

The Supervisory Board seeks assurance of the department’s risk management framework and risk appetite.

The Supervisory Board was scheduled to meet on 28 June 2024, but this was cancelled because of the General Election. The Supervisory Board last met on 1 March 2024.

FCDO Management Board

Chair: Permanent Under-Secretary
Members: Second Permanent Under-Secretary, DGs, Overseas Network Representative, Director Communication, Strategy, Finance, Organisational Improvement, Chief People Officer, Chief Scientific Adviser and Chief Economist. All NEDs are invited.

The Management Board provides corporate leadership to the FCDO in the delivery of policies, services and objectives decided by Ministers.

The Management Board is responsible for continually assessing the FCDO’s risk appetite, monitoring our identification of and response to principal risks (the most significant risks to our performance and reputation) and promoting a sound risk management culture and approach.

The Management Board met 8 times in 2024 to 2025. Discussions included:

• corporate management information and the FCDO finance report
• risk reporting and the FCDO risk appetite statement
• digital, data and cyber security in the FCDO
• estates maintenance backlog
• arm’s length bodies
• safeguarding
• staff counsellor update

Audit and Risk Assurance Committee (ARAC)

Chair: NED John Coffey
Members: NED Beverley Tew, NEMs Fiona Thompson and Chris Wood

Representatives from Permanent Under Secretary, Second Permanent Under-Secretary, DG Finance and Corporate, Finance Director, Audit Director, Head of Centre for Delivery, National Audit Office.

ARAC supports the Supervisory Board and the Accounting Officer to review decisions and processes designed to ensure sound systems of internal control, including the overarching control framework and related assurance mechanisms, risk management, financial accounting and reporting including internal and external audit, counter-fraud and safeguarding. ARAC advises the Management Board and the Accounting Officer on the strategic processes for risk, control and governance. The Committee also provides assurances relating to the management of risk and corporate governance.

ARAC met 6 times in 2024 to 2025. ARAC discussed:

• updates from the Internal Audit and Investigations Directorate, including reviews of progress against the Internal Audit Department’s annual audit plans
• recommendations from significant audits
• updates on Fraud and Safeguarding
• the National Audit Office external audit plans, audit completion report and management response
• updates on the FCDO’s risk management approach and risk policy, including review of the FCDO’s risk maturity

Executive Committee (ExCo)

Chair: Permanent Under-Secretary
Members: Second Permanent Under-Secretary, DGs, Director Communication, Strategy, Finance, Chief People Officer

ExCo takes decisions on strategic choices or challenges relating to emerging, sensitive or time-bound issues, day-to-day running of the department, risks or crises. It considers issues where a cross-departmental view, impact or action is required and provides early steers on major changes in policy or process. ExCo reports and escalates to the Management Board where formal decisions on long term organisational change are made.

ExCo ensures risk is integrated in strategic decision-making and reviews significant risks as part of resource allocation.

ExCo met 24 times in 2024 to 2025. Discussions included:

• prioritisation and agility
• FCDO Spending Review
• workforce and resource allocations 2025 to 2026
• mid-year financial review
• overseas employment framework
• equality, diversity and inclusion

Senior Leadership Board (SLB)

Chair: Permanent Under-Secretary
Members: NED Beverley Tew, Second Permanent Under-Secretary and DGs

The SLB reviews and advises on recommendations for appointments at SCS2 and above. The Board takes a strategic approach to ensure the FCDO is making best use of, and building diversity in, the senior leadership cadre.

The SLB met 11 times in 2024 to 2025.

Discussions in 2024 to 2025 included:

• recommendations for appointments at SCS2 both in the UK and overseas and for SCS3 appointments overseas
• formal sign-off for upgrades and downgrades of SCS roles and new SCS roles
• agreement to the FCDO approach to talent management and performance for SCS
• policy issues relating to SCS cadre management, including succession planning, management of Directorate Flexible Resource and implementation of workforce planning levers
• building diversity and continued use of existing diversity in the senior leadership cadre

Top-level board membership and attendance in 2024 to 2025

Board or committee member	Date of in-year appointment/departure	Management Board attendance record
Non-executives
Beverley Tew, Lead Non‑Executive Director	Appointed Lead Non‑Executive Director 15 April 2024	8/8
John Coffey	Departed 30 April 2025	7/8
James Bilefield	Appointed 15 April 2024	7/8
Executives
Sir Oliver Robbins, Permanent Under-Secretary	Appointed 20 January 2025	2/2
Nick Dyer, Second Permanent Under-Secretary		7/8
Jonathan Allen, DG Defence and Intelligence		8/8
Melinda Bohannon, DG Humanitarian and Development		7/8
Owen Jenkins, DG Indo-Pacific, Middle East and North Africa	Appointed substantively 20 August 2024. Previously attending as interim DG	8/8
Jenny Bates, DG Economics, Climate & Global Issues		7/8
Dame Deborah Bronnert, Interim DG Europe	Appointed 2 September 2024	5/5
Harriet Mathews, DG Africa, Americas and Overseas Territories		7/8
Christian Turner, DG Geopolitics and Political Director		4/8
Corin Robertson, DG Finance and Corporate		8/8
Sally Langrish, Legal Adviser		5/8
Laure Beaufils (Overseas Network Representative), His Majesty’s Ambassador to the Philippines and Palau[footnote 11]		5/5
Joanna Roper (Overseas Network Representative), His Majesty’s Ambassador to the Netherlands and Permanent Representative of the United Kingdom to the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons[footnote 11]		4/4
Janine Lloyd-Jones, Director Communication		7/8
Tim Jones, Director Finance		8/8
Mervyn Thomas, Chief People Officer		7/8
Colin Martin-Reynolds, Director Organisational Improvement		7/8
Charlotte Watts, Chief Scientist		7/8
Adnan Khan, Chief Economist		8/8
Kate White, Director Strategy	Appointed 6 May 2024	7/8
Sir Philip Barton, Permanent Under-Secretary	Departed 17 January 2025	6/6
Peter Wilson, DG Europe	Departed 30 August 2024	3/3
Will Hines, Interim Director Strategy	Departed 6 May 2024	1/1

Sub-committees of the Management Board

Strategy Committee

Chair: Permanent Under-Secretary

The Strategy Committee is responsible for making sure the department is fit for the future. It focuses on challenge and strategic oversight, recommending changes to the FCDO’s strategic direction, building strategic capability, and assessing coherence and links into HMG strategy.

The Strategy Committee met twice between 1 April 2024 and 31 March 2025 and discussed issues including:

• emerging findings from the Global Impact Review, Economic Diplomacy Review, and Development Review
• the geopolitics of the clean energy transition
• The geopolitical implications of climate security

Development Committee

Chair: Second Permanent Under‑Secretary

The Development Committee provides strategic leadership, systematic oversight and accountability for the FCDO’s development agenda. The Committee drives coherence and effective delivery across the department’s development portfolio.

The Development Committee met 4 times between 1 April 2024 and 31 March 2025 and discussed issues including:

• ODA management information
• centrally managed programmes and centres of expertise
• research and technology development portfolio review
• economic development review
• development capability
• blended finance policy paper

Investment and Delivery Committee

Chair: DG Finance and Corporate

The Investment and Delivery Committee (IADC) is responsible for assessing whether the FCDO is spending on the right things for the best value for money (VFM). It focuses on oversight, assurance, and decisions about whether major/high risk programmes (programme business cases over £40 million or classed as novel or contentious) should proceed, ensuring FCDO investments and policies achieve VFM and maximise impact. The Investment and Delivery Committee is a sub-committee of the Development Committee (Chair: 2PUS) and the IADC reports quarterly.

The Investment and Delivery Committee met 8 times between 1 April 2024 and 31 March 2025, reviewing 21 Business Cases. The Committee also discussed 14 policy and portfolio reviews:

• quarterly Programme Delivery Reports: updates on the pipeline of new programmes, PrOF (Programme Operating Framework) compliance, programme management capacity, the Major Programmes Portfolio (MPP) and spotlighting risk or issues escalated by the Committee
• key corporate policy areas including evaluation strategy and policy update and counter fraud policy
• annual updates by sub-committees: the Programme Cycle Panel (PCP) and Finance Transaction Steering Board (FTSB).
• portfolio reviews for high risk and high value spending areas. This has allowed the Committee to frame investment decisions against the wider portfolio.

People and Operations Committee

Chair: DG Finance and Corporate

The People and Operations Committee has a broad remit across a wide range of corporate policy issues in the FCDO, including people issues, estates, security, IT, and organisational improvement. ExCo and the Management Board delegate more decision-making on corporate matters to the committee, formed of those more closely involved in their design and implementation, reserving more of their agenda time to focus on a smaller set of strategic issues. Decision-making on people issues has been improved by being linked to relevant decisions on other corporate policy issues.

The People and Operations Committee met 10 times between 1 April 2024 and 31 March 2025. Topics discussed include:

• capability and career paths programme
• fast stream reform
• people survey implementation
• mandatory learning
• staff awards and lessons learned

Health and Safety Committee

Chair: DG Finance and Corporate

The Health and Safety Committee supports the Management Board in ensuring the FCDO’s health and safety commitments in the UK and overseas are being delivered.

The Health and Safety Committee reviews the strategic, policy and operational approaches on health and safety in relation to all staff, dependants, contractors/suppliers and members of the public.

The Health and Safety Committee met 4 times between 1 April 2024 and 31 March 2025 and reviewed the following:

• risk appetite, and the risk register
• governance structure
• health and safety management information data
• fire safety management information data
• the health and safety maturity model
• health and safety systems
• medium/long term strategy for health and safety
• health and safety performance and assurance
• incident investigations and lessons learned

Staff Advisory Board

Chair: 2 SAB Members, on rotation

The Staff Advisory Board (SAB) operates as a shadow board of the Management Board and the People & Operations Committee. It provides constructive challenge, feedback and input from staff to the Management Board and the People & Operations Committee decision-making.

In 2024 to 2025, agendas mirrored those of the Management Board and the People & Operations Committee. The Board met 12 times.

Board Effectiveness Evaluation (BEE)

The 2024 to 2025 Board Effectiveness Evaluation (BEE) was led by the lead Non-Executive Director and the FCDO’s Corporate Governance team. The evaluation had the following objectives: to assess progress against the findings of the 2023 to 2024 BEE; to evaluate the performance of the Management Board, including how the board works together, use of data and evidence to inform decision-making, inclusion, and efficiency; and to identify recommendations to support continuous improvement in 2025 to 2026. As in previous years, the review focused on the FCDO Management Board, as the main governance forum that provides regular strategic direction and oversight to the department. Methods included a questionnaire to board members and contributors, and desk research to consider the efficacy of agenda setting, information flows between the board and sub-committees and the content and format of management information.

The 2024 to 2025 Board Effectiveness Evaluation found that, despite 2 significant changes in leadership (the General Election of 4 July 2024 and change in PUS in January 2025), the FCDO corporate governance structures were largely functioning well, but that changes to governance structures should be made to better align with new departmental priorities. Board members’ responses to the questionnaire showed that members thought relationships between individual Board members have been positive and performance-enhancing, that the Board is generally able to make decisions and reach conclusions on issues discussed, and that the Board Secretariat has executed its role effectively. Members reported a good understanding of key departmental risks, a clearly defined appetite for risk, and a plan for risk mitigation. More broadly, across the FCDO’s supporting Boards and Committees, meetings largely took place regularly. The usual rhythm of corporate governance meetings has been affected by leadership changes, and governance architecture is being reviewed to ensure the right structures are in place to meet future challenges, particularly the departmental transformation programme FCDO2030. As a result, some Boards and Committees have met less regularly since January 2025, while structures are reviewed and amended. The good governance and leadership of the department has been maintained throughout, with Management Board meeting 2 times since the start of the calendar year, and Executive Committee 7 times in the same period.

The review highlighted areas where further progress could be made. In 2024 to 2025, the Corporate Governance team will take forward recommendations to establish a corporate governance architecture with sufficient focus on strategic planning, fit for taking long-term decisions for the future of the department, increase accountability for implementation of agreed actions, and work with the NED team to ensure the department is utilising their expertise effectively, particularly once the full team is in post.

Risk management and internal control

Throughout 2024 to 2025 risk management has been scrutinised at a number of FCDO Boards, including:

The Management Board is responsible for assessing the FCDO’s risk appetite, monitoring our identification of and response to principal risks (the most significant risks to our performance and reputation) and promoting a sound risk management culture and approach.

The Executive Committee ensures risk is integrated in strategic decision-making, reviews significant risks and considers risk as part of resource allocation.

The Audit and Risk Assurance Committee advises the Management Board and the Accounting Officer on the effectiveness of strategic processes for risk, control and governance. The Committee also provides assurances relating to the management of risk and corporate governance.

Risk management in the FCDO is one of the themes underpinning the Internal Audit and Investigations Directorate’s limited annual assurance opinion, which notes that a fundamental shift is needed in the first line of the business to improve the maturity of risk management across the organisation through embedding risk management into broader decision-making , through better compliance with the risk management framework and better use of tools like the Risk Management Platform.

The FCDO’s approach to risk is stated in its Risk policy and Risk Appetite Statement, which is reviewed periodically by the Management Board. The FCDO’s risk appetite sets out the nature and extent of the risks the FCDO is willing to take in order to achieve its objectives, supporting decisions by teams, senior leaders and Ministers about when to accept high risk and how we mitigate and manage them to achieve our objectives. Higher risks are acceptable when justified by the context we work in or the expected contribution to our mission, such as in our Strategy and Context and Policy and Programme delivery categories. Only limited risks are acceptable in all other areas. The FCDO is committed to reducing risks of fraud and sexual exploitation, abuse and harassment, and has zero tolerance for inaction or mishandling. The risks taken to achieve the FCDO’s mission could impact its reputation, but exposure is limited through:

• escalating reputational risks swiftly
• investing in risk management in a way that is an integral part of decision-making
• learning and communicating effectively about our global priorities and impact

The organisational risk appetite does not set a ceiling for the risk it is willing to take for each activity, programme, country or theme. Directorates, posts and programmes set independent risk appetites based on their goals and delivery context.

More information on the FCDO’s risk profile during 2024 to 2025 and how the Management Board reviews the principal risks can be found in the FCDO performance report. The risk management rules for the portfolio of policy programmes are set out in the FCDO’s Programme Operating Framework.

The HMT Orange Book requires each government organisation to disclose compliance with its 5 principles or to explain reasons for departure. The FCDO risk management approach is built with these principles at its core and with a central risk management approach and policy with common minimum standards. Beyond these, there is flexibility for business areas to apply the approach in a way that fits the wide spectrum of external and operational contexts and risk exposures that we face when managing our global operations.

Our business approach to risk is that the central policy is implemented in practice by each level of the business. This context-driven approach reflects the geographical spread and diverse range of activities which the FCDO undertakes internationally. At this stage, due to the wide spectrum of risk maturity across the organisation and the diverse nature of our operations, we are not fully meeting principles 1 and 2 at every level in the organisation, which state that risk management should be an essential part of governance and that it is integral to decision-making at all levels.

We are committed to continue increasing and consolidating risk maturity and embedding our risk approach as an intrinsic part of decision making and delivery. The organisation has a continuing improvement process for risk management to support these efforts. For instance, during 2024 to 2025 we:

• launched an online risk platform to facilitate the use, sharing and analysis of risk information across the organisation to better inform decision-making
• incorporated ‘confidence ratings’ to assure the Management Board about Risk Owners’ levels of confidence that the FCDO is doing all that could be reasonably expected on geographic risk prevention and readiness
• appointed the Director General for Finance and Corporate as DG-level risk champion
• expanded our evidence base to inform our risk management improvement plan and this disclosure by incorporating findings from a dedicated audit exploring how risk management is applied in practice across the organisation
• continued supporting our risk community of practice and network of over 200 risk points of contact
• continued learning and sharing best practices with other government departments through the cross-government risk network

Building on these efforts, during 2025 to 2026 we:

• are reviewing and improving our top-tier risk reporting with the support of the Audit and Risk Assurance Committee
• are incorporating findings and recommendations from Internal Audit’s thematic risk review into our organisational risk improvement plan
• are continuing our efforts to increase the level of adoption of the Risk Management Platform, which will facilitate improved aggregated understanding and management of risk information to inform decisions
• are including risk management skills for all staff and professionalisation paths in the organisation’s capability framework

The FCDO uses frameworks for applying control. This includes a FCDO governance structure that provides a clear direction for accountability and to facilitate effective decision making. It also outlines the relationship between risk, control, and assurance, and is designed to provide reasonable assurance to the Permanent Under-Secretaries as Accounting Officers.

Built on the foundations of the Civil Service Values, the framework has 5 basic principles: Proportionality, Transparency, being Responsible and Accountable, being Coherent and using Evidence to inform choices and ways of working.

The Internal Control Framework adopts the Orange Book 3 lines model to manage risk. The FCDO’s executive leaders are responsible for setting the FCDO’s objectives. Both the first and second line manage risks to achieving those objectives, while the third line provides independent scrutiny on both first and second-line activity. Additional scrutiny is provided externally by a range of organisations including the National Audit Office; the Independent Commission for Aid Impact (an ALB of FCDO); by functional owners in government such as the National Infrastructure and Service Transformation Authority (NISTA) or the Public Sector Fraud Authority; and Parliamentary bodies (such as the Foreign Affairs Committee, Public Accounts Committee and International Development Committee).

Management Assurance Process

The Management Assurance Process (MAP) is an annual exercise that requires Heads of Mission and Directors to self-assess at year-end whether key controls operating in their area of responsibility, are either effective or require some improvement. Improvement actions for local issues are managed and implemented by individual Directorates/Posts. Aggregated responses are reviewed centrally by functional leads, with improvement actions managed and implemented by individual functional areas. The results of the MAP are included in the Annual Assurance Report which is presented to the Audit and Risk Assurance Committee (ARAC) annually in June. An evidence verification exercise straddles the period from when the results are derived from the first‑and‑second line respondents until typically the Autumn.

The objective of the MAP evidence verification is to determine whether respondents to the MAP can evidence the basis of their assessments of effectiveness reported in the MAP. 235 of the 237 (98%) Posts/Directorate provided evidence links. This year, the verification has helped to enable the identification of control weaknesses at a much earlier stage than in previous years and provided helpful information for key controls including several known difficulties, such as those forming themes within the internal audit opinion. There remain limitations in the quality and quantity of evidence presented by some respondents, though overall the evidence provided in support of the related assurance is stronger than in previous years. The FCDO is considering onward changes to this assurance and other assurance processes carefully alongside FCDO2030 aspirations and anticipated governance changes, our organisational risk maturity and the internal audit annual opinion.

FCDO assurance process on management of interests and business appointment rules

All staff are required to comply with the Civil Service Code, the Diplomatic Service Code (PDF, 484 KB) and the Civil Service Management Code. In support of them is a dedicated policy and process which emphasises the importance of declaring interests/secondary employment as well as following the business appointment rules. To ensure FCDO staff remain compliant, annual declarations (including nil returns), regular reviews of HR policies/processes and robust audit processes are used on an annual basis. Transparency data for grades SCS1, SCS2, Special Advisers, Supervisory Board and Management Board are published on GOV.UK in line with Cabinet Office guidelines.

Special Advisers, Supervisory Board and Management Board members in the FCDO must declare any relevant interests or confirm they do not have any. In compliance with Business Appointment rules, the FCDO is transparent in the advice given to individual applications for senior staff. Advice regarding specific business appointments is published on an annual basis as part of the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office’s Annual Report and Accounts on GOV.UK.

There were 58 exits from the Senior Civil Service in the reporting period. The number of BAR applications assessed by grade are as follows:

	Number of BAR applications	Number of BAR applications with set conditions	Unsuitable applications	Breaches of rules
Delegated grades	7	7	–	–
SCS1	1	1	–	–
SCS2	5	5	–	–
SCS3	5	5	–	–

Members of the Management Board are required to disclose details of company directorships and other significant interests held which may conflict with their management responsibilities.

Name	Declared interest(s) body	Position held	Type of Interest	Other relevant information
Non-executive board members
James Bilefield	SThree plc	Chair	Paid
James Bilefield	MPB	Chair	Paid
James Bilefield	AnyVan	Chair	Paid
James Bilefield	McKinsey & Co.	Senior Advisor	Paid
James Bilefield	Systemiq	Senior Advisor	Paid
James Bilefield	Science Museum Group	Trustee	Unpaid
John Coffey	McIntire Coffey Consultancy Ltd.	Director	Shareholder
Beverley Tew	Crown Commercial Function, Cabinet Office	Crown Representative	Paid	Beverley works on behalf of the Cabinet Office to lead the cross central government strategic relationships with 3 IT/Telco suppliers: BT, Atos and CGI. There are no material contracts with these suppliers in FCDO. Beverley is not involved in contract award decisions. If asked to approve or provide a steer on any contracts with any of these suppliers, Beverley would recuse herself from discussions.
Beverley Tew	Plan International (UK)	Trustee and Chair of the Audit Committee	Unpaid	Plan International receives small scale grant income from FCDO for its international development work. Beverley is not involved in grant making decisions, and if asked to approve or provide a steer on any funding for Plan International, would recuse herself from discussions.
Executive board members
Kate White	Nil return
Owen Jenkins	Nil return
Jonathan Allen	Nil return
Jenny Bates	National Institute of Economic and Social Research	Trustee	Unpaid
Dame Deborah Bronnert	Nil return
Tim Jones	Nil return
Christian Turner	Nil return
Mervyn Thomas	Nil return
Oliver Robbins	Nil return
Nick Dyer	Natural Resources Institute (NRI)	None	Family member’s employer	This interest would be declared for any relevant discussion in which Nick was involved and he would recuse himself if there was a risk of conflict of interest
Philip Barton	Oxford University (Clinical Research Unit based in Vietnam)	None	Family member’s employer
Corin Robertson	Lifeboat Fund	Trustee	Unpaid
Melinda Bohannon	Nil return
Harriet Mathews	Danube Institute	None	Client of family member’s company. Family member is visiting Fellow	This interest would be declared for any relevant discussion in which Harriet was involved and she would recuse herself if there was a risk of conflict of interest
Harriet Mathews	Net Zero Watch	None	Family member is unpaid director	This interest would be declared for any relevant discussion in which Harriet was involved and she would recuse herself if there was a risk of conflict of interest
Harriet Mathews	Daily Telegraph	None	Client of family member’s company.	This interest would be declared for any relevant discussion in which Harriet was involved and she would recuse herself if there was a risk of conflict of interest
Harriet Mathews	Free Speech Union	None	Family member is unpaid member of Advisory Council.	This interest would be declared for any relevant discussion in which Harriet was involved and she would recuse herself if there was a risk of conflict of interest
Harriet Mathews	Refugee Council	None	Family member’s employer.	This interest would be declared for any relevant discussion in which Harriet was involved and she would recuse herself if there was a risk of conflict of interest
Sally Langrish	Nil return
Laure Beaufils	Nil return
Janine Lloyd-Jones	Nil return
Professor Charlotte Watts	CAMFED – Campaign for Female Education	International Board Member	Unpaid	This interest would be declared for any relevant discussion in which Charlotte was involved and she would recuse herself if there was a risk of conflict of interest
Professor Charlotte Watts	London School of Hygiene of Tropical Medicine (LSHTM)	Professor of Global Health and Development	Paid	During 2024 to 2025 Charlotte was seconded from the LSHTM, and worked 0.8 FTE with FCDO, and 0.2 FTE for LSHTM.
Professor Charlotte Watts	Academy of Medicine	Fellow	Unpaid
Adnan Khan	Charles Wallace Pakistan Trust (CWPT) UK	Board member	Unpaid
Adnan Khan	London School of Economics	Professor	Paid	Adnan works 0.9 FTE with the FCDO, and 0.1 FTE for LSE, his permanent employer. This is publicly listed on the FCDO Register of Senior Civil Servants’ secondary paid employment.
Joanna Roper	British School Netherlands	Chair	Unpaid
Joanna Roper	Netherlands Arts Society	Patron	Unpaid
Joanna Roper	STET Theatre Group	Patron	Unpaid

In line with the current Declaration of Interests Policy for special advisers, all special advisers have declared any relevant interests or confirmed they do not consider they have any relevant interests. The Permanent Under‑ Secretary has considered these returns and the following relevant interests are set out in public.

Name	Interest		Name	Interest
Baroness Liz Sugg	Baroness Sugg’s family member is employed as a Director at BBC Media Action. Baroness Sugg should not be involved in any grants or other funding to BBC Media Action.		Laurence Mann	Mr Mann holds an unpaid role as a trustee of The Conservative Party Archive, Bodleian Library, Oxford. Mr Mann holds an unpaid role as Director of The Office of David Cameron.

Personal data losses

The FCDO recorded 159 personal data incidents in 2024 to 2025 of which 108 were found to involve a breach of security leading to the accidental or unlawful destruction, loss, alteration, unauthorised disclosure of, or access to, personal data. An initial report was submitted to the Information Commissioner’s Office for one incident, however, following further investigation, the incident was determined to fall short of the threshold for reporting and the report was withdrawn.

The table below shows the breakdown of personal data breaches reported between 1 April 2024 and 31 March 2025.

		Number of breaches
Nature of incident	2024 to 2025	2023 to 2024
Unauthorised disclosures	95	77
Insecure disposal/Inadequate protection.	4	2
Loss of or poor protection of data inside FCDO premises	3	2
Loss of or poor protection of data outside FCDO premises	4	0
Other	2	4

The FCDO takes the security of its personnel, information and infrastructure seriously and every data incident that is reported, including near misses, is investigated. As most of the incidents that occur in the FCDO relate to human error, training and awareness activities are regularly undertaken to continuously improve staff knowledge and understanding of the data protection principles and the processes and procedures that must be followed to secure data. It is probable that the table above reflects an increased level of reporting resulting from improved awareness, rather than an increased number of incidents. We will continue to monitor the reporting and patterns to determine what corrective action is required.

These figures do not include incidents involving visa or passport section information, as these are handled and reported on by the Home Office.

Internal audit annual assurance opinion

For the period 1 April 2024 to 31 March 2025 the Head of Internal Audit provided a limited assurance opinion over the FCDO’s governance, risk management and control framework.

The work of Internal Audit this financial year indicates progress on addressing some of the issues with the design of key control frameworks, but enduring challenges implementing the FCDO’s policies and systems remain. There is a pattern of operational risks not controlled within the FCDO’s appetite for risk and insufficient progress addressing actions agreed in previous audits. Internal audit has identified themes across its work driving the limited opinion, including: gaps in accountability and oversight, a need to improve systems and information to support oversight and control, and corporate controls and policies are not implemented effectively.

The FCDO’s Senior Management designed a DG-led action plan in 2024 to 2025 to address the challenges identified in the 2023 to 2024 opinion. This action plan is ongoing, and while progress is positive, it has not yet fully remediated the issues identified. Looking ahead, there is an opportunity for the FCDO to incorporate improvement in its risk management, governance and internal control into the FCDO2030 programme of reform.

Whistleblowing

The FCDO upholds the highest standards of integrity, probity, and accountability. Our Raising a Concern and Whistleblowing policy is aligned with the UK’s legislative framework as outlined in the Public Interest Disclosure Act. This policy facilitates the confidential reporting of any wrongdoing, breaches of the Civil Service Code, fraud, safeguarding issues, health and safety concerns, and other risks outside of the usual management chains. Reporting can be done via a confidential hotline and email address managed by a specialist team within our Internal Audit and Investigations Directorate, as well as through other channels such as our Staff Counsellors. Internal promotion of reporting methods is conducted via our intranet, and externally through gov.uk, which is particularly useful for those wishing to raise concerns about our aid delivery partners. The Audit and Risk Assurance Committee regularly receives reports and monitors the whistleblowing policy to ensure all matters reported are appropriately addressed and investigated.

Complaints

The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) investigates complaints about a central government department and/or its agencies, when referred to them by a Member of Parliament on behalf of a complainant. The PHSO share their findings with Parliament, to help it to scrutinise public service providers. Findings are also shared more widely to help drive improvements in public services and complaint handling. In 2024 to 2025, one complaint regarding a child welfare case was considered at the primary investigation stage by the PHSO, as a result of which the FCDO apologised for one aspect of case handling and have reminded staff about the importance of accurately recording their interactions and then following up in writing. The FCDO are unable to say how many other cases may have been referred to the PHSO during the period, as it is only alerted when the PHSO decides to investigate.

Corporate governance code

The FCDO has sound governance arrangements in place and is compliant with the Corporate Governance in Central Government Departments: Code of Good Practice 2017, with the following exceptions.

First, the FCDO does not have a nominations committee but instead has a Senior Leadership Board, chaired by the Permanent Under-Secretary. This carries out a similar role to a nominations committee, overseeing the performance, talent, and broader aspects of management of the senior Civil Service within the FCDO. Beverley Tew is the Non-Executive Director member of this board.

Second, during this reporting period the FCDO had only 3 Non-Executive Directors. A recruitment process to widen the FCDO’s Non-Executive team was begun following the General Election in July 2024. Two new appointments have now been confirmed ensuring the FCDO meets the recommended minimum of 4 Non-Executive Directors.

Third, the Supervisory Board did not meet during the reporting period. The Board was scheduled to meet in June, but this was cancelled due to the announcement of the UK General Election on 4 July. It has not been possible to arrange further meetings of the Board following the election while new governance arrangements are established to meet departmental needs.

In the absence of Supervisory Board meetings, the good governance and leadership of the department is instead maintained through the Management Board, which is chaired by the Permanent Under-Secretary and meets on a monthly basis. The Management Board conducts its business according to the principles and guidance in the Code of Good Practice, including the 4 recognised precepts of good corporate governance and the adherence of members to the Nolan principles. The Management Board also discharges the Supervisory Board’s responsibility, outlined in the code, to provide oversight to the department’s Arm’s Length Bodies. In addition, the Foreign Secretary has established a series of Delivery Boards, which he chairs, to ensure the FCDO is focused on the delivery of the government’s priorities. While not formally part of corporate governance structures, these Delivery Boards provide an important forum for Ministers to oversee delivery within the department. Ongoing work to refresh FCDO governance structures will seek to articulate clearly the relationship between these Delivery Boards and formal governance structures.

Independent Commission for Aid Impact and National Audit Office audit reports

The Accounting Officer takes account of findings from the work of the Independent Commission for Aid Impact (ICAI), an ALB which is detailed below. During the financial year 2024 to 2025, ICAI examined and reported on a range of subjects across ODA spending departments. It conducted full reviews of:

• UK aid for sustainable cities
• the UK Department of Health and Social Care’s aid-funded global health research and innovation
• UK humanitarian aid to Afghanistan 2023 to 2024
• UK humanitarian aid to Gaza
• ICAI follow-up review of 2022-23 reports
• UK aid to Ukraine

ICAI also published a report which outlines how UK aid is being spent in an increasingly challenging global context, with extreme poverty concentrated in places severely affected by conflict and climate change. The FCDO publishes its response to ICAI reports and gives evidence on them to the House of Commons International Development Select Committee.

In May 2025, the NAO published its report “Managing FCDO’s overseas estate”. The report concluded that FCDO’s overseas estate is essential for delivery of the UK government’s global objectives but much of the estate is in a deteriorating condition, with a maintenance backlog of nearly half a billion pounds. Focus has been on making repairs to ensure buildings are safe and compliant at the expense of longer-term investment to improve the estate or reduce its cost. The report, which provided 7 recommendations, highlighted that the department must now find ways to increase funding, reduce costs and prioritise achieving value for money from its estate.

The NAO also published a progress update on “Realising the benefits of St Helena Airport” in February 2025, which concluded that the airport is operational and functioning as well as it can within the constraints on operations, but has not yet enabled the growth of tourism envisaged in the original airport business case or the reduction in aid provided by the UK government. The NAO publish other reports and studies which the FCDO contributes to and recommendations from these reports since 2019 are published on the NAO’s recommendation tracker. During the year to 31 March 2025, the FCDO has been working on its recommendations and updates to these recommendations are published on the recommendations tracker. All NAO reports are also published on its website.

Arm’s length bodies (ALBs)

The Permanent Under-Secretary is the FCDO’s Accounting Officer and responsible for:

• 1 executive agency: Wilton Park
• 4 executive non-departmental public bodies (NDPB): the Commonwealth Scholarship Commission; Marshall Aid Commemoration Commission; Westminster Foundation for Democracy; Great Britain‑China Centre
• 1 advisory NDPB: Independent Commission for Aid Impact

In addition, the FCDO sponsors the British Council – a public corporation, NDPB and charity, and FCDO Services – a trading fund and an executive agency. Both bodies are outside the FCDO accounting boundary. The FCDO’s relationship with each ALB is agreed and set out in a published Framework Document. This includes sections on jointly agreed priorities, performance measures, engagement, funding, financial controls and the governance framework. The FCDO is also a 100% shareholder in the public limited company British International Investment (BII). The FCDO operates an arm’s-length relationship for its shareholding, meaning that day-to-day operations and investment decisions are independent of government. Information on each of the FCDO’s ALBs is outlined below. Further summary information is provided in Note 6, and at Annex D outlining core income and expenditure for each entity alongside staffing numbers.

British Council

The British Council is an important international organisation for cultural relations and educational opportunities for the UK. It is a charity governed by Royal Charter, a public corporation and a non-departmental public body sponsored by the FCDO. It supports peace and prosperity by building connections, understanding and trust between people in the UK and countries worldwide. It does this by combining the UK’s deep expertise in arts and culture, education and the English language, its global presence and relationships in over 100 countries and its unparalleled access to young people and influencers around the world. This helps strengthen the UK’s global reputation and influence, encouraging people from around the world to visit, study, trade and make alliances with the UK. With a total reach of 598.7 million people in 2024 to 2025, the British Council creates mutually beneficial relationships between the people of all 4 nations of the UK and other countries.

In 2024 to 2025, the British Council received £162.5 million core grant-in-aid from the FCDO of which £126.5 million was ODA. The British Council continues to make progress with growing income following the pandemic, alongside reducing costs across the organisation. However, recovery in some areas has been slower and the organisation has been affected by geopolitical events and changing approaches to immigration policy across the globe, which has impacted demand. Global economic challenges, such as rising inflation and exchange rate volatility have placed further pressure on the British Council’s activities and income. In the absence of adequate reserves, the British Council remains reliant on a loan facility of £197 million provided by the FCDO on commercial terms to 30 September 2026. The British Council’s Trustees are working constructively with the FCDO to ensure the long-term financial sustainability of the British Council and together have appointed a transformation advisor to support delivery of a financial transformation and turnaround plan.

Wilton Park

Wilton Park is an executive agency of the FCDO, and administratively distinct from the department. It provides a platform for policy dialogue on international and strategic affairs which brings together government ministers, officials, business leaders and civil society.

Between April 2024 and March 2025, Wilton Park hosted 83 dialogues and events. Topics for discussion included global economy and trade, climate change, conflict prevention, resolution and state building, health, defence and security and sustainable development.

In 2024 to 2025, Wilton Park’s total operating expenditure was £10.167 million and total operating income (including FCDO funding) was £9.324 million. Wilton Park produces its own annual report and accounts.

Great Britain-China Centre (GBCC)

The Great Britain-China Centre advances the UK’s interests with China. They work to: improve the UK’s China capabilities, this year by training over 300 civil servants across Government on a range of courses, a key priority of the Government’s China Strategy; and organise senior strategic dialogues between parliamentarians, legal experts and policymakers in China and the UK, which are used to deliver tough messages on areas such as Xinjiang, Tibet and Hong Kong. In 2024 to 2025, the GBCC received £350,000 grant-in-aid from the FCDO. The GBCC produces its own annual report and accounts.

Marshall Aid Commemoration Commission (MACC)

The Marshall Aid Commemoration Commission was established under the 1953 Marshall Aid Commemoration Commission Act as an Executive Non‑Departmental Public Body. The Commission awards up to 50 postgraduate scholarships each year to exceptional American scholars for study at leading UK universities. The FCDO provided the MACC with grant‑in-aid of £4.1 million in 2024 to 2025. The FCDO Scholarships Unit represents the FCDO at MACC board meetings. The Foreign Secretary signs off the MACC annual report and appointments to the MACC Board, including the Chair. The annual report and accounts can be found on the MACC website.

Independent Commission for Aid Impact (ICAI)

ICAI scrutinises UK aid spending. ICAI operates independently of government and reports to Parliament through the House of Commons International Development Committee. ICAI’s formal remit is to provide independent evaluation and scrutiny of the impact and value for money of all UK government ODA. This involves carrying out several evidence-based reviews on strategic issues faced by the UK government’s aid spending, informing and supporting Parliament in its role of holding the UK government to account and ensuring ICAI’s work is made available to the public. ICAI’s mandate covers all ODA, whichever department it is spent by. ICAI is at the start of the fourth commission and have recently appointed the new Chief Commissioner and 2 part-time commissioners. The total expenditure by ICAI in 2024 to 2025 was £2,206,296.

Westminster Foundation for Democracy (WFD)

Westminster Foundation for Democracy (WFD) is the UK public body dedicated to strengthening democracy around the world. The FCDO provided £8.5 million in 2024 to 2025 to WFD in Grant-in-Aid. The Foreign Secretary is accountable to Parliament for the activities of WFD and has responsibility for approving their strategic objectives, the appointment of the CEO, the board, and laying of the WFD accounts before Parliament. The Democratic and Media Freedom Department is the sponsoring team in the FCDO and is the principal source of advice to the Foreign Secretary and the PUS on these matters. Officials report regularly to Ministers on WFD-related issues, in particular on funding, corporate planning and review-related issues. The annual report and accounts can be found on their website.

Commonwealth Scholarship Commission (CSC)

The Commonwealth Scholarship Commission was established by an Act of Parliament in 1959 to manage the UK contribution to the Commonwealth Scholarship and Fellowship Plan, and it is an Executive Non-Departmental Public Body. The Commission awards scholarships and fellowships to Commonwealth citizens for postgraduate study and professional development and is the UK government’s scholarship scheme supporting international development objectives. The FCDO is the lead department and main sponsor and provided the CSC with grant-in-aid of £28.2 million in 2024 to 2025. The CSC’s annual report can be read online.

Closing statement

I am satisfied with the FCDO’s governance arrangements in terms of safeguarding public funds. I am assured that the FCDO’s corporate governance structures have largely adapted and functioned to support the delivery of FCDO priorities in 2024 to 2025, and that planned changes to the corporate governance structure will strengthen this further.

I also received assurance from my predecessor, Sir Philip Barton, regarding the governance and financial stewardship during his period of responsibility.

There were no ministerial directions during the reporting period 2024 to 2025.

Sir Oliver Robbins KCMG CB
Accounting Officer for the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
16 July 2025

2.2. Remuneration and staff report

This section of the annual report and accounts sets out the FCDO’s remuneration policies and how those policies have been implemented. This section also sets out the amounts awarded to directors, fair pay disclosures, diversity and inclusion information, and information on the FCDO’s staff numbers and costs.

Remuneration report

Service contracts

The Constitutional Reform and Governance Act 2010 requires Civil Service and Diplomatic Service appointments to be made on merit, on the basis of fair and open competition. The Recruitment Principles published by the Civil Service Commission specify the circumstances where appointments may be made otherwise.

Unless stated below, the officials covered by this report hold contracts which are open-ended. Early termination, other than for misconduct, would result in the individual receiving compensation as set out in the Civil Service Compensation Scheme.

Further information about the work of the Civil Service Commission can be found at www.civilservicecommission.org.uk.

Remuneration policy

The pay of Senior Civil Servants (SCS) is set by the Prime Minister following independent advice from the Senior Salaries Review Body (SSRB). The SSRB takes account of the evidence it receives about wider economic considerations and the affordability of its recommendations. From time to time, the Review Body advises the Prime Minister on the pay, pensions and allowances of ministers and others whose pay is determined by the Ministerial and Other Salaries Act 1975.

In making its recommendations, the Review Body considers:

• the need to recruit, retain and motivate suitably able and qualified people to exercise their different responsibilities
• regional and local variations in labour markets and their effects on the recruitment and retention of staff
• government policies for improving public services, including the requirement on departments to meet the output targets for the delivery of departmental services
• the funds available to departments, as set out in the government’s departmental expenditure limits
• the government’s inflation target, wider economic considerations, and the affordability of its recommendations

Further information about the work of the SSRB body can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/office-of-manpower-economics.

In line with the government’s transparency commitments, the FCDO publishes salary details of its SCS in the format agreed with the Cabinet Office on the government’s website, www.gov.uk.

For the Permanent Under-Secretaries, remuneration is set by the Prime Minister on the recommendation of the Permanent Secretaries’ Remuneration Committee.

Remuneration (including salary) and pension entitlements

The following sections provide details of the remuneration and pension interests of the Ministers and most senior management (i.e. Management Board members) of the department.

Remuneration for ministers (subject to audit)

Ministers	Salary [footnote 12], 2024 to 2025	Salary [footnote 12], 2023 to 2024	Benefits in kind (to the nearest £100), 2024 to 2025	Benefits in kind (to the nearest £100), 2023 to 2024	Pension benefits [footnote 13] (to nearest £1,000), 2024 to 2025	Pension benefits [footnote 13] (to nearest £1,000), 2023 to 2024	Total (to nearest £1,000), 2024 to 2025	Total (to nearest £1,000), 2023 to 2024
The Rt Hon Lord Cameron Secretary of State (to 05/07/24)[footnote 14]	27,493	40,006	–	–	6,000	11,000	33,000	51,000
The Rt Hon Andrew Mitchell Minister of State (to 05/07/24)[footnote 15]	8,346	31,680	–	–	2,000	9,000	10,000	41,000
The Rt Hon Anne-Marie Trevelyan Minister of State (to 05/07/24)[footnote 16]	8,346	31,680	–	–	2,000	8,000	10,000	40,000
Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon Minister of State (to 05/07/24)[footnote 17]	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
Lord Benyon Minister of State (to 05/07/24)[footnote 18]	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
David Rutley Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (to 05/07/24)[footnote 19]	5,894	22,375	–	–	1,000	6,000	7,000	28,000
Nusrat Ghani Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (to 05/07/24)[footnote 20]	8,346	–	–	–	2,000	–	10,000	–
The Rt Hon David Lammy Secretary of State (from 05/07/24)[footnote 21].	49,721	–	–	–	13,000	–	63,000	–
Stephen Doughty Minister of State (from 08/07/24)[footnote 22]	23,164	–	–	–	6,000	–	29,000	–
The Rt Hon Annelisse Dodds Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (from 08/07/24 to 28/02/25)[footnote 23]	20,524	–	–	–	5,000	–	26,000	–
Catherine West Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (from 09/07/24)[footnote 24]	16,300	–	–	–	4,000	–	20,000	–
Lord Collins of Highbury Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (from 09/07/24)[footnote 25]	17,742	–	–	–	5,000	–	23,000	–
Baroness Chapman Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (from 18/07/24)[footnote 26]	75,596	–	–	–	12,000	–	88,000	–
Hamish Falconer Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (from 18/07/24)[footnote 27]	1,931	–	–	–	–	–	2,000	–

Compensation for loss of office (subject to audit)

	Date of departure	Compensation paid
Ministers		£
The Rt Hon Lord Cameron Secretary of State (to 5 July 2024)	05-Jul-24	26,090
The Rt Hon Andrew Mitchell Minister of State (to 5 July 2024)	05-Jul-24	–
The Rt Hon Anne-Marie Trevelyan Minister of State (to 5 July 2024)	05-Jul-24	7,920
David Rutley Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (to 5 July 2024)	05-Jul-24	5,593
Nusrat Ghani Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (from 26 March 2024 to 5 July 2024)	05-Jul-24	–
The Rt Hon Annelisse Dodds Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (from 8 July 2024 to 28 Feb 2025)	28-Feb-25	7,920

Remuneration for senior officials (subject to audit)

Senior officials	Salary (£000) [footnote 28], 2024 to 2025	Salary (£000) [footnote 28], 2023 to 2024	Benefits in kind (to the nearest £100), 2024 to 2025	Benefits in Kind (to the nearest £100), 2023 to 2024	Bonus payments (£000), 2024 to 2025	Bonus payments (£000), 2023 to 2024	Pension benefits (to nearest £1,000) [footnote 29] [footnote 30] [footnote 31], 2024 to 2025	Pension benefits (to nearest £1,000) [footnote 29] [footnote 30] [footnote 31], 2023 to 2024	Total (£000), 2024 to 2025	Total (£000), 2023 to 2024
Sir Philip Barton - Permanent Under-Secretary (to 17/01/2025)[footnote 32]	160–165	195–200	–	–	15–20	5–10	26	30	205–210	235–240
Nick Dyer - Second Permanent Under-Secretary	165–170	150–155	–	–	–	5–10	176	197	340–345	355–360
Sir Oliver Robbins - Permanent Under-Secretary (from 20/01/2025)[footnote 33]	45–50	–	–	–	–	–	20	–	65–70	–
Jenny Bates - Director General Indo-Pacific, then Director General Economics, Climate & Global Issues	160–165	155–160	–	–	5–10	0–5	88	82	255–260	240–245
Jonathan Allen - Director General Defence and Intelligence[footnote 34]	145–150	15–20	–	–	5–10	–	97	7	250–255	20–25
Melinda Bohannon - Director General Humanitarian and Development	140–145	125–130	–	–	0–5	0–5	145	161	285–290	290–295
Tim Jones - Director Finance	135–140	130–135	–	–	5–10	5–10	47	46	190–195	180–185
Corin Robertson - DG Finance and Corporate	140–145	135–140	–	–	0–5	0–5	85	42	225–230	180–185
Mervyn Thomas - Chief People Officer[footnote 35]	150–155	150–155	–	–	5–10	5–10	56	26	215–220	180–185
Sally Langrish - Legal Adviser	140–145	135–140	–	–	0–5	0–5	53	51	195–200	185–190
Peter Wilson - Director General Europe (to 30/08/2024)[footnote 36]	60–65	140–145	–	–	5–10	0–5	43	66	110–115	205–210
Janine Lloyd-Jones - Director of Communications[footnote 37]	130–135	70–75	–	–	5–10	–	113	65	250–255	135–140
Colin Martin-Reynolds - Director Organisational Improvement[footnote 38]	105–110	75–80	–	–	5–10	0–5	75	45	190–195	125–130
Harriet Mathews - Director General Africa, Americas and Overseas Territories[footnote 39]	145–150	95–100	–	–	0–5	0–5	166	52	315–320	145–150
Christian Turner - Director General Geopolitics and Political Director[footnote 40]	160–165	160–165	–	–	5–10	0–5	90	70	255–260	235–240
Adnan Khan - Chief Economist[footnote 41]	125–130	30–35	–	–	0–5	–	47	11	175–180	40–45
Charlotte Watts - Chief Scientific Advisor[footnote 42]	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
Will Hines - Interim Director Strategy (to 06/05/2024)[footnote 43]	10–15	70–75	–	–	0–5	0–5	–	–	15–20	75–80
Joanna Roper - Overseas Network Representative[footnote 44]	105–110	85–90	–	–	5–10	0–5	71	43	185–190	130–135
Laure Beaufils - Overseas Network Representative[footnote 45]	105–110	85–90	–	–	5–10	0–5	54	38	165–170	125–130
Owen Jenkins - Director General Indo-Pacific, Middle East and North Africa (from 20/08/24)[footnote 46]	140–145	15–20	–	–	0–5	–	199	6	340–345	20–25
Kate White - Director Strategy (from 06/05/2024)[footnote 47]	100–105	25–30	–	–	0–5	–	105	47	210–215	70–75
Dame Deborah Bronnert - Interim Director General Europe (from 02/09/2024)[footnote 48]	85–90	–	–	–	5–10	–	77	–	170–175	–

Fees paid to non-executive board and committee members (subject to audit)

During 2024 to 2025, the following fees and taxable expenses were paid to Non-Executive Directors of the Board and Committee Members:

Non-Executive Directors of the Board	Fees & taxable expenses paid, 2024 to 2025	Fees & taxable expenses paid, 2023 to 2024
Beverley Tew - Lead Non-Executive Director FCDO[footnote 49]	£15,000–£20,000	£15,000–£20,000
John Coffey - Non-Executive Director, Chair FCDO Audit and Risk Assurance Committee[footnote 50]	£20,000–£25,000	£15,000–£20,000
Fiona Thompson - Non-Executive Member, FCDO Audit and Risk Assurance Committee	£5,000–£10,000	£5,000–£10,000
Chris Wood - Non-Executive Member, FCDO Audit and Risk Assurance Committee	£5,000–£10,000	£5,000–£10,000
James Bilefield - Non-Executive Director FCDO (from 15/04/24)[footnote 51]	£10,000–£15,000	–

Salary

‘Salary’ includes gross salary; overtime; reserved rights to London weighting or London allowances; recruitment and retention allowances; private office allowances and any other allowance to the extent that it is subject to UK taxation. This report is based on accrued payments made by the department and thus recorded in these accounts. In respect of Ministers in the House of Commons, departments bear only the cost of the additional ministerial remuneration; the salary for their services as an MP and various allowances to which they are entitled are borne centrally. However, the arrangement for Ministers in the House of Lords is different in that they do not receive a salary but rather an additional remuneration, which cannot be quantified separately from their ministerial salaries. This total remuneration, as well as the allowances to which they are entitled, is paid by the department and is therefore shown in full in the figures above.

Benefits in kind

The monetary value of benefits in kind covers any benefits provided by the department and treated by HM Revenue and Customs as a taxable emolument. No benefits in kind have been received in the current or prior year for the FCDO.

Bonuses

Bonuses are based on performance levels attained and are made as part of the appraisal process. The bonuses reported in 2024 to 2025 relate to performance in 2023 to 2024 and the comparative bonuses reported for 2023 to 2024 relate to performance in 2022 to 2023.

Pension benefits for ministers (subject to audit)

Ministers	Accrued Pension at age 65 at 31/03/25 (£000) [footnote 52]	Real increase in pension at age 65 (£000)	CETV at 31/03/25 or end date whichever is earlier [footnote 53] (£000)	CETV at 31/03/24 or start date whichever is earlier (£000)	Real increase in CETV [footnote 54] (£000)
The Rt Hon Lord Cameron - Secretary of State (to 05/07/24)	0–5	0–2.5	21	13	5
The Rt Hon Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (to 05/07/24)	5–10	0–2.5	156	153	2
The Rt Hon Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (to 05/07/24)	0–5	0–2.5	69	65	1
Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (to 05/07/24)[footnote 55]	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a
Lord Benyon - Minister of State (to 05/07/24)[footnote 56]	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a
David Rutley - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (to 05/07/24)	0–5	0–2.5	13	11	1
Nusrat Ghani - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (to 05/07/24)	0–5	0–2.5	31	29	1
The Rt Hon David Lammy - Secretary of State (from 05/07/24)	10–15	0–2.5	194	175	9
Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (from 08/07/24)	0–5	0–2.5	6	–	3
The Rt Hon Annelisse Dodds - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (from 08/07/24 to 28/02/25)	0–5	0–2.5	5	–	3
Catherine West - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (from 09/07/24)	0–5	0–2.5	5	–	4
Lord Collins of Highbury - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (from 09/07/24)	0–5	0–2.5	16	10	4
Baroness Chapman - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (from 18/07/24)	0–5	0–2.5	14	–	12
Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (from 18/07/24)	0–5	0–2.5	–	–	–

Ministerial pensions

Pension benefits for Ministers are provided by the Parliamentary Contributory Pension Fund (PCPF). The scheme is made under statute and the rules are set out in the Ministers’ etc. Pension Scheme 2015, available at https://mypcpfpension.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/ministerial-pension-scheme-rules.pdf.

Those Ministers who are Members of Parliament may also accrue an MP’s pension under the PCPF (details of which are not included in this report).

Benefits for Ministers are payable from State Pension age under the 2015 scheme. Pensions are revalued annually in line with Pensions Increase legislation both before and after retirement. The contribution rate from May 2015 is 11.1% and the accrual rate is 1.775% of pensionable earnings. The figure shown for pension value includes the total pension payable to the member under both the pre and post-2015 ministerial pension schemes.

Cash equivalent transfer value (CETV)

This is the actuarially assessed capitalised value of the pension scheme benefits accrued by a member at a particular point in time. The benefits valued are the member’s accrued benefits and any contingent spouse’s pension payable from the scheme. A CETV is a payment made by a pension scheme or arrangement to secure pension benefits in another pension scheme or arrangement, when the member leaves a scheme and chooses to transfer the pension benefits they have accrued in their former scheme. The pension figures shown relate to the benefits that the individual has accrued as a consequence of their total ministerial service, not just their current appointment as a Minister. CETVs are calculated in accordance with The Occupational Pension Schemes (Transfer Values) (Amendment) Regulations 2008 and do not take account of any actual or potential reduction to benefits resulting from Lifetime Allowance Tax, which may be due when pension benefits are taken.

Real increase in the value of CETV

This is the element of the increase in accrued pension funded by the Exchequer. It excludes increases due to inflation and contributions paid by the Minister. It is worked out using common market valuation factors for the start and end of the period.

Pension benefits for senior officials (subject to audit)

Senior officials [footnote 57] [footnote 58]	Accrued pension at pension age at 31/03/2025 (£000) [footnote 59]	Real increase in pension and related lump sum at pension age (£000)	CETV at 31/03/2025 (£000)	CETV at 31/03/2024 (£000)	Real increase in CETV (£000)	Employer contribution to partnership pension account (£000)
Sir Philip Barton - Permanent Under-Secretary (to 17/01/2025)	–	–	–	–	–	26
Nick Dyer - Second Permanent Under-Secretary	85 – 90 plus a lump sum of 225 – 230	7.5 – 10 plus a lump sum of 12.5 – 15	2,048	1,868	172	–
Sir Oliver Robbins - Permanent Under-Secretary (from 20/01/2025)	0–5	0–2.5	16	–	12	–
Jenny Bates - Director General Indo-Pacific, then Director General Economics, Climate & Global Issues	55 – 60 plus a lump sum of 5 – 10	2.5 – 5 plus a lump sum of 0 – 2.5	1,100	987	67	–
Jonathan Allen - Director General Defence and Intelligence	50 – 55 plus a lump sum of 130 – 135	5 – 7.5 plus a lump sum of 5 – 7.5	1,130	1,004	77	–
Melinda Bohannon - Director General Humanitarian and Development	45 – 50 plus a lump sum of 115 – 120	5 – 7.5 plus a lump sum of 10 – 12.5	957	796	121	–
Tim Jones - Director Finance	35–40	2.5–5	546	469	30	–
Corin Robertson - DG Finance and Corporate	50 – 55 plus a lump sum of 130 – 135	2.5 – 5 plus a lump sum of 2.5 – 5	1,164	1,046	69	–
Mervyn Thomas - Chief People Officer	0–5	2.5–5	51	–	41	2
Sally Langrish - Legal Adviser	5–10	2.5–5	149	93	38	–
Peter Wilson - Director General Europe (to 30/08/2024)	55 – 60 plus a lump sum of 150 – 155	0 – 2.5 plus a lump sum of 2.5 – 5	1,346	1,291	37	–
Janine Lloyd-Jones - Director of Communications	35–40	5–7.5	659	548	81	–
Colin Martin-Reynolds - Director Organisational Improvement	50 – 55 plus a lump sum of 130 – 135	2.5 – 5 plus a lump sum of 2.5 – 5	1,136	1,028	61	–
Harriet Mathews - Director General Africa, Americas and Overseas Territories	0 – 55 plus a lump sum of 120 – 125	7.5 – 10 plus a lump sum of 12.5 – 15	1,066	878	145	–
Christian Turner - Director General Geopolitics and Political Director	65 – 70 plus a lump sum of 105 – 110	2.5 – 5 plus a lump sum of 2.5 – 5	1,316	1,174	71	–
Adnan Khan - Chief Economist	5–10	2.5–5	152	99	36	–
Charlotte Watts - Chief Scientific Advisor[footnote 60]	–	–	–	–	–	–
Will Hines - Interim Director Strategy (to 06/05/2024)[footnote 61]	–	–	–	–	–	–
Joanna Roper - Overseas Network Representative	45 – 50 plus a lump sum of 115 – 120	2.5 – 5 plus a lump sum of 2.5 – 5	1,079	974	61	–
Laure Beaufils - Overseas Network Representative	25–30	2.5–5	475	412	39	–
Owen Jenkins - Director General Indo-Pacific, Middle East and North Africa (from 20/08/2024)	75–80	10–12.5	1,587	1,338	190	–
Kate White - Director Strategy (from 06/05/2024)	40 – 45 plus a lump sum of 135 – 140	2.5 – 5 plus a lump sum of 30 – 32.5	984	860	84	–
Dame Deborah Bronnert - Interim Director General Europe (from 02/09/2024)	75 – 80 plus a lump sum of 195 – 200	2.5 – 5 plus a lump sum of 5 – 7.5	1,809	1,685	72	–

Civil Service pensions

Pension contributions

The Principal Civil Service Pension Scheme (PCSPS) and the Civil Servant and Other Pension Scheme (CSoPS) – known as Alpha – are unfunded multi-employer defined benefit schemes but the FCDO is unable to identify its share of the underlying assets and liabilities.

The scheme actuary valued the PCSPS as at 31 March 2020. Details can be found at https://www.civilservicepensionscheme.org.uk/about-us/scheme-valuations/.

For 2024 to 2025, employers’ contributions of £114,249,687 were payable to the PCSPS (2023-24: £102,303,739) at the rate of 28.97% of pensionable earnings. The Scheme Actuary reviews employer contributions usually every 4 years following a full scheme valuation. The contribution rates are set to meet the cost of the benefits accruing during 2024 to 2025 to be paid when the member retires and not the benefits paid during this period to existing pensioners.

Employees can opt to open a partnership pension account, a stakeholder pension with an employer contribution. Employers’ contributions of £691,786 were paid to one or more of the panel of 3 appointed stakeholder pension providers.

Employer contributions are age related and ranged from 8% to 14.75%. Employers also match employee contributions up to 3% of pensionable earnings.

In addition, employer contributions of £24,849, 0.5% of pensionable pay, were payable to the PCSPS to cover the cost of the future provision of lump sum benefits on death in service or ill health retirement of these employees.

Contributions due to the partnership pension providers at the balance sheet date were £0. Contributions prepaid at that date were £0.

The total employer pension contributions detailed above will not cross reference to the staff costs table pension cost due to payments made for overseas pension contributions which are not detailed above but are included within the staff costs table.

Staff report

Our workforce

The FCDO had 17,326 employees as at 31 March 2025 comprising 8,152 (47%) UK-Based (UKB) staff and 9,174 (53%) Country Based Staff. The UKB full-time equivalent was 8,018.8. As at the 31 March 2025, 73% of UKB staff were working in the UK and 27% were based overseas.

The turnover rate for UKB staff in 2024 to 2025 was 8.6%.

FCDO staff headcount

Type of staff	Employees at 31/03/2025	Employees at 31/03/2024
UK based staff	8,152	8,167
Country based staff	9,174	9,365
Ministers	6	7
Special advisors	4	4

Our workforce structure

The FCDO has a Senior Civil Servants (SCS) structure comprising 4 pay bands.

Number of SCS employed by the FCDO

Grade	FCDO SCS at 31/03/2025	FCDO SCS at 31/03/2024
Permanent Under‑Secretary	2	2
SCS4	2	1
SCS3	36	36
SCS2	131	136
SCS1	393	414
Total	564	589

Salary for SCS pay bands

SCS pay band	Cabinet Office minimum	Cabinet Office maximum
Permanent Under-Secretary / SCS4	152,000	200,000
Director General	128,000	208,100
Director / SCS2	98,000	162,500
Deputy Director SCS1	76,000	117,800

Staff loans

Career experience outside of the FCDO helps to build expertise and organisational agility.

Number of staff loaned to the FCDO as at 31 March 2025 from other government departments

Grade	Loaned in total	Loaned in for <6 months	Loaned in for 6+ months	Average loan length (in years)
AO	4	1	3	0.7
EO	21	4	17	1.2
HEO	143	26	117	1.3
SEO	106	14	92	1.3
G7	171	29	142	1.6
G6	45	10	35	1.6
SCS	39	7	32	2.0
Total	529	91	438	1.5

Number of staff loaned from the FCDO as at 31 March 2025 to other government departments

Grade	Loaned out total	Loaned out for <6 months	Loaned out for 6+ months	Average loan length (in years)
AO	0	0	0	0
EO	0	0	0	0
HEO	16	12	4	0.9
SEO	9	3	6	0.9
G7	43	15	28	1.5
G6	47	16	31	1.3
SCS	29	8	21	1.5
Total	144	54	90	1.3

Average number of persons employed (subject to audit)

The average number of UK-Based full time equivalent (FTE) persons employed by the FCDO during 2024 to 2025 was 8,098.5. The number of FTE FCDO UK-Based for 2023 to 2024 was 7,809.8.

	Permanently employed staff	Others	Ministers	Special advisors	Total
Total staff	8,270.0		5.8	4.3	8,280.1
Of which:
Core department	8,098.5	–	5.8	4.3	8,108.6
Agencies	86.5	–	–	–	86.5
Other designated bodies	85.0	–	–	–	85.0

Staff costs (subject to audit)

All staff costs relate to the staff of the FCDO. The numbers in the table below are included in ‘Staff costs’ within the Consolidated Statement of Comprehensive Net Expenditure and in Note 3 Expenditure.

FCDO	Permanently Employed Staff (£000)	Others (£000)	Ministers (£000)	Special Advisors (£000)	2024 to 2025 Total (£000)	2023 to 2024 Total (£000)
Wages and salaries	760,599	–	347	–	760,946	747,843
Social security costs	46,504	–	28	–	46,532	43,053
Other pension costs	136,812	–	–	–	136,812	120,617
Sub total	943,915	–	375	–	944,290	911,513
Less recoveries in respect of outward secondments	(1,678)	–	–	–	(1,678)	(2,071)
Total net costs	942,237	–	375	–	942,612	909,442

Fair pay disclosures (subject to audit)

Reporting bodies are required to disclose the relationship between the remuneration of the highest paid director in their organisation and the lower quartile, median and upper quartile remuneration of the organisation’s workforce.

The banded remuneration of the highest paid director in the FCDO in the financial year 2024 to 2025 was £230k to 235k (2023 to 2024: £205‑210k). This was 4.28 times (2023 to 2024: 3.88) the median remuneration of the workforce, which was £54,264 (2023 to 2024: £53,451), 5.47 times (2023 to 2024: 5.06) the 25th percentile remuneration of the workforce, which was £42,520 (2023 to 2024: £41,000) and 3.42 times (2023 to 2024: 3.14) the 75th percentile remuneration of the workforce, which was £68,046 (2023 to 2024: £66,169). In 2024 to 2025, no employee received remuneration in excess of the highest-paid director.

Remuneration ranged from £28,000-£235,000 (2023 to 2024: £26,500-£210,000).

For the purpose of fair pay disclosures, directors are members of the board of management. Remuneration includes gross salary, non-consolidated performance-related pay, overtime, reserved rights to London weighting or London allowances; recruitment and retention allowances; private office allowances and any other allowance to the extent that it is subject to UK taxation. It does not include severance payments, employer pension contributions and the cash equivalent transfer value of pensions.

Changes in pay ratios are attributed to changes in remuneration of the highest paid director and the pay and benefits of employees taken as a whole; increases in remuneration are in line with approved pay policies.

Total remuneration	2024 to 2025	2023 to 2024	% Change
Band of highest paid director’s total remuneration	£230-235k	£205-210k	12.05
25th percentile remuneration of all UK Based Staff	£42,520	£41,000	3.71
Ratio	5.47	5.06	8.10
Median remuneration of all UK Based Staff	£54,264	£53,451	1.52
Ratio	4.28	3.88	10.31
75th percentile remuneration of all UK Based Staff	£68,046	£66,169	2.84
Ratio	3.42	3.14	8.92

Total salary	2024 to 2025	2023 to 2024	% Change
Band of highest paid director’s total salary	£225-230k	£190-195k	18.18
25th percentile total salary of all UK Based Staff	£37,621	£36,038	4.39
Ratio	6.05	5.34	13.30
Median total salary of all UK Based Staff	£47,403	£45,961	3.14
Ratio	4.80	4.19	14.56
75th percentile total salary of all UK Based Staff	£63,184	£60,486	4.46
Ratio	3.60	3.18	13.21

Percentage change in total salary and bonuses for the highest paid Director and the staff average

Total salary	Total salary, 2024 to 2025	Bonus, 2024 to 2025	Total salary, 2023 to 2024	Bonus, 2023 to 2024
Highest paid director	18.27%	(100)%	5.35%	100%
Staff average	2.70%	(30.14)%	7.11%	245.44%

Country-based staff remuneration and salaries are excluded from the fair pay disclosure calculations. Their salaries are paid in local currency, based on local market conditions and subject to individual countries taxation and social security arrangements. The variation of arrangements plus differences in rates of pay and local purchasing power would distort the calculation and would make comparisons with other organisations impossible.

Diversity and inclusion

The FCDO aspires to reflect the country we serve to deliver better for the UK. We are committed to ensuring that talented people from all backgrounds are not only welcomed into the FCDO but are able to thrive and reach their full potential. In line with the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy we aim to attract, retain, and invest in talent wherever it is found.

Overall, the FCDO does reflect the diversity of the country, and the FCDO is becoming more diverse: FCDO UKB staff are 51.3% women, and 20.9% Ethnic Minorities. However, we aim to ensure progress is sustained and diversity is increased throughout our most senior grades.

Gender split of employees

FCDO	Women	Men
Directors General (SCS3)	55.6%	43.4%
Directors (SCS2)	37.4%	62.6%
Deputy Directors (SCS1)	49.4%	50.6%
UKB SCS	46.8%	53.2%
UKB delegated grades	51.7%	48.3%
Country based staff	45.3%	54.7%

Declared diversity of FCDO UK-based staff as at 31 March 2025

	Total UKB staff	SCS	Delegated grades	G6	G7	SEO	HEO	EO	AO
Women	51.3%	46.8%	51.7%	48.5%	51.7%	52.0%	51.2%	57.4%	53.4%
Ethnic minority	20.9%	11.4%	21.7%	14.1%	16.8%	19.6%	26.2%	31.0%	35.4%
Disability	–	11.7%	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
LGBO[footnote 62]	–	7.6%	9.7%	–	–	–	10.8%	9.0%	11.0%

The FCDO encourages staff to provide their diversity data, but as it is not mandatory reporting rates vary by characteristic. Data for SCS grades have been merged due to the small headcount numbers. Where reporting rates are below 60% the numbers have been withheld. We are working to increase diversity data reporting rates across all characteristics to have more confidence in the analysis and the experiences of all staff. These figures are only for UK Based staff; staff working from other Whitehall Partners on the FCDO platform overseas, Wilton Park and FCDO Services are not included in this data.

The FCDO aims to employ a diverse range of talented people capable of delivering to a high standard, often under pressure and sometimes in difficult places. We want the FCDO to reflect the very best of 21st century Britain. We encourage applications from applicants irrespective of background or gender, ethnicity, disability, sexual orientation, socio-economic background or any other characteristic.

The diversity of our workforce has increased significantly since the formation of the FCDO in 2020. This change has been driven by evidence-based action plans in the following areas:

• Race: Three work strands focus on Promotion and Progression; Performance and Development; and Employee Experience and Culture. Alongside this, ExCo set a target for 14% of our most senior grades to be Ethnic Minority by 2026. SCS representation has increased from 7.0% in 2020 to 11.4%, raising the FCDO from 13th place for Civil Service Departments to 5th. Representation of mixed-race staff in the FCDO is 5 times that of the UK population. There is more work to be done on increasing representation of Black staff in Grade 6 and the SCS, which remains a high priority for the FCDO.

• Women: Efforts have focused on increasing SCS representation, which is up from 41.6% in 2020 to 46.8%, and reducing the median Gender Pay Gap, which has decreased from 9.8% in 2020 to 2.7%. Work continues to address disparities at Director level (SCS2) through sponsorship of women showing potential and desire to progress to this level.

• Disability: 4 work strands focused on the provision of Reasonable Adjustments; reviewing the Disability Confident Scheme; refreshing evacuation plans; and improving the Assistive Technology offer. There has been good progress across all areas. A new Workplace Adjustments policy launched in 2024, focused on eliminating barriers and mitigating bureaucracy. Colleagues with disabilities have also praised increased use of AI in the FCDO. Representation of SCS with disabilities has increased from 8.0% in 2020 to 11.7%.

• LGBT: The FCDO workforce reflects the diversity of the country in this area. Therefore, our strategy has focused on addressing specific challenges faced by LGBT+ staff while posted overseas.

• Tackling bullying, harassment and discrimination (BHD): The FCDO’s Dignity and Respect at Work Policy seeks to be an intentional effort to build a positive culture. There has been an extensive campaign to raise awareness, embed the principles and demonstrate the importance of proactively preventing BHD. All Departments or Posts scoring above the FCDO average are required to report on actions to be taken and leaders are held to account through performance conversations. Our scores remain high (13%) and addressing BHD continues to be a top priority.

Due to progress made across many of these areas the FCDO is reviewing these plans in 2025-26, including developing a specific strategy to increase socio-economic diversity in the FCDO.

Recruitment into the FCDO is based on merit and fair and open competition, adhering to the Civil Service Recruitment Principles. The FCDO applies the Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) to all recruitment processes to ensure that candidates with disabilities are not discriminated against. This includes offering a Guaranteed Interview Scheme to anyone who has a disability and meets the minimum role requirements and asking if reasonable adjustments are required for an interview.

The FCDO was reaccredited as a Level 3 Disability Confident Leader in 2024. This recognises organisations that have demonstrated a positive commitment towards disabled people. Disability support for UK based staff complies with the Equality Act 2010, which requires employers to make “reasonable adjustments” in the workplace when a member of staff has a disability or long-term health condition which places them at a substantial disadvantage compared to an employee without a disability. A dedicated HR team supports disability related workplace adjustments for hundreds of FCDO staff. Terms and conditions for Country Based Staff working at FCDO Posts overseas are governed by local law, which means there is no legal duty to comply with the terms of the Equality Act 2010 in respect of Country Based Staff. Nevertheless, the FCDO encourages Posts to adopt a best practice approach and observe the spirit of UK legislation.

Disabilities and long-term conditions disclosed by UK-based staff cover a broad range of conditions, including neuro-diverse conditions (e.g. dyslexia, dyspraxia and autism), mobility issues and hearing or visual impairments. Reasonable adjustments for staff with disabilities can include the supply of specialised office equipment and/or provision of Assistive Technology software and hardware and appropriate training. Awareness training and support is also available to staff with disabilities, their managers and (where appropriate) team colleagues. Additionally, staff who are profoundly deaf or with a significant hearing impairment can request the support of qualified British Sign Language interpreters and lip speakers.

Health, safety and wellbeing

FCDO health and safety

The FCDO’s Health and Safety (H&S) performance continued to mature through 2024 to 2025, maintaining its targeted level from the 2022-2025 H&S Strategy. Reporting of H&S incidents increased by 64%, thanks to easier reporting processes and ongoing communications campaigns. Significant progress has been made in incident trends and causation analysis, enhancing data-driven decision-making. However, there is still progress to be made in how the data is used to support data driven decision making within the FCDO. Sharing lessons learned and acting on improvements identified still requires further attention. More rigorous review and ownership of issues and actions is required for further improvement and to demonstrate Safety Leadership across all activities and responsibilities.

We have continued to benchmark our reporting rate and H&S performance with other government Departments and industry where applicable. The FCDO is fully represented in the Cross-Government H&S Board.

Policy development has progressed, but greater maturity is needed to reduce risks and embed mitigations. Mandated H&S training completion reached 85%, and workforce engagement improved through the inaugural H&S Conference and proactive campaigns. There is still more to do to ensure key H&S messages cut through to a wider range of staff across the organisation, with particular focus on engaging Country Based Staff and non-native English speakers.

Although the number of risk registers and risk assessments completed have increased we continue to review the quality and effectiveness of our risk management. Strengthening risk barriers and management systems remains a priority. The Nominated Health and Safety Contact community’s support, covering 87% of FCDO Posts, has been crucial in providing local advice and efforts continue globally to ensure all Posts meet FCDO and local safety standards.

Proactive learning from incident trends and lessons continues to drive safety improvements. In line with the Orange Book, the 1st and 2nd Lines of Defence (LOD) assurance within the H&S function have matured, with verified self‑assessment reports (1LOD) and 14 risk‑based (2LOD) assurance visits providing confidence that H&S performance across FDCO is increasing because of these visits, and through tailored advice and greater workforce engagement.

FCDO wellbeing

The FCDO faces exceptional wellbeing challenges. The majority of our staff work overseas, and many work in hostile or challenging environments far from home, family, and friends. Over the past year we have temporarily drawn down over 50 staff and over 100 family members from 8 locations because of conflict, instability, and expulsion. We are responding with a range of interventions. Our home welfare and overseas welfare teams assist colleagues and managers in the UK and overseas, drawing on advice from our Mental Health Experts Advisory Group. We have recently refreshed our wellbeing strategy for our staff, and in 2024 achieved a Silver award in MIND’s Wellbeing in the Workplace Survey, an improvement on our previous Bronze award. In the past 12 months we have also launched an FCDO Menopause Policy and a Periods Toolkit. Staff can receive support from our refreshed global network of over 450 Mental Health First Aiders, and an active Mental Health, Wellbeing and Listening Network. During 2024 we conducted over 30 Trauma Risk Management assessments after potentially traumatic incidents. All staff (and adult dependants posted overseas) have 24/7 access to the FCDO’s Employee Assistance Programme (EAP), the provider also arranges bespoke support for priority posts. In November 2024 the FCDO EAP provider launched a digital streaming platform giving users access to a wide range of features to support their wellbeing.

Staff engagement

The annual Civil Service People Survey looks at civil servants’ experience of working in government departments and is a helpful way to measure year on year progress. This was the fourth survey since the FCDO was formed in 2020.

Staff completed the survey during September and October 2024 with a response rate of 71%, the same as in 2023. The FCDO’s overall Employee Engagement Index (the measure of employee commitment to organisational goals and values) fell by one percentage point from 66% in 2023 to 65% in 2024. This was slightly higher than the 2024 Civil Service benchmark of 64%.

In January 2025, the FCDO People and Operations Committee endorsed a set of initiatives to continue the multi-year response to the results.

Sickness absence rates

The FCDO measures the average number of days lost to sickness absence, known as the average working days lost (AWDL) for our UKB staff, based on the number of full-time equivalent employees.

In 2024, the FCDO had an AWDL of 4.4, which is an increase of 0.7 when compared to the 2023 figure of 3.7.

Sickness absence in FCDO	2024	2023
Working days lost (short-term absence)	14,682	11,957
Working days lost (long-term absence)	20,770	16,165
Total working days lost	35,452	28,122
AWDL	4.4	3.7
Number of staff absent as a result of sickness	2,904	2,437
Percentage of staff with no sickness absence	67%	72%

Ill health retirement

Two individuals retired early on ill-health grounds.

Expenditure on consultancy and temporary staff

Professional services and external resources can generally be split into 2 broad categories. Temporary staff includes temporary workers, interim managers and specialist contractors who are used to cover business as usual or service delivery activity, within an organisation. Consultancy includes staff who provide objective advice relating to strategy, structure, management, or operations of an organisation and may include the identification of options with recommendations.

Spend on consultancy and the need for temporary staff within the FCDO is largely driven by the nature of the projects being undertaken and the expertise required. At a high level, consultancy spend and costs for temporary staff are associated with IT and digital activity which includes supporting priority programmes where temporary and specialist expertise has been needed to ensure delivery.

Consultancy costs and spend on temporary staff for the FCDO

Costs	2024 to 2025	2023 to 2024
Consultancy costs[footnote 63]	2,199,030	3,502,503
Temporary staff costs[footnote 64]	40,358,853	52,458,889

Consultancy costs and spend on temporary staff for ALBs and Agencies

ALB [footnote 65]	GBCC, 2024 to 2025	GBCC, 2023 to 2024	WFD, 2024 to 2025	WFD, 2023 to 2024	WP, 2024 to 2025	WP, 2023 to 2024	Total, 2024 to 2025	Total, 2023 to 2024
Consultancy staff costs	434,185	301,307	–	–	20,973	49,093	455,158	350,400
Temporary staff costs	79,667	75,744	94,128	141,273	90,686	92,929	264,481	309,946

Off payroll engagements

Highly paid off-payroll worker engagements as of 31 March 2025 earning £245 per day or greater:

Type	Core department	ALBs	Departmental group
Number of existing engagements as of 31 March 2025	280	2	282
Of which
less than 1 year	43	1	44
between 1 and 2 years	71	–	71
between 2 and 3 years	57	–	57
between 3 and 4 years	40	–	40
For 4 or more years	69	1	70

All highly paid off-payroll workers engaged at any point during the year ended 31 March 2025, earning £245 or greater:

Type	Core department	ALBs	Departmental group
No. of temporary off-payroll workers engaged during the year ended 31 March 2025	452	3	455
Of which
Not subject to off-payroll legislation	–	1	1
Subject to off-payroll legislation and determined as in-scope of IR35	241	2	243
Subject to off-payroll legislation and determined as out-of-scope of IR35	211	–	211
No. of engagements reassessed for compliance or assurance purposes during the year	264	–	264
Of which
No. of engagements that saw a change to IR35 status following review	140	–	140

During 2024 to 2025, the FCDO carried out a full review of all IR35 off-payroll status determinations. This resulted in a high number of engagements that had previously been assessed as out-of-scope being reassessed as in-scope. A voluntary disclosure advising HMRC of these changes in assessment has now been made, and the FCDO have accrued an estimate of the potential backdated tax owed within our 2024 to 2025 accounts. A contingent liability has also been recognised for potential backdated charges for 2022 to 2023 and 2023 to 2024. Once the process is completed, the final agreed liability will be fully disclosed within the losses statement of the FCDO’s 2025‑26 annual report and accounts.

For any off-payroll engagement of board members, and/or senior officials with a significant finance responsibility, between 1 April 2024 and 31 March 2025 for the FCDO:

Type	Main department	Agencies	ALBs	Departmental group
Number of off-payroll engagements of Board members and/or senior officials with significant financial responsibility during the financial year	–	–	–	–
Total number of individuals on payroll and off payroll that have been deemed “Board members and/or senior officials with significant financial responsibility” during the financial year.[footnote 66]	23	11	30	64

Reporting of Civil Service and other compensation schemes – exit packages

UK based staff exits (subject to audit)

FCDO 2024 to 2025 (Comparative data for previous year shown in brackets)

Exit package cost band [footnote 67] [footnote 68] [footnote 69]	Core department FCDO UK based – Number of compulsory redundancies	Core department FCDO UK based – Number of other departures agreed	Core department FCDO UK Based – Total number of exit packages by cost band	Core department and agencies FCDO UK Based – Number of compulsory redundancies	Core department and agencies FCDO UK based – number of other departures agreed	Core department and agencies FCDO UK based – Total number of exit packages by cost band
<£10,000	0 (0)	1 (0)	1 (0)	0 (0)	1 (0)	1 (0)
£10,000 – £25,000	0 (0)	0 (0)[footnote 70]	0 (0)	0 (0)	0 (0)[footnote 70]	0 (0)[footnote 70]
£25,000 – £50,000	0 (0)	5 (3)	5 (3)	0 (0)	5 (3)	5 (3)
£50,000 – £100,000	0 (0)	57 (59)[footnote 70]	57 (59)	0 (0)	57 (59)[footnote 70]	57 (59)[footnote 70]
£100,000 – £150,000	0 (0)	0 (0)	0 (0)	0 (0)	0 (0)	0 (0)
£150,000 – £200,000	0 (0)	0 (0)	0 (0)	0 (0)	0 (0)	0 (0)
>£200,000	0 (0)	1 (0)	1 (0)	0 (0)	1 (0)	1 (0)
Total number of exit package	0 (0)	64 (62)	64 (62)	0 (0)	64 (62)	64 (62)
Total Cost £000			5,587 (5,507)			5,587 (5,507)[footnote 70]

Redundancy and other departure costs have been paid in accordance with the provisions of the Civil Service Compensation Scheme, a statutory scheme made under the Superannuation Act 1972. Exit costs are accounted for on an accruals basis.

Voluntary exit scheme

The FCDO is running a voluntary exit scheme (VES) for UK Based Staff at delegated grades and SCS grades in order to support the alignment of staff headcount and cost with our Spending Review budget and create capacity to re-balance our workforce around long-term requirements for particular grades and capabilities.

Country based staff exits (subject to audit)

FCDO 2024 to 2025 (comparative data for previous year 2023 to 2024 shown in brackets)

Exit package cost band	Number of compulsory redundancies	Number of other departures agreed	Core department 2024 to 2025, total number of exit packages by cost band
<£10,000	40 (223)	185 (206)	225 (429)
£10,000-£25,000	45 (42)	65 (75)	110 (117)
£25,000-£50,000	20 (17)	33 (27)	53 (44)
£50,000-£100,000	13 (9)	20 (17)	33 (26)
£100,000-£150,000	2 (3)	– (3)	2 (6)
£150,000-£200,000	2 (2)	– (–)	2 (2)
>£200,000	1 (–)	–	1 (–)
Total number of exit packages	123 (296)	303 (328)	426 (624)
Total Cost £000	3,213 (3,615)	4,279 (4,242)	7,491 (7,857)

Trade union disclosures

The Trade Union (Facility Time Publication Requirements) Regulations 2017 came into force on 1 April 2017. These regulations place a legislative requirement on relevant public sector employers to collate and publish, on an annual basis, a range of data on the amount and cost of facility time within their organisations. The FCDO Trade Union (TU) Facility time includes FCDO Services and Wilton Park; the TU officials represent members from the 3 organisations.

The total number of employees who were relevant union officials during the period 1 April 2024 to 31 March 2025 was:

Number of employees who were relevant union officials during the relevant period

Number of employees	FTE employee number
44	44

Percentage of time spent on facility time

Employees who were relevant union officials employed during the period 1 April 2024 to 31 March 2025 spent the following percentage of their working hours on facility time:

Percentage of time	Number of employees
0%	37
1-50%	7
51-99%	–
100%	–

Percentage of pay bill spent on facility time

The percentage of pay bill spent on paying employees who were relevant union officials for facility time during the period of 1 April 2024 to 31 March 2025 was:

Description	Figures
Total cost of facility time	£137,853
Total pay bill	£771,294,000
Percentage of the total pay bill spend on facility time, calculated as (total cost of facility time ÷ total pay bill) x 100	0.02%

Paid trade union activities

Of the total facility time hours available to employees who were relevant union officials, the table below represents the percentage of that time spent on union activities during the period 1 April 2024 to 31 March 2025:

Description	Percentage
Time spent on paid trade union activities as a percentage of total paid facility time hours calculated as: (total hours spend on paid trade union ÷ activities by relevant union officials during the relevant period total paid facility time hours) x 100	0%

2.3. Parliamentary accountability and audit report

This section of the annual report and accounts brings together key parliamentary accountability documents including the Statement of Outturn against Parliamentary Supply and supporting notes, regularity of expenditure, all other requirements as set out in Managing Public Money and the Certificate and Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General to the House of Commons.

Statement of outturn against parliamentary supply

Summary of resource and capital outturn 2024 to 2025

In addition to the primary statements prepared under IFRS, the Government Financial Reporting Manual (FReM) requires the FCDO to prepare a Statement of Outturn against Parliamentary Supply (SOPS) and supporting notes.

The SOPS and related notes are subject to audit, as detailed in the Certificate and Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General to the House of Commons.

The SOPS is a key accountability statement that shows, in detail, how an entity has spent against their Supply Estimate. The Supply Estimate is the monetary provision (for resource and capital purposes) and cash (drawn primarily from the Consolidated Fund), that Parliament gives statutory authority for entities to utilise. The Estimate details supply and is voted on by Parliament at the start of the financial year.

Should an entity exceed the limits set by their Supply Estimate, called control limits, their accounts will receive a qualified opinion.

The format of the SOPS mirrors the Supply Estimates, published on gov.uk, to enable comparability between what Parliament approves and the final outturn.

The SOPS contains a summary table, detailing performance against the control limits that Parliament have voted on, cash spent (budgets are compiled on an accruals basis and so outturn won’t exactly tie to cash spent) and administration costs.

The supporting notes detail the following: Outturn by Estimate line, providing a more detailed breakdown (Note 1); a reconciliation of outturn to net operating expenditure in the CSoCNE, to tie the SOPS to the financial statements (Note 2); a reconciliation of outturn to net cash requirement (Note 3); and, an analysis of income payable to the Consolidated Fund (Note 4).

Figures in the areas outlined in thick line cover the voted control limits voted by Parliament. Refer to the Supply Estimates guidance manual, available on gov.uk, for detail on the control limits voted by Parliament.

Parliamentary control of FCDO spending applies to:

• the net resource DEL requirement
• the net capital DEL requirement
• the net resource AME requirement
• the net cash requirement for the Estimate as a whole

The SOPS provides a detailed view of financial performance, in a form that is voted on and recognised by Parliament. The Financial Review, in the Performance Report, provides a summarised discussion of outturn against estimate and functions as an introduction to the SOPS disclosures. Explanations of variances between estimate and outturn are given in the Financial Review.

Summary tables – mirrors part 1 of the estimates

Summary table 2024 to 2025

	Note	Outturn, voted (£000) 2024 to 2025	Outturn, non-voted (£000) 2024 to 2025	Outturn, total (£000) 2024 to 2025	Estimate, voted (£000) 2024 to 2025	Estimate, non-voted (£000) 2024 to 2025	Estimate, total (£000) 2024 to 2025	Saving / (excess), voted (£000) 2024 to 2025	Saving / (excess), Total (£000) 2024 to 2025	Outturn, total (£000) 2023 to 2024
Departmental expenditure limit
Resource	SOPS 1.1	8,324,725	281,735	8,606,460	8,478,158	251,000	8,729,158	153,433	122,698	8,008,212
Capital	SOPS 1.2	2,650,978	–	2,650,978	2,736,830	–	2,736,830	85,852	85,852	3,448,985
Total		10,975,703	281,735	11,257,438	11,214,988	251,000	11,465,988	239,285	208,550	11,457,197
Annually managed expenditure
Resource	SOPS 1.1	349,280	–	349,280	520,700	–	520,700	171,420	171,420	202,607
Capital	SOPS 1.2	880,598	–	880,598	881,000	–	881,000	402	402	433,000
Total		1,229,878	–	1,229,878	1,401,700	–	1,401,700	171,822	171,822	635,607
Total budget
Resource	SOPS 1.1	8,674,005	281,735	8,955,740	8,998,858	251,000	9,249,858	324,853	294,118	8,210,819
Capital	SOPS 1.2	3,531,576	–	3,531,576	3,617,830	–	3,617,830	86,254	86,254	3,881,985
Total budget expenditure		12,205,581	281,735	12,487,316	12,616,688	251,000	12,867,688	411,107	380,372	12,092,804
Non-budget		–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
Total budget and non budget		12,205,581	281,735	12,487,316	12,616,688	251,000	12,867,688	11,107	380,372	12,092,804

Summary of net cash requirement

	Note	Outturn (£000) 2024 to 2025	Estimate (£000) 2024 to 2025	Saving / (Excess) (£000) 2024 to 2025	Outturn (£000) 2023 to 2024
Net cash requirement	SOPS 3	11,064,370	12,603,782	1,539,412	10,245,167

Summary of administration costs

	Note	Outturn (£000) 2024 to 2025	Estimate (£000) 2024 to 2025	Saving / (Excess) (£000) 2024 to 2025	Outturn (£000) 2023 to 2024
Administration Costs		326,313	346,360	20,047	301,269

The SOPS and Estimates are compiled against the budgeting framework, which is similar to, but different to IFRS. An understanding of the budgeting framework and an explanation of key terms is provided in the financial review section of the performance report. Further information on the Public Spending Framework and the reasons why budgeting rules are different to IFRS can also be found in Chapter 1 of Consolidated Budgeting Guidance, available on gov.uk.

Although not a separate voted limit, any breach of the administration budget will also result in an excess vote.

SOPS 1 Outturn detail, by estimate line

SOPS 1.1 Analysis of net resource outturn by estimate line

	Resource outturn, Administration, Gross (£000) 2024 to 2025	Resource Outturn, Administration, Income (£000) 2024 to 2025	Resource Outturn, Administration, Net (£000) 2024 to 2025	Resource Outturn, Programme, Gross (£000) 2024 to 2025	Resource Outturn, Programme, Income (£000) 2024 to 2025	Resource Outturn, Programme, Net (£000) 2024 to 2025	Resource Outturn, Programme, Total (£000) 2024 to 2025	Estimate, Total (£000) 2024 to 2025	Estimate, Virements (£000) 2024 to 2025	Estimate, Total inc Virements (£000) 2024 to 2025	Outturn vs estimate saving/(excess) (£000) 2024 to 2025	Prior Year Outturn Total (£000) 2023 to 2024
Spending in departmental expenditure limits (DEL)
Voted expenditure
A: Operating costs, frontline diplomacy and overseas network	329,710	(3,397)	326,313	1,025,624	(219,625)	805,999	1,132,312	1,218,016	–	1,218,016	85,704	1,777,085
B: Funding for NDPBs within Departmental Group (Net)	–	–	–	43,493	–	43,493	43,493	45,429	–	45,429	1,936	39,607
C: British Council	–	–	–	166,075	–	166,075	166,075	166,345	–	166,345	270	176,606
D: Regional bilateral programmes	–	–	–	3,315,299	–	3,315,299	3,315,299	3,223,167	92,132	3,315,299	–	1,580,882
E: Core multilateral programmes	–	–	–	1,803,013	–	1,803,013	1,803,013	1,833,435	–	1,833,435	30,422	2,493,442
F: Centrally managed programmes	–	–	–	751,854	(1,391)	750,463	750,463	865,230	(92,132)	773,098	22,635	428,984
G: International subscriptions, scholarships and BBC World Service	–	–	–	386,195	–	386,195	386,195	387,730	–	387,730	1,535	359,929
H: UK Integrated Security Fund	–	–	–	727,875	–	727,875	727,875	738,806	–	738,806	10,931	719,677
Total voted DEL	329,710	(3,397)	326,313	8,219,428	(221,016)	7,998,412	8,324,725	8,478,158	–	8,478,158	153,433	7,576,212
Non-voted expenditure
I: European Union attributed aid	–	–	–	281,735	–	281,735	281,735	251,000	–	251,000	(30,735)	432,000
Total non-voted DEL	–	–	–	281,735	–	281,735	281,735	251,000	–	251,000	(30,735)	432,000
Total spending DEL	329,710	(3,397)	326,313	8,501,163	(221,016)	8,280,147	8,606,460	8,729,158	–	8,729,158	122,698	8,008,21
Spending in annually managed expenditure (AME)
Voted expenditure
J: Other central programme and technical costs	–	–	–	389,128	(39,848)	349,280	349,280	520,700	–	520,700	171,420	202,607
K: BII	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
Total voted AME	–	–	–	389,128	(39,848)	349,280	349,280	520,700	–	520,700	171,420	202,607
Non-voted expenditure
Total non-voted AME	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
Total spending AME	–	–	–	389,128	(39,848)	349,280	349,280	520,700	–	520,700	171,420	202,607
Total resource	329,710	(3,397)	326,313	8,890,291	(260,864)	8,629,427	8,955,740	9,249,858	–	9,249,858	294,118	8,210,819

Non-voted expenditure relates to spend by the European Union on development related activities which have been funded by the UK. Voted budget was reallocated to cover the expected increase in non-voted spend.

SOPS 1.2 Analysis of capital outturn by Estimate line

	Capital outturn, Programme, Gross (£000) 2024 to 2025	Capital outturn, Programme, Income (£000) 2024 to 2025	Capital outturn, Programme, Net (£000) 2024 to 2025	Total (£000) 2024 to 2025	Estimate, Total (£000) 2024 to 2025	Estimate, Virements (£000) 2024 to 2025	Estimate, Total inc/ Virements (£000) 2024 to 2025	Outturn vs estimate saving/(excess) (£000) 2024 to 2025	Prior year outturn total (£000) 2023 to 2024
Type of spend (capital)
Spending in departmental expenditure limits (DEL)
Voted expenditure
A: Operating costs, frontline diplomacy and overseas network	308,447	(10,032)	298,415	298,415	377,037	–	377,037	78,622	296,294
B: Funding for NDPBs within departmental group (net)	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
C: British Council	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	58,000
D: Regional bilateral programmes	578,814	–	578,814	578,814	1,109,000	(522,956)	586,044	7,230	164,086
E: Core multilateral programmes	792,343	–	792,343	792,343	543,000	249,343	792,343	–	2,440,853
F: Centrally managed programmes	1,027,901	(46,680)	981,221	981,221	707,608	273,613	981,221	–	488,015
G: International subscriptions, scholarships and BBC World Service	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	1,173
H: UK Integrated Security Fund	185	–	185	185	185	–	185	–	564
Total voted DEL	2,707,690	(56,712)	2,650,978	2,650,978	2,736,830	–	2,736,830	85,852	3,448,985
Non-voted expenditure
I: European Union attributed aid	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
Total non-voted DEL	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
Total spending in DEL	2,707,690	(56,712)	2,650,978	2,650,978	2,736,830	–	2,736,830	85,852	3,448,985
Spending in Annually Managed Expenditure (AME)
Voted expenditure
J: Other central programme and technical costs	598	–	598	598	1,000	–	1,000	402	–
K: BII	880,000	–	880,000	880,000	880,000	–	880,000	–	433,000
Total voted AME	880,598	–	880,598	880,598	881,000	–	881,000	402	433,00
Non-voted expenditure
Total non-voted AME	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
Total spending AME	880,598	–	880,598	880,598	881,000	–	881,000	402	433,000
Total capital	3,588,288	(56,712)	3,531,576	3,531,576	3,617,830	–	3,617,830	86,254	3,881,985

The total estimate columns in both charts include virements. Virements are the reallocation of provision in the Estimates that do not require parliamentary authority (because Parliament does not vote to that level of detail and delegates to HM Treasury). Further information on virements are provided in the Supply Estimates Manual, available on gov.uk.

The outturn vs estimate column is based on the total including virements. The estimate total before virements have been made is included so that users can tie the estimate back to the Estimates laid before Parliament. Explanations of variances between Estimate and outturn are given in the Financial Review.

SOPS 2 Reconciliation of outturn to net operating expenditure

SOPS 2.1 Reconciliation of net resource outturn to net operating expenditure

	SOPS Note	FCDO, Outturn total (£000) 2024 to 2025	FCDO, Outturn Total (£000) 2023 to 2024
Total resource outturn	SOPS 1.1	8,955,740	8,210,819
Capital grants		2,142,113	2,974,260
Research and development		8,571	8,246
Finance income		46,837	40,835
Total		2,197,521	3,023,341
Non-voted EU attribution	SOPS 1.1	(281,735)	(432,000)
Net profit/loss on disposal		3,471	4,910
Total		(278,264)	(427,090)
Net operating expenditure in CSoCNE		10,874,997	10,807,070

As noted in the introduction to the SOPS above, outturn and the Estimates are compiled against the budgeting framework, which is similar to, but different from, IFRS. Therefore, this reconciliation bridges the resource outturn to net operating expenditure, linking the SOPS to the financial statements.

Capital grants are budgeted for as CDEL but accounted for as spend on the face of the CSoCNE, and therefore function as a reconciling item between Resource and Net Operating Expenditure.

Research and development expenditure that meets the criteria laid down by ESA 10 for National Accounts are recorded as capital in budgets. Where this differs from the treatment in the accounts, as research expenditure is usually expensed in the CSoCNE, then a reconciling item is shown in SOPS 2.

SOPS 3 Reconciliation of net resource outturn to net cash requirement

	Note	Outturn total (£000) 2024 to 2025	Estimate (£000) 2024 to 2025	Saving/(Excess) (£000) 2024 to 2025	Outturn total (£000) 2023 to 2024
Resource outturn	SOPS 1.1	8,955,740	9,249,858	294,118	8,210,819
Capital outturn	SOPS 1.2	3,531,576	3,617,830	86,254	3,881,985
Accruals to cash adjustments
Adjustments for designated ALBs:
Remove voted resource and capital		(43,493)	(45,429)	(1,936)	(39,607)
Add cash grant-in-aid		41,174	45,429	4,255	37,774
Adjustments to remove non-cash items:
Depreciation/amortisation	3	(344,213)	(445,056)	(100,843)	(346,732)
New impairments and adjustments to previous impairments DEL	3	359	–	(359)	18,756
New impairments and adjustments to previous impairments AME	3	12,352	–	(12,352)	(92,588)
New provisions and adjustments to previous provisions	11	1,204,989	(541,347)	(434,945)	(56,150)
Other non-cash items (except profit on disposal of PPE)			(32,266)	1,172,723	(437,341)
Adjustments to reflect movements in working balances
Increase/(decrease) in inventory	CSoCF	(134)	–	134	(7)
Increase/(decrease) in receivables	CSoCF	(16,691)	–	16,691	(6,331)
(Increase)/decrease in payables	CSoCF	362,777	855,412	492,635	(695,815)
Use of provisions	11	158,711	150,351	(8,360)	203,596
Adjustments re pension schemes	CSoCF	(662)	–	662	(1,192)
Other adjustments		–	–	–	–
Total		11,346,105	12,854,782	1,508,677	10,677,167
Removal of non-voted budget Items
Consolidated Fund standing services		(281,735)	(251,000)	30,735	(432,000)
Other Adjustments		–	–	–	–
Total		(281,735)	(251,000)	30,735	(432,000)
Net cash requirement		11,064,370	12,603,782	1,539,412	10,245,167

As noted in the introduction to the SOPS above, outturn and the estimates are compiled against the budgeting framework, not on a cash basis. Therefore, this reconciliation bridges the resource and capital outturn to the net cash requirement. Explanations of variances between Estimate and outturn are given in the Financial Review.

SOPS 4 Income payable to the Consolidated Fund

In addition to income retained by the department, the following income relates to the department and is payable to the Consolidated Fund. This note shows excess cash that is payable to the Consolidated Fund as at year end. The disclosure splits the total payable to the Consolidated Fund by a) income received that is either outside the ambit of the Estimate or which cannot be retained as it is outside the FCDO’s settlement limit and b) other excess cash that has not been spent and which must be returned to the Consolidated Fund.

SOPS 4.1 Analysis of income payable to the Consolidated Fund

	Note	Outturn Total, Accruals basis (£000) 2024 to 2025	Outturn Total, Cash basis (£000) 2024 to 2025	Outturn Total, Accruals basis (£000) 2023 to 2024	Outturn Total, Cash basis (£000) 2023 to 2024
Operating income outside the ambit of the Estimate	4	(568)	(566)	(98)	(98)
Interest payments for the British Council loan	4	(15,260)	(13,667)	(9,329)	(7,273)
Receipts in respect of capital sales proceeds	4	–	–	(6,846)	(6,846)
Total amount payable to the Consolidated Fund		(15,828)	(14,233)	(16,273)	(14,217)

Income can be included as part of the Estimate (detailed in Note 1) and used to fund expenditure. However, where the type of income is not one which an entity can retain (i.e. if it is not included in its ambit as part of the Estimate) or where income received exceeds settlement limits (or the amount of income an entity can retain to offset spend), then the income is payable to the Consolidated Fund.

Income due to the Consolidated Fund is therefore, shown as a reconciling item in SOPS 2. The total Consolidated Fund Extra Receipts (CFERs) payable to the Consolidated Fund are disclosed as part of the Statement of Changes in Taxpayers’ Equity (CSoCTE) in the financial statements.

The disclosure shows cash payable both on an accruals basis and on a cash basis (which may differ given budgets are compiled on an accruals basis and not a cash basis).

SOPS 4.2 Consolidated Fund income

Consolidated Fund income shown in SOPS 4.1 above does not include any amounts collected by the FCDO where it was acting as agent for the Consolidated Fund rather than as principal. Of the various types of Consular Fees, only one is surrendered to the Consolidated Fund, this is the Notarial & Documentary Services line in the Consular Fees table in the Parliamentary Accountability Disclosures section. Fees are set by Statutory Instrument under the Consular Fees Act 1980.

The amounts collected as agent for the Consolidated Fund (which are excluded from the FCDO’s income) were:

	Outturn Total (£000) 2024 to 2025	Outturn Total (£000) 2023 to 2024
Consular fees	1,296	1,621
Miscellaneous income	–	–
Amount payable to the Consolidated Fund	1,296	1,621
Balance held at the start of the year	266	1,187
	1,562	2,808
Payments into Consolidated Fund	(1,456)	(2,542)
Balance held on trust at the end of the year	106	266

Parliamentary accountability disclosures

Losses and special payments (subject to audit)

Losses statement

	2024 to 2025	2023 to 2024
Total number of losses	118	71
Total value of losses (£000)	2,219	237

All figures above relate to the FCDO. No additional losses were reported within the wider Departmental Group.

There were 2 losses greater than £300,000 during the year:

• a £316,000 loss relating to the loss and destruction of medicines, assets and family planning commodities in Sudan. During the reporting year, it was confirmed that the items which had been received into the airport in Khartoum for onward delivery in August 2023 were irrecoverably lost due to the outbreak of war and subsequent fire at the airport
• a £977,000 loss for water tanks and materials delivered under the FCDO’s Urban Water for Sudan (UW4S) programme which were destroyed by warfare during conflict between Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces in North Darfur

The other cases related to a variety of losses and fruitless payments in relation to lost IT and mobile equipment, missed travel, interest charges for late payments, unrecoverable advances and some programme-related stolen and looted assets. The FCDO takes a robust approach to pursuing loss recovery.

Special payments

Special payments are transactions outside the normal range of departmental activity that require specific HM Treasury approval. All special payments reported below have been authorised by HM Treasury.

	2024 to 2025	2023 to 2024
Total number of special payments	23	34
Total value of special payments (£000)	1,118	2,801

All figures above relate to the FCDO. No additional special payments were reported within the wider Departmental Group.

There was one special payment greater than £300,000 made during the year:

• a £700,000 payment providing grant funding to the European Endowment for Democracy (EED) for the project Supporting Democracy in the Western Balkans. The Accountable Grant Agreement between the FCDO and the EED for this grant funding was missing a signature due to an internal error. The FCDO followed Managing Public Money guidance and treated this as an extra contractual payment. A thorough review has taken place to ensure this does not happen again. This payment is to support the EEDs granting initiative for independent media and other organisations that perform media functions across the region, supporting our programme goal of increasing the availability of quality independent journalism to citizens across the region

There were 2 special severance payments made in the year totalling £49,347. The highest payment was £30,000 and the lowest payment was £19,347.

Fraud

The FCDO has a cautious appetite for fraud risk. This reflects our willingness to accept only the risks necessary for effective delivery, given our commitment to managing public money well to support our mission and is set by our Management Board. We seek to design out and deter fraud and we seek to uncover fraud and recover and learn from it where it does occur. Within the parameters of affordability and value for money, we structure ourselves to respond quickly and effectively to fraud when it arises. We seek to establish and deploy cost-effective systems of control to prevent and detect fraud and we take appropriate action against fraudsters, recovering losses where possible.

During 2024 to 2025 we have been expanding our fraud risk assessment processes, informed by the Government Professional Standard. The FCDO Investment and Delivery Committee and the Audit and Risk Assurance Committee have governance and oversight roles for countering fraud and advising the Management Board and Accounting Officers on steering counter fraud activity.

The FCDO faces a number of fraud risks given the scale, variety and nature of our operations. Our delivery model is such that we operate a large and deep supply chain for delivery of some of our work. Much of our work involves specifically tailored policy interventions overseas, which covers a range of delivery modalities and a global profile.

Our ODA spending commitments mean that we operate in some of the most challenging contexts. We work with organisations that have a strong record of delivering in difficult and dangerous places. We undertake due diligence assessments to gain assurance on partners’ capacity, systems and controls.

We face a steady threat from insider fraud as we have a geographically dispersed workforce operating in multiple jurisdictions and cultures. We operate strict security vetting and other security procedural requirements to help to mitigate this risk to an acceptable level.

We submit information on fraud, loss and error to the Public Sector Fraud Authority (PSFA) on a quarterly basis. Details on the value of fraud and error detected, prevented and recovered are retrospectively grouped into the Cross-Government Fraud Landscape Report by the PSFA. The total gross fraud losses before recovery in 2024 to 2025 were £2,249,888 (£1,341,180 in 2023 to 2024). After recovery the total net losses were £1,279,239 (£286,091 in 2023 to 2024).

The FCDO declared in our 2023 to 2024 Annual Report and Accounts that we had uncovered a fraud case relating to procurement activity in the South East Asia region. Corrective measures have been taken to reduce the risk of a repeat of this type of fraud. The value of the fraud has been estimated at £1.1 million. The internal investigation is complete, dismissal has taken place and work continues on potential recovery options – therefore the FCDO has not yet written off the amount.

The FCDO does not currently estimate figures relating to undetected fraud. We have not historically sought to measure the level of undetected fraud and error as it has not been considered possible to do so at a meaningful scale within the resourcing parameters in which we operate. We are open to doing so if we believe it is achievable and would improve outcomes or value for money. We are engaging with the Government Counter Fraud Profession on this area. We currently use the Public Sector Fraud Authority’s estimated range for public sector expenditure (0.5-5% of all expenditure) assumption to inform our strategic planning. As part of our investigatory process, we undertake root cause analysis to inform our lessons learning mechanisms – these help us to improve controls and prevent fraud and error in future.

During 2024 to 2025 we have expanded our network of Fraud Liaison Officers in posts and directorates around the world. These important roles help us to embed fraud thinking in local activities in our network, carry out vital work necessary to countering fraud and also help us to understand and assess the fraud risks we face.

We have been partnering with the PSFA and other partners across government to share our learnings and to learn from others. We continue to use the Government Functional Standard for Counter Fraud (GovS 013) to inform our plans and will reassess our continual improvement with the Public Sector Fraud Authority during 2025.

We use a Counter Fraud Action Plan to guide our ongoing activities to reduce the risk of fraud and regularly report progress against this action plan to the Public Sector Fraud Authority. We are well placed to continue to strengthen our counter fraud effort having invested in deep dive activities with our Accounting Officers during 2024 to 2025 to inform our prioritisation.

In 2024 to 2025, the FCDO invested c.£2.15 million in countering fraud (as expected marginally higher than in 2023 to 2024 c.£1.67 million). The majority of this investment was staffing costs and travel expenses for conducting international investigations. We anticipate that this investment level will slightly increase for 2025-26 as we have prepared to recruit 2 new roles in line with our strategic improvement plan agreed following the deep dives on fraud this year. Our target as an organisation is to achieve a return of 3:1 on counter fraud investment.

We have conducted initial fraud impact assessments to the government standard for major areas of planned activity. These assessments collectively cover an expected £1.39 billion in value. We are taking steps to improve fraud risk assessment across the organisation in line with the government standard.

We have undertaken proactive testing of discrete areas of perceived higher risk and plan to increase the scale of this work during 2025 to 2026.

Associated entities outside the departmental accounting boundary

The FCDO takes the lead for 2 public sector bodies which are outside the accounting boundary:

The British Council is a charity, public corporation and an NDPB. It is governed by a Royal Charter which sets its charitable objectives. It is the UK’s international organisation for cultural relations and educational opportunities, building lasting relationships between the UK and other countries. The British Council represents a UK voice in the world by teaching English abroad, encouraging international students to study in the UK and supporting British students to study overseas. Culture plays a vital role in its work promoting the UK abroad. The FCDO provides the British Council with financial support, but the majority of the British Council’s income and expenditure stems from its own earned income. The FCDO’s Director General Geopolitics is a member of the British Council Board of Trustees. FCDO Ministers and senior officials meet the British Council Chair and Chief Executive regularly. The British Council must seek the agreement of the FCDO if it proposes opening or closing any of its representation overseas. The Annual Report and Accounts can be found at www.britishcouncil.org.

FCDO Services (FCDOS) is an agency of the FCDO as well as a trading fund. As a trading fund FCDOS provides a range of integrated secure services worldwide to the FCDO, other UK public bodies, foreign governments and international organisations closely linked to the UK. FCDOS generates its own income to fund its activities. The FCDO holds an investment in FCDOS, comprised of 100% of its Public Dividend Capital of £4,981,000. The Annual Report and Accounts can be found at www.FCDOservices.gov.uk.

Gifts

For the year ended 31 March 2025, there were no gifts that exceeded £300,000.

Regularity (subject to audit)

For the year ended 31 March 2025, no FCDO staff authorised a course of action that infringed the requirements of regularity as set out in Managing Public Money. HM Treasury (HMT) approval was granted for all novel, contentious or repercussive transactions relating to 2024 to 2025.

Fees and charges (subject to audit)

The FCDO is required, in accordance with HM Treasury’s Managing Public Money, to disclose results for the areas of its activities where fees and charges are levied. The information set out below is for fees and charges purposes and is not intended to meet the requirements of IFRS 8 Operating Segments.

The power to charge fees for consular work is set out in the Consular Fees Act 1980. Under the current version of the Act, the FCDO is permitted to take into account the expenses incurred in relation to exercising other consular functions. By policy, there is a cross-subsidy from consular fees in the UK to support the costs of consular services and issuing emergency travel documents overseas.

The current fees are prescribed in the Consular Fees (Amendment) Order 2016 No. 373, the Consular Fees (Amendment) Order 2019 No. 182 and the Consular Fees (Amendment Order) 2023 No. 1388. In line with HM Treasury guidelines, the fees charged are reviewed annually.

The fees and charges table lists the services the FCDO provides to external and public sector customers where the full cost to the FCDO exceeds £1 million. It is the FCDO’s financial objective to recover the full cost of providing consular services. Disclosed in the table for each service is the income received, the full cost incurred and the amount of any surplus or deficit between the income received and the full cost of providing the services. In any year surpluses and deficits can arise for a number of reasons, including demand fluctuations or variations to the FCDO costs during the year.

The fees are grouped into the 3 categories: Legalisation fees include those fees paid for legalising documents; the fees for Emergency Travel Documents and Emergency Passports; and Notarial and Documentary Services. Notarial and Documentary services include services such as administering an oath or issuing a certificate of no impediment to marriage.

Consular premiums

The table also includes income received from the Consular premium (a levy of £17.42 on each standard adult passport issued). This income is used to fund non-fee bearing consular services provided by our consular officers in the UK and in our Embassies and Consulates overseas. The income is claimed from HMT through the Supplementary Estimate process each year, on top of £30 million (£100 million for future years) which is baselined.

The FCDO may also receive funding from the Emergency Disaster Relief Fund (£0.69 on each standard adult passport issued) to contribute to the cost of responding to major crises overseas. Claims against this fund are calculated on a cost recovery basis. During the financial year 2024 to 2025, the FCDO claimed £2.6 million from the Emergency Disaster Relief Fund to offset the costs incurred during the FCDO crisis response, including those related to the Lebanon conflict.

Consular costing model

For the financial year 2024 to 2025, a new costing model has been implemented in the Annual Report and Accounts to better represent Consular income and premiums. This model more accurately reflects the costs of Consular services.

Analysis of consular fees and charges where the full cost of providing the service exceeds £1 million (rounded to the nearest £1,000)

	Income (£000) 2024 to 2025	Full Cost (£000) 2024 to 2025	Surplus/(Deficit) (£000) 2024 to 2025	Income (£000) 2023 to 2024	Full Cost (£000) 2023 to 2024	Surplus/(Deficit) (£000) 2023 to 2024
Legalisation Office	24,827	3,384	21,443	22,491	4,535	17,956
Emergency Travel Documents	2,884	3,856	(972)	2,544	19,801	(17,257)
Notarial and Documentary Services	1,296	7,171	(5,875)	1,608	9,560	(7,952)
Total for fee bearing services	29,007	14,411	14,596	26,643	33,897	(7,253)
Consular Premium & EDRF[footnote 71]	106,980	–	–	112,700	–	–
Consular and Crisis Assistance and Support	–	122,264	(15,284)	–	149,106	(36,406)
Total	135,987	136,675	(688)	139,343	183,002	(43,659)

Financial guarantees and indemnity

Financial Guarantees are disclosed within Note 13 to the Financial Statements.

The FCDO did not issue any Letters of Comfort to Arms Length Bodies.

Indemnity

1 April 2024 £000	Increase in year (£000)	Liabilities crystallised in year (£000)	Obligations expired in year (£000)	31 March 2025 (£000)	Amount reported to Parliament by Departmental Minute (£000)
201.2	_	–	(201.2)	–	–

The FCDO previously entered into the above quantifiable remote contingent liability by offering an indemnity. This was given on behalf of the British Council for art exhibitions overseas which are not commercial activities that fall outside the FCDO’s core activities. Any decision to offer an indemnity is only given on the basis of a cost-benefit analysis. As part of the agreement between the FCDO, the British Council and HMT, the British Council would meet the first £3 million of any claim. This liability has now decreased from £201,200 at 1 April 2024 to £nil at 31 March 2025, as no further art exhibitions are planned. This is not a contingent liability within the meaning of IAS 37 since the likelihood of a transfer of economic benefit in settlement is too remote. It is disclosed here under parliamentary reporting requirements and measured following the requirements of IFRS 9.

Remote contingent liabilities (subject to audit)

In addition to contingent liabilities disclosed in accordance with IAS 37 at Note 12 of the accounts, the department discloses for parliamentary reporting and accountability purposes certain contingent liabilities where the likelihood of a transfer of economic benefit is remote. These amount to £15,334.3 million (2023 to 2024: £16,097.7 million) and comprise:

• £15,285.2 million (2023 to 2024: £15,804.8 million) in respect of callable capital on investments in International Financial Institutions (IFIs). These are subject to call only when required and to the extent necessary to meet the obligations of the IFIs on borrowings of funds or guarantees. The equity base of each IFI allows the institutions to meet their financial objectives by absorbing risk out of their own resources and protecting member countries from a possible call on callable capital. No call has ever been made on the IFIs’ callable capital stock to date
• £49.1 million (2023 to 2024: £50.3 million) through the issuance of a promissory note for maintenance of value obligations in respect of subscriptions already paid to the capital stock of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD). Members are required to make payments to the IBRD if their currencies (Sterling for UK) depreciate significantly from the subscription date, relative to the US Dollar. This promissory note has never been drawn down

The department has entered into other unquantifiable contingent liabilities relating to maintenance of the value of subscriptions paid to capital stock of regional development banks and funds. None of these is a contingent liability within the meaning of IAS 37 since the possibility of a transfer of economic value is considered remote. The FCDO does not expect any liabilities to arise in relation to these contingent liabilities.

Reconciliation of contingent liabilities included in the supply estimate to the accounts

Quantifiable contingent liabilities	Note	Supply estimate (£000)	Amount disclosed in ARA (£000)	Variance (£000)
Callable capital for IFIs		15,804,819	15,285,263	519,556
Callable capital – IBRD maintenance of value		50,296	49,069	1,227
EIB guarantee	12.2	242,615	234,634	7,981
Other IFI liabilities related to future performance conditions	12.2	1,007,034	950,565	56,469
IBRD guarantees	13	6,712,403	6,210,335	502,068
AfDB Room2Run guarantee	13	1,288,380	1,236,838	51,542
Gibraltar guarantee	13	425,000	425,000	–
ADB IFFEd & IFCAP guarantee	13	307,611	295,313	12,298
EBRD Ukrenergo guarantee	13	43,738	42,945	793
GuarantCo callable capital	12.2	130,000	130,000	–
CABI pension deficit liability	12.2	19,066	19,510	(444)
Various (legal cases, dilapidations etc)	12.2	65,095	846,375	(781,280)
Indemnities	12.3	3,201	3,000	201

Unquantifiable contingent liabilities		Included in the supply estimate	Disclosed in the ARA	Explanation
Callable capital – Other IFIs maintenance of value subscriptions		No	No	No agreed basis to quantify the liability.
Sanctions challenges		No	No	Potential future challenges brought against the FCDO as yet unknown therefore not possible to quantify the liability.
Litigation cases		No	No	Various cases in early stages and therefore not possible to quantify the liability.

Other IFI liabilities related to future performance conditions decreased by £56.5 million due to deposits of promissory notes during 2024 to 2025. The contingent liability is due to capital increases where the Statutory Instrument has been laid and approved, but the promissory note has not yet been deposited. Once deposited, they therefore no longer meet criteria to be disclosed as a contingent liability.

Callable capital for IFIs decreased by £519.6 million largely due to foreign exchange movements.

IBRD guarantees decreased by £502.1 million due mainly to a reduction in the Secured Overnight Financing Rate (SOFR) interest rate and a number of principal loan repayments.

Legal and other liabilities have increased by £781.3 million due to additional challenges brought in relation to our sanctions regimes.

Audit fees

The Accounts have been audited by the Comptroller and Auditor General. The total cost of audit for all bodies across the Departmental Group for 2024 to 2025 is £1,041,554 (2023 to 2024 £961,000) comprising:

	2024 to 2025	2023 to 2024
Notional audit fees:	£	£
Core department	885,000	820,000
Wilton Park Agency	57,000	52,000
Total notional audit fees	942,000	872,000
Cash audit fees:
Audit fees for Arms-Length Bodies	99,554	89,000
Total audit fees for the department group	1,041,554	961,000
FCDO overseas superannuation schemes	69,000	66,620
Total audit fees	1,110,554	1,027,620

The audit of the designated bodies was carried out by the National Audit Office (NAO) under various statutes, and the costs are included in the figures disclosed above. Further details are given in the accounts of the bodies concerned.

In addition to their statutory audit work, the NAO was directly paid fees of £347,374 for consultancy advice to the FCDO during 2024 to 2025 (2023 to 2024 £165,895). NAO also received indirect fees in 2024 to 2025 from FCDO totalling £67,542 (2023 to 2024 £62,499).

Government functional standards

The FCDO uses the functional standards and associated continuous improvement frameworks to inform its approach to delivering work related to the areas covered by the 14 current government functional standards. An SCS Senior Responsible Owner leads each of the functions within the FCDO and oversight is provided by the DG Finance and Corporate. The standards, and our adoption of each, support value-for-money delivery and capability building choices in relation to the functions to which they related.

Going concern

In common with other government departments, the future financing of the department’s liabilities is to be met by the funding from Parliament. This is through the receipt of Supply financing and future income which are approved annually by Parliament by the passing of the Supply and Appropriation (Main Estimates) Act.

The department considers there is no reason to believe that future approvals will not be forthcoming. It has accordingly been considered appropriate to adopt a going concern basis for the preparation of these financial statements.

Common core tables (unaudited)

The core tables for the FCDO can be found in Annex C.

Sir Oliver Robbins KCMG CB
Accounting Officer for the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
16 July 2025

The certificate and report of the Comptroller and Auditor General to the House of Commons

Opinion on financial statements

I certify that I have audited the financial statements of the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) ‘the department’ and of its departmental group for the year ended 31 March 2025 under the Government Resources and Accounts Act 2000. The department comprises the core department and its agency. The departmental group consists of the department and the bodies designated for inclusion under the Government Resources and Accounts Act 2000 (Estimates and Accounts) Order 2024. The financial statements comprise: the department’s and the departmental group’s:

• consolidated Statement of Financial Position as at 31 March 2025
• consolidated Statement of Comprehensive Net Expenditure, Consolidated Statement of Cash Flow and Consolidated Statement of Changes in Taxpayers’ Equity for the year then ended
• the related notes including the significant accounting policies

The financial reporting framework that has been applied in the preparation of the Group financial statements is applicable law and UK adopted international accounting standards.

In my opinion, the financial statements:

• give a true and fair view of the state of the department and the departmental Group’s affairs as at 31 March 2025 and their net operating expenditure for the year then ended
• have been properly prepared in accordance with the Government Resources and Accounts Act 2000 and HM Treasury directions issued thereunder

Opinion on regularity

In my opinion, in all material respects:

• the Statement of Outturn against Parliamentary Supply properly presents the outturn against voted Parliamentary control totals for the year ended 31 March 2025 and shows that those totals have not been exceeded
• the income and expenditure recorded in the financial statements have been applied to the purposes intended by Parliament and the financial transactions recorded in the financial statements conform to the authorities which govern them

Basis for opinions

I conducted my audit in accordance with International Standards on Auditing (UK) (ISAs UK), applicable law and Practice Note 10 Audit of Financial Statements and Regularity of Public Sector Bodies in the United Kingdom (2024). My responsibilities under those standards are further described in the Auditor’s responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements section of my certificate.

Those standards require me and my staff to comply with the Financial Reporting Council’s Revised Ethical Standard 2024. I am independent of the department and its group in accordance with the ethical requirements that are relevant to my audit of the financial statements in the UK. My staff and I have fulfilled our other ethical responsibilities in accordance with these requirements.

I believe that the audit evidence I have obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for my opinion.

The framework of authorities described in the table below has been considered in the context of my opinion on regularity.

Framework of authorities
Authorising legislation	Government Resources and Accounts Act 2000
Parliamentary authorities	Supply and Appropriation (Main Estimates) Act
HM Treasury and related authorities	Managing Public Money

Conclusions relating to going concern

In auditing the financial statements, I have concluded that the department and its group’s use of the going concern basis of accounting in the preparation of the financial statements is appropriate.

Based on the work I have performed, I have not identified any material uncertainties relating to events or conditions that, individually or collectively, may cast significant doubt on the department or its group’s ability to continue as a going concern for a period of at least twelve months from when the financial statements are authorised for issue.

My responsibilities and the responsibilities of the Accounting Officer with respect to going concern are described in the relevant sections of this certificate.

The going concern basis of accounting for the department and its group is adopted in consideration of the requirements set out in HM Treasury’s Government Financial Reporting Manual, which requires entities to adopt the going concern basis of accounting in the preparation of the financial statements where it is anticipated that the services which they provide will continue into the future.

Overview of my audit approach

Key audit matters

Key audit matters are those matters that, in my professional judgment, were of most significance in the audit of the financial statements of the current period and include the most significant assessed risks of material misstatement (whether or not due to fraud) identified by the auditor, including those which had the greatest effect on: the overall audit strategy; the allocation of resources in the audit; and directing the efforts of the engagement team.

These matters were addressed in the context of the audit of the financial statements as a whole, and in forming my opinion thereon. I do not provide a separate opinion on these matters.

This is not a complete list of all risks identified through the course of my audit but only those areas that had the greatest effect on my overall audit strategy, allocation of resources and direction of effort. I have not, for example, included information relating to the work I have performed around the presumed risk of management override of controls where my work has not identified any matters to report.

The key audit matters were discussed with the Audit and Risk Assurance Committee; their report on matters that they considered to be significant to the financial statements is set out in the Governance Statement.

In this year’s report the risks identified are broadly consistent to those in my prior year report.

Valuation of financial guarantees

Description of risk

The department commonly enters into financial guarantees with third parties on non-commercial terms, where there is no active market or observable equivalent. The fair value of these guarantees is highly material to the financial statements at £1,094 million (2023 to 2024: £722.9 million), and new guarantees have been issued in the 2024 to 2025 financial year. There is a significant level of judgement required from management in determining the initial and subsequent measurement of these liabilities under the financial reporting framework which requires a lifetime expected credit loss valuation where the above criteria are met. These judgements relate to the complexities of the input data and assumptions used in measuring these liabilities due to changing global markets which make the modelling of the expected credit loss challenging. The department employs the Government Actuary’s Department as a management expert to design a model to measure lifetime expected credit losses.

How the scope of my audit responded to the risk

I have, with the assistance of internal modelling and external financial instrument specialists:

• documented the design and implementation of the FCDO’s controls around the recognition, accounting, disclosure and subsequent measurement of financial guarantees
• agreed the accounting treatment for each individual arrangement to the relevant contracts, business case and approval documentation
• assessed the FCDO’s judgement and calculations for initial and subsequent measurement of financial guarantees
• agreed input data to relevant observable market data such as credit risk ratings
• confirmed the appropriateness of the methodology and model used by FCDO, including that the model generates the expected outputs

Key observations

Based upon these procedures, no material errors have been identified in relation to the valuation of financial guarantees.

Valuation and impairment of property

Description of risk

The valuation of the FCDO’s property is material to the financial statements, being £2,589 million as at 31 March 2025 (2023 to 2024 £2,582m). The valuation of the department’s property involves significant judgement by management supported by their external property valuers (Colliers International and Knight Frank) who prepare the valuations. There is added complexity to the valuations as the properties are located around the world, involving different property markets and currencies. The valuation date is 30 September, increasing the risk of movements between the valuation date and the 31 March year-end, including the impact of foreign currency movements.

How the scope of my audit responded to the risk

I have, with the assistance of external property specialists:

• documented the design and implementation of the FCDO’s controls over the valuation of land and buildings; considering the processes, judgements and assumptions adopted by the FCDO’s external valuers in valuing land and buildings
• tested a sample of valuations to supporting calculations and assumptions to ensure that these have been carried out in compliance with the RICS Red Book, with a focus on the regions subject to physical valuation in 2024 to 2025 (Americas)
• substantively tested the input data used in the valuation exercise including floor plans to support the floor areas
• substantively tested the accuracy and completeness of the revaluations recorded in the non-current asset register against the reports provided by the external valuers
• challenged the FCDO’s assessment as to whether there have been significant movements in property valuations in the period between the 30 September 2024 revaluation date and the 31 March 2025 year-end and reviewed any impairments recognised

Key observations

Based upon these procedures, no material errors have been identified in relation to the valuation of property.

Valuation of financial investments – British International Investment and international financial institutions

Description of risk

The department holds a number of equity investments. These include various minority holdings in International Financial Institutions (IFIs), as well as 100% ownership of British International Investment (BII) where inputs are unobservable. The values are highly material to the accounts at £14,865 million at 31 March 2025 (2023 to 2024: £13,773 million). These are not traded securities, and in the absence of available market data, the valuation of these equity investments is determined through calculating the department’s share of the net assets, based on the number of shares held by the department.

This valuation is made more complex by the fact that the entities have non-coterminous reporting dates to the department. Consequently, the department has little direct assurance over the value of its investments as at 31 March, and needs to apply considerable judgement to both recognise and mitigate the level of estimation uncertainty, recognising that material movements may occur between the date of the last audited investment valuation and the department’s year-end. The lack of direct assurance over the year-end values presents a risk that the data used in the estimation is inaccurate, or that the assumptions applied are inappropriate or include error. The risk is broadly consistent to prior years.

How the scope of my audit responded to the risk

I have:

• reviewed and assessed the design and implementation of the department’s controls over its accounting for financial investments. This included an assessment of management’s procedures to take account of the non‑coterminous reporting dates
• assessed the accounting treatment applied by the department for the IFI and BII financial investments to ensure it is in accordance with IFRS 9, as adapted by the FReM, and IFRS 13, and that all relevant disclosures have been made in the accounts
• agreed the department’s valuation of its financial investments to the available supporting documentation. This included reviewing the last audited accounts of the investee and assessing these accounts as a source of audit evidence in accordance with ISA 500, and evaluating the BII audit findings in line with FCDO’s materiality
• assessed BII’s management as a management’s expert in accordance with ISA 500 in relation to work undertaken to provide valuation services to FCDO for investments for which there is no observable market
• performed an independent sensitivity analysis of those BII investments individually material to the department to identify any indication of material valuation movement
• tested any material movements in value between the date of the investee’s accounts and the department’s year-end of 31 March, including the impact of foreign exchange movements and the investee’s financial performance. This included obtaining letters of assurance from the investees, performing historic trend analysis, and assessing the appropriateness of any investee management information as at 31 March made available to the department
• challenged any assumptions made by management in their valuation of the department’s financial investments and assessed the reasonableness of any judgements that they have made and the methodologies applied

Key observations

Based upon these procedures, no material errors have been identified in relation to the valuation of the department’s investment in International Financial Institutions and British International Investment.

Property lease liabilities and right of use assets

Description of risk

The FCDO holds leased properties worldwide where the contractual terms are correspondingly diverse, complex and subject to local laws. It has many smaller accommodation leases, but also larger leases for overseas offices and residences. It also has significant UK properties such as its office building at King Charles Street, London. The wide geographical spread of the department’s estate also provides a challenge to ensure that the population of leases is materially complete. Leases have a significant impact on the FCDO’s financial statements, with a lease liability balance of £658 million and a related right of use asset balance of £693 million reported on the Statement of Financial Position as at 31 March 2025 (excluding ground leases). Significant assumptions and judgements must be applied by management in calculating the liability and asset valuation of a total of over 3,300 leases. The most significant assumption is the identification of the lease term where options to extend or break the contracts are present.

How the scope of my audit responded to the risk

I have:

• documented the design and implementation of the FCDO’s controls in relation to leases. This included an assessment of the operating effectiveness of controls within the FCDO’s lease management software (Planon), with assistance from internal IT audit specialists
• considered the processes, judgements and assumptions adopted by the FCDO in calculating the valuation of lease liabilities and right of use assets
• performed a sample test of existing leases and tested supporting assumptions to ensure that these have been accounted for in compliance with the applicable accounting framework including assessment of judgements about whether lease extension options and break clauses are reasonably certain to be exercised
• performed a sample test of new leases entered into during 2024 to 2025 to confirm appropriate accounting
• agreed the disclosures in the notes to the financial statements relating to leases to supporting evidence and for consistency to my audit work

Key observations

Based upon these procedures, no material errors have been identified in relation to leases.

Application of materiality

Materiality

I applied the concept of materiality in both planning and performing my audit, and in evaluating the effect of misstatements on my audit and on the financial statements. This approach recognises that financial statements are rarely absolutely correct, and that an audit is designed to provide reasonable, rather than absolute, assurance that the financial statements are free from material misstatement or irregularity. A matter is material if its omission or misstatement would, in the judgement of the auditor, reasonably influence the decisions of users of the financial statements.

Based on my professional judgement, I determined overall materiality for the department and its group’s financial statements as a whole as follows:

	Departmental group	Department parent
Materiality	£111,915,000	£111,697,000
Basis for determining [overall account] materiality	1% of gross group expenditure of £11,192m (2023 to 2024; £111,100,000 materiality on gross group expenditure of £11,110m)	1% of gross parent expenditure of £11,170m (2023 to 2024; £111,000,000 materiality on gross group expenditure of £11,100m)
Rationale for the benchmark applied	I have set materiality based on gross expenditure. I consider this to be of key interest to users of the accounts as expenditure is the means with which the department achieves it diplomatic, development and consular objectives. The same rationale applies to the departmental group.

Performance materiality

I set performance materiality at a level lower than materiality to reduce the probability that, in aggregate, uncorrected and undetected misstatements exceed the materiality of the financial statements as a whole. Group performance materiality was set at 75% of Group materiality for the 2024 to 2025 audit (2023 to 2024: 75%). In determining performance materiality, I have considered the uncorrected misstatements identified in the previous period to judge that the 75% threshold is appropriate.

Other materiality considerations

Materiality has remained consistent with the prior year, as there was no substantial change in the department’s gross expenditure from the preceding year. The materiality calculation has remained unchanged.

Apart from matters that are material by value (quantitative materiality), there are certain matters that are material by their very nature and would influence the decisions of users if not  corrected. Such an example is any errors reported in the Related Parties note in the financial statements. Assessment of such matters needs to have regard to the nature of the misstatement and the applicable legal and reporting framework, as well as the size of the misstatement.

I applied the same concept of materiality to my audit of regularity. In planning and performing my audit work to support my opinion on regularity and in evaluating the impact of any irregular transactions, I considered both quantitative and qualitative aspects that would reasonably influence the decisions of users of the financial statements.

Error reporting threshold

I agreed with the Audit and Risk Assurance Committee that I would report to it all uncorrected misstatements identified through my audit in excess of £300,000, as well as differences below this threshold that in my view warranted reporting on qualitative grounds. I also report to the Audit Committee on disclosure matters that I identified when assessing the overall presentation of the financial statements.

Total unadjusted audit differences reported to the Audit and Risk Assurance Committee would have decreased net expenditure by £0.5 million.

Audit scope

The scope of my Group audit was determined by obtaining an understanding of the department and its Group’s and its environment, including Group-wide controls, and assessing the risks of material misstatement at the Group level.

I determined that the risks of material misstatement faced by the group to be the same as that of the core department and that there are no additional significant risks which arise on consolidation. This is because the core department is responsible for most of the group financial activity. All other group components are not assessed as being significant in size to materially impact the group.

My audit work on the core department covered substantially all of the Group’s gross expenditure (99%). This together with the procedures performed at group level, and testing the accuracy of the consolidation process, gave me the evidence I needed for my opinion on the group financial statements as a whole.

Gross expenditure of individual components of the FCDO Departmental Group (as at 31 March 2025)

Other information

The other information comprises the information included in the Annual Report, but does not include the financial statements and my auditor’s certificate and report thereon. The Accounting Officer is responsible for the other information.

My opinion on the financial statements does not cover the other information and, except to the extent otherwise explicitly stated in my certificate, I do not express any form of assurance conclusion thereon.

My responsibility is to read the other information and, in doing so, consider whether the other information is materially inconsistent with the financial statements or my knowledge obtained in the audit or otherwise appears to be materially misstated.

If I identify such material inconsistencies or apparent material misstatements, I am required to determine whether this gives rise to a material misstatement in the financial statements themselves. If, based on the work I have performed, I conclude that there is a material misstatement of this other information, I am required to report that fact.

I have nothing to report in this regard.

Opinion on other matters

In my opinion the part of the Remuneration and Staff Report to be audited has been properly prepared in accordance with HM Treasury directions issued under the Government Resources and Accounts Act 2000.

In my opinion, based on the work undertaken in the course of the audit:

• the parts of the Accountability Report subject to audit have been properly prepared in accordance with HM Treasury directions issued under the Government Resources and Accounts Act 2000
• the information given in the Performance and Accountability Reports for the financial year for which the financial statements are prepared is consistent with the financial statements and is in accordance with the applicable legal requirements

Matters on which I report by exception

In the light of the knowledge and understanding of the department and its Group and their environment obtained in the course of the audit, I have not identified material misstatements in the Performance and Accountability Reports.

I have nothing to report in respect of the following matters which I report to you if, in my opinion:

• adequate accounting records have not been kept by the department and its Group or returns adequate for my audit have not been received from branches not visited by my staff
• I have not received all of the information and explanations I require for my audit
• the financial statements and the parts of the Accountability Report subject to audit are not in agreement with the accounting records and returns
• certain disclosures of remuneration specified by HM Treasury’s Government Financial Reporting Manual have not been made or parts of the Remuneration and Staff Report to be audited is not in agreement with the accounting records and returns
• the Governance Statement does not reflect compliance with HM Treasury’s guidance

Responsibilities of the Accounting Officer for the financial statements

As explained more fully in the Statement of Accounting Officer’s Responsibilities, the Accounting Officer is responsible for:

• maintaining proper accounting records
• providing the C&AG with access to all information of which management is aware that is relevant to the preparation of the financial statements such as records, documentation and other matters
• providing the C&AG with additional information and explanations needed for his audit
• providing the C&AG with unrestricted access to persons within the department and its Group from whom the auditor determines it necessary to obtain audit evidence
• ensuring such internal controls are in place as deemed necessary to enable the preparation of financial statements to be free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error
• preparing financial statements which give a true and fair view and are in accordance with HM Treasury directions issued under the Government Resources and Accounts Act 2000
• preparing the annual report, which includes the Remuneration and Staff Report, in accordance with HM Treasury directions issued under the Government Resources and Accounts Act 2000
• assessing the department and its Group’s ability to continue as a going concern, disclosing, as applicable, matters related to going concern and using the going concern basis of accounting unless the Accounting Officer anticipates that the services provided by the department and its Group will not continue to be provided in the future

Auditor’s responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements

My responsibility is to audit, certify and report on the financial statements in accordance with the Government Resources and Accounts Act 2000.

My objectives are to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements as a whole are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error, and to issue a certificate that includes my opinion. Reasonable assurance is a high level of assurance but is not a guarantee that an audit conducted in accordance with ISAs (UK) will always detect a material misstatement when it exists. Misstatements can arise from fraud or error and are considered material if, individually or in the aggregate, they could reasonably be expected to influence the economic decisions of users taken on the basis of these financial statements.

Extent to which the audit was considered capable of detecting non-compliance with laws and regulations including fraud

I design procedures in line with my responsibilities, outlined above, to detect material misstatements in respect of non‑compliance with laws and regulations, including fraud. The extent to which my procedures are capable of detecting non‑compliance with laws and regulations, including fraud is detailed below.

Identifying and assessing potential risks related to non-compliance with laws and regulations, including fraud

In identifying and assessing risks of material misstatement in respect of non-compliance with laws and regulations, including fraud, I:

• considered the nature of the sector, control environment and operational performance including the design of the department and its Group’s accounting policies
• inquired of management, the department’s head of internal audit and those charged with governance, including obtaining and reviewing supporting documentation relating to the department and its Group’s policies and procedures on:
  • identifying, evaluating and complying with laws and regulations
  • detecting and responding to the risks of fraud
  • the internal controls established to mitigate risks related to fraud or non-compliance with laws and regulations including the department and its Group’s controls relating to the department’s compliance with the Government Resources and Accounts Act 2000, Managing Public Money
• inquired of management, the department’s head of internal audit and those charged with governance whether:
  • they were aware of any instances of non-compliance with laws and regulations
  • they had knowledge of any actual, suspected, or alleged fraud
• discussed with the engagement team and the relevant internal and external specialists, including financial instruments, property experts and IT audit specialists regarding how and where fraud might occur in the financial statements and any potential indicators of fraud

As a result of these procedures, I considered the opportunities and incentives that may exist within the department and its Group for fraud and identified the greatest potential for fraud in the following areas: revenue recognition, posting of unusual journals, complex transactions, bias in management estimates, disbursement of overseas grant funding, particularly in fragile and conflict areas, and the risk of manipulation of outturn against control totals. In common with all audits under ISAs (UK), I am required to perform specific procedures to respond to the risk of management override.

I obtained an understanding of the department and group’s framework of authority and other legal and regulatory frameworks in which the department and group operates. I focused on those laws and regulations that had a direct effect on material amounts and disclosures in the financial statements or that had a fundamental effect on the operations of the department and its group. The key laws and regulations I considered in this context included Government Resources and Accounts Act 2000, Managing Public Money, Supply and Appropriation (Main Estimates) Act 2024, employment law, tax legislation, the International Development Act 2002, the International Development (Reporting and Transparency) Act 2006, the International Development (Official Development Assistance Target) Act 2015, the Commonwealth Development Corporation Act 2017, the Consular Fees Act 1980 and the Sanctions and Anti-Money Laundering Act 2018.

In addition, I considered the department’s processes to prevent, detect and evaluate fraud in the disbursement of overseas grant funding including a targeted review of fraud reporting mechanisms and wider information in the public domain.

Audit response to identified risk

To respond to the identified risks resulting from the above procedures:

• I reviewed the financial statement disclosures and testing to supporting documentation to assess compliance with provisions of relevant laws and regulations described above as having direct effect on the financial statements
• I enquired of management, the Audit and Risk Assurance Committee and in-house legal counsel concerning actual and potential litigation and claims
• I reviewed minutes of meetings of those charged with governance and the Board and internal audit reports
• I addressed the risk of fraud through management override of controls by testing the appropriateness of journal entries and other adjustments; assessing whether the judgements on estimates are indicative of a potential bias; and evaluating the business rationale of any significant transactions that are unusual or outside the normal course of business
• I completed an assessment of the results of the department’s evaluation of fraud in overseas grant funding. This included assessing reported fraud cases, seeking evidence as to the potential for unreported fraud and independently testing a sample of grant payments

I communicated relevant identified laws and regulations and potential risks of fraud to all engagement team members including internal specialists and component audit teams and remained alert to any indications of fraud or non-compliance with laws and regulations throughout the audit.

A further description of my responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements is located on the Financial Reporting Council’s website at: www.frc.org.uk/auditorsresponsibilities. This description forms part of my certificate.

Other auditor’s responsibilities

I am required to obtain appropriate evidence sufficient to give reasonable assurance that the Statement of Outturn against Parliamentary Supply properly presents the outturn against voted Parliamentary control totals and that those totals have not been exceeded. The voted Parliamentary control totals are Departmental Expenditure Limits (Resource and Capital), Annually Managed Expenditure (Resource and Capital), Non-Budget (Resource) and Net Cash Requirement.

I am required to obtain sufficient appropriate audit evidence to give reasonable assurance that the expenditure and income recorded in the financial statements have been applied to the purposes intended by Parliament and the financial transactions recorded in the financial statements conform to the authorities which govern them.

I communicate with those charged with governance regarding, among other matters, the planned scope and timing of the audit and significant audit findings, including any significant deficiencies in internal control I identify during my audit.

Report

I have no observations to make on these financial statements.

Gareth Davies
Comptroller and Auditor General
17 July 2025

National Audit Office
157-197 Buckingham Palace Road
Victoria
London SW1W 9SP

3. Financial statements

Consolidated Statement of Comprehensive Net Expenditure

For the year ended 31 March 2025

	Note	Core Department & Agencies (£000) 2024 to 2025	Departmental Group (£000) 2024 to 2025	Core Department & Agencies (£000) 2023 to 2024	Departmental Group (£000) 2023 to 2024
Revenue from contracts with customers	4	(276,044)	(276,094)	(276,208)	(276,279)
Income of consolidated bodies	4	(4,210)	(17,081)	(6,447)	(17,024)
Total Operating Income		(280,254)	(293,175)	(282,655)	(293,303)
Operating Expenditure
Staff costs	3	942,612	947,707	909,442	914,231
Grants	3	6,051,908	6,051,908	5,778,394	5,778,394
Promissory note deposits	3	2,194,368	2,194,368	2,583,721	2,583,721
Subscriptions to international organisations	3	218,883	218,883	197,518	197,518
Other costs	3	947,137	953,409	877,254	883,159
Depreciation, amortisation and impairment	3	331,232	331,502	420,558	420,564
Other non-cash costs	3	470,392	470,395	312,792	315,698
Total operating expenditure		11,156,532	11,168,172	11,079,679	11,093,285
Net Operating Expenditure		10,876,278	10,874,997	10,797,024	10,799,982
Other Income
Finance income	4	(46,775)	(46,837)	(38,211)	(40,835)
Consolidated Fund extra receipts	4	(15,828)	(15,828)	(16,273)	(16,273)
		(62,603)	(62,665)	(54,484)	(57,108)
Other Expenditure
Finance expenditure	3	50,877	50,878	16,695	16,695
		50,877	50,878	16,695	16,695
Net Expenditure for the Year		10,864,552	10,863,210	10,759,235	10,759,569
Total Expenditure		11,207,409	11,219,050	11,096,374	11,109,980
Total Income		(342,857)	(355,840)	(337,139)	(350,411)
Net Expenditure for the Year		10,864,552	10,863,210	10,759,235	10,759,569
Other Comprehensive Net Expenditure
Items that will not be reclassified to net operating expenditure:
Net (gain)/loss on:
Revaluation of property, plant and equipment	5	(141,080)	(141,080)	(102,657)	(102,657)
Revaluation of right of use assets	16	(46,320)	(46,320)	(97,542)	(97,542)
Actuarial (gain)/loss on defined benefit pension schemes		697	697	1,282	1,282
		(186,703)	(186,703)	(198,917)	(198,917)
Items which may be reclassified to net operating expenditure:
Net (gain)/loss on:
Revaluation of development capital investments and loans		(1,765)	(1,765)	(12,670)	(12,670)
Revaluation of International Financial Institution investments	6	(116,514)	(116,514)	(56,427)	(56,427)
Revaluation of investment in BII	6	(2,200)	(2,200)	(102,300)	(102,300)
		(120,479)	(120,479)	(171,397)	(171,397)
Total Comprehensive Net Expenditure		10,557,370	10,556,028	10,388,921	10,389,255

The notes following these main schedules form part of these financial statements.

Consolidated Statement of Financial Position

at 31 March 2025

	Note	Core Department & Agencies (£000) 31 March 2025	Departmental Group (£000) 31 March 2025	Core Department & Agencies (£000) 31 March 2024	Departmental Group (£000) 31 March 2024
Non-Current Assets
Property, Plant and Equipment	5	2,468,931	2,468,938	2,350,474	2,350,482
Intangible Assets		12,815	12,868	13,064	13,064
Right of Use Assets	16	1,417,836	1,417,991	1,451,684	1,451,684
Financial Investments	6	15,561,800	15,561,800	14,368,778	14,368,778
Forward Currency Contracts	7	–	–	–	–
Retirement Benefit Schemes Asset	14	4,925	4,925	5,409	5,409
Trade and Other Receivables	9	1,153,944	1,153,944	959,501	959,501
Total Non–Current Assets		20,620,251	20,620,466	19,148,910	19,148,918
Current Assets
Assets Classified as Held For Sale	5.1	9,363	9,363	4,737	4,737
Inventories		785	785	919	919
Trade and Other Receivables	9	448,822	452,888	665,279	667,580
Cash and Cash Equivalents	8	252,691	256,490	227,721	233,511
Forward Currency Contracts	7	–	–	2,728	2,728
Total Current Assets		711,661	719,526	901,384	909,475
Total Assets		21,331,912	21,339,992	20,050,294	20,058,393
Current Liabilities
Bank Overdraft	8	–	–	–	–
Forward Currency Contracts	7	(4,213)	(4,213)	(5,264)	(5,264)
Trade and Other Payables	10	(7,220,474)	(7,225,348)	(6,708,398)	(6,712,142)
Provisions	11	(198,583)	(198,583)	(161,007)	(161,007)
Lease Liabilities	16	(112,454)	(112,570)	(111,174)	(111,577)
Total Current Liabilities		(7,535,724)	(7,540,714)	(6,985,843)	(6,989,990)
Total Asset less Current Liabilities		13,796,188	13,799,278	13,064,451	13,068,403
Non-Current Liabilities
Trade and Other Payables	10	(30,261)	(30,261)	(36,057)	(36,057)
Retirement Benefit Schemes Liability	14	(15,632)	(15,632)	(16,082)	(16,082)
Forward Currency Contracts	7	–	–	(5,512)	(5,512)
Financial Guarantee Contracts	13	(1,093,541)	(1,093,541)	(722,886)	(722,886)
Provisions	11	(756,227)	(756,227)	(848,270)	(848,270)
Lease Liabilities	16	(545,476)	(545,476)	(578,550)	(578,550)
Total Non–Current Liabilities		(2,441,137)	(2,441,137)	(2,207,357)	(2,207,357)
Total Assets less Liabilities		11,355,051	11,358,141	10,857,094	10,861,046
Tax-payers Equity and Other Reserves
General Fund		2,734,140	2,737,230	2,529,719	2,533,671
Revaluation Reserve		8,620,911	8,620,911	8,327,375	8,327,375
Total Equity		11,355,051	11,358,141	10,857,094	10,861,046

The notes following these main schedules form part of these financial statements.

Sir Oliver Robbins KCMG CB
Accounting Officer for the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office
16 July 2025

Consolidated Statement of Cash Flow

for the year ended 31 March 2025

	Note	Core Department & Agencies (£000) 2024 to 2025	Departmental Group (£000) 2024 to 2025	Core Department & Agencies (£000) 2023 to 2024	Departmental Group (£000) 2023 to 2024
Cash Flows from Operating Activities
Net expenditure for the year		(10,864,552)	(10,863,210)	(10,759,235)	(10,759,569)
Adjustments for non-cash transactions and non-operating activities		776,999	774,677	689,506	689,564
(Increase)/decrease in trade and other receivables	9	22,014	20,249	(72,528)	(71,414)
Less movements in receivables relating to items not passing through the CSoCNE		(3,558)	(3,558)	77,745	77,745
(Increase)/decrease in inventories	CSoFP	134	134	7	7
Increase/(decrease) in trade payables	10	506,280	507,410	692,981	684,555
Less movements in payables relating to items not passing through the CSoCNE		(870,187)	(870,187)	5,638	11,260
Use of provisions	11	(158,711)	(158,711)	(203,596)	(203,596)
Defined benefit pension scheme cash payments		(662)	(662)	(1,192)	(1,192)
Net Cash Outflow from Operating Activities		(10,592,243)	(10,593,858)	(9,570,674)	(9,572,640)
Cash Flows from Investing Activities
Purchase of property, plant and equipment	5	(158,071)	(158,077)	(211,164)	(211,166)
Purchase of right of use assets		(755)	(755)	(1,523)	(1,523)
Purchase of intangible assets		(77)	(220)	(35)	(35)
Proceeds from disposal of property, plant and equipment		23,893	23,893	43,451	43,451
Proceeds of disposal of financial investments		36,391	36,391	10,503	10,503
Purchase of financial investments		(254,417)	(254,417)	(304,086)	(304,086)
Purchase of loans		–	–	(137,910)	(137,910)
Repayment of loans		46,680	46,680	107,583	107,583
Net Cash Outflow from Investing Activities		(306,356)	(306,505)	(493,181)	(493,183)
Cash Flows from Financing Activities
Lease liability interest expense	16	(11,545)	(11,546)	(9,607)	(9,607)
Capital element of payments in respect of leases	16	(140,153)	(140,379)	(154,991)	(154,991)
From the Consolidated Fund (Supply) - current year	CSoCTE	11,092,528	11,092,528	10,185,856	10,185,856
Payment to Consolidated Fund (Supply) - current year	CSoCTE	–	–	(229,587)	(229,587)
Capital element of payments of on-CSoFP PFI contracts		(2,868)	(2,868)	(2,763)	(2,763)
Net Financing		10,937,962	10,937,735	9,788,908	9,788,908
Net Increase/(Decrease) in Cash and Cash Equivalents in the period before Adjustment for Receipts and Payments to the Consolidated Fund		39,363	37,372	(274,947)	(276,915)
Payments of amounts due to the Consolidated Fund		(15,689)	(15,689)	(9,815)	(9,815)
Receipts of amounts as agent of the Consolidated Fund	SOPS 4.2	1,296	1,296	1,621	1,621
Net Increase/(Decrease) in Cash and Cash Equivalents in the period after Adjustment for Receipts and Payments to the Consolidated Fund		24,970	22,979	(283,141)	(285,109)
Cash and Cash Equivalents at the beginning of the period	8	227,721	233,511	510,862	518,620
Cash and Cash Equivalents at the end of the period	8	252,691	256,490	227,721	233,511

Consolidated Statement of Changes in Taxpayers’ Equity

for the year ended 31 March 2025

	Note	Core Department & Agencies, General Fund (£000)	Core Department & Agencies, Revaluation Reserve (£000)	Core Department & Agencies, Total (£000)	Departmental Group, General Fund (£000)	Departmental Group, Revaluation Reserve (£000)	Departmental Group, Total (£000)
Balance at 31 March 2023	CSoFP	3,036,127	7,977,382	11,013,509	3,033,340	7,977,943	11,011,283
Net Parliamentary Funding - drawn down		10,185,856	–	10,185,856	10,185,856	–	10,185,856
Net Parliamentary Funding - deemed		509,675	–	509,675	515,297	–	515,297
Supply receivable/(payable) adjustment	10	(220,777)	–	(220,777)	(220,777)	–	(220,777)
Parliamentary Funding - supply received/(paid) in year		(229,587)	–	(229,587)	(229,587)	–	(229,587)
CFERS payable to the Consolidated Fund	SOPS 4.1	(16,273)	–	(16,273)	(16,273)	–	(16,273)
Net expenditure for the year	CSoCNE	(10,759,235)	–	(10,759,235)	(10,759,569)	–	(10,759,569)
Net gain/(loss) on revaluation of PPE	CSoCNE	–	102,657	102,657	–	102,657	102,657
Net gain/(loss) on revaluation of intangibles	CSoCNE	–	–	–	–	–	–
Net gain/(loss) on revaluation of assets held for sale	5.1	–	–	–	–	–	–
Net gain/(loss) on right of use assets		–	97,542	97,542	–	97,542	97,542
Actuarial gain/(loss) on defined benefit pension schemes		(1,282)	–	(1,282)	(1,282)	–	(1,282)
Net gain/(loss) on revaluation of development capital investments	CSoCNE	–	12,670	12,670	–	12,670	12,670
Net gain/(loss) on revaluation of International Financial Institution investments	CSoCNE	–	56,427	56,427	–	56,427	56,427
Net gain/(loss) on revaluation of investment in BII	CSoCNE	–	102,300	102,300	–	102,300	102,300
		(531,623)	371,596	(160,027)	(526,335)	371,596	(154,739)
Non-cash adjustments
Non-cash charges - auditors remuneration	3	872	–	872	872	–	872
Fair value revaluation adjustment		–	–	–	–	–	–
Movements in Reserves
Realised element to General Fund		21,604	(21,604)	–	22,165	(22,165)	–
Consolidation and other in-year adjustments		2,739	1	2,740	3,629	1	3,630
Balance at 31 March 2024	CSoFP	2,529,719	8,327,375	10,857,094	2,533,671	8,327,375	10,861,046
Net Parliamentary Funding - drawn down		11,092,528	–	11,092,528	11,092,528	–	11,092,528
Net Parliamentary Funding - deemed		220,777	–	220,777	220,777	–	220,777
Supply receivable/(payable) adjustment	10	(248,935)	–	(248,935)	(248,935)	–	(248,935)
Parliamentary Funding - supply received/(paid) in year		–	–	–	–	–	–
CFERS payable to the Consolidated Fund	SOPS 4.1	(15,828)	–	(15,828)	(15,828)	–	(15,828)
Net expenditure for the year	CSoCNE	(10,864,552)	–	(10,864,552)	(10,863,210)	–	(10,863,210)
Net gain/(loss) on revaluation of PPE	CSoCNE	–	141,080	141,080	–	141,080	141,080
Net gain/(loss) on revaluation of intangibles	CSoCNE	–	–	–	–	–	–
Net gain/(loss) on revaluation of assets held for sale	CSoCNE	–	–	–	–	–	–
Net gain/(loss) on right of use assets		–	46,320	46,320	–	46,320	46,320
Actuarial gain/(loss) on defined benefit pension schemes		(697)	–	(697)	(697)	–	(697)
Net gain/(loss) on revaluation of development capital investments and loans	CSoCNE	–	1,765	1,765	–	1,765	1,765
Net gain/(loss) on revaluation of International Financial Institution investments	CSoCNE	–	116,514	116,514	–	116,514	116,514
Net gain/(loss) on revaluation of investment in BII	CSoCNE	–	2,200	2,200	–	2,200	2,200
		183,293	307,879	491,172	184,635	307,879	492,514
Non-cash adjustments
Non-cash charges - auditors remuneration	3	942	–	942	942	–	942
Fair value revaluation adjustment		–	–	–	–	–	–
Movements in Reserves
Realised element to General Fund		11,785	(11,785)	–	11,785	(11,785)	–
Consolidation and other in-year adjustments		8,401	(2,558)	5,843	6,197	(2,558)	3,639
Balance at 31 March 2025	CSoFP	2,734,140	8,620,911	11,355,051	2,737,230	8,620,911	11,358,141

The General Fund represents the total assets less liabilities of the department, to the extent it is not represented by other reserves and financing items. The revaluation reserve reflects the change in asset values that have not been recognised as income or expenditure.

The notes following these main schedules form part of these financial statements.

Notes to the Departmental Resource Accounts

1. Statement of accounting policies

In accordance with the direction received from HM Treasury under the Government Resources and Accounts Act 2000 (GRAA), these financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the 2024 to 2025 Government Financial Reporting Manual (FReM) issued by HM Treasury. The accounting policies contained in the FReM apply International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) as adapted or interpreted for the public sector context taking account of the designation of those entities to be included within the consolidated Departmental Group (the departmental group) as determined by Statutory Instrument and accordingly are drawn up on that basis to give a true and fair view. Where the FReM permits a choice of accounting policy, the policy which is judged to be most appropriate to the particular circumstances of the FCDO for the purpose of giving a true and fair view has been selected. The policies adopted by the department are described below. These have been applied consistently in dealing with items that are considered material to the accounts.

In addition to the primary statements prepared under IFRS, the FReM also requires the department to prepare an additional primary statement, the Statement of Outturn against Parliamentary Supply (SOPS) and supporting notes showing the outturn against estimate in terms of the net resource requirement and the net cash requirement. The SOPS and supporting notes can be found in the Accountability Report.

1.1 Accounting convention

These accounts have been prepared on a going concern basis under the historical cost convention, modified to account for the revaluation of non-current assets at their value to the FCDO by reference to their current costs or fair value as appropriate.

1.2 Basis of consolidation

These accounts comprise a consolidation of the core department, its departmental agency and those other ALBs which fall within the departmental boundary as defined in the statutory instrument SI 2024 No 1323 “Government Resources and Accounts Act 2000 (Estimates and Accounts) (Amendment) Order 2024” laid by HM Treasury. These bodies make up the ‘departmental group’. Transactions between the entities included in the consolidation are eliminated. A list of all those entities within the departmental boundary is given in Note 20 to the accounts. In the preparation of the group accounts, the department is required to adopt consistent and uniform accounting policies across all entities with appropriate adjustments made where any differences have a material impact on the accounts. In line with FReM rules on activities which are charged directly to departments’ expenditure, the primary statements in these accounts do not include amounts attributed to the FCDO in relation to spending on development activities by the European Union from the EU budget. The SOPS does, however, include this expenditure when calculating resource outturn for the year under review. As a result, this expenditure is included within SOPS 2, detailing the reconciliation between resource outturn for the year and the total included in the Consolidated Statement of Comprehensive Net Expenditure (CSoCNE).

1.3 Machinery of Government changes

In July 2024 the Prime Minister, Sir Keir Starmer, announced in a Written Ministerial Statement that the responsibility for the United Kingdom’s relationship with the European Union will move from the FDCO to the Cabinet Office. The transfer of personnel and associated operating budget, was effective from 1 April 2024. The restatement of prior years was not required due to being immaterial to the FCDO accounts.

1.4 Accounting policy changes

There were no accounting policy changes in 2024 to 2025.

1.5 Impending application of newly issued accounting standards not yet effective

The following changes to IFRS may affect the FCDO and will be applied once they are adopted by the FReM (subject to any interpretations or adaptations applied by the FReM). The effective dates of the IFRS changes are noted below.

IFRS 17 Insurance Contracts

IFRS 17 Insurance Contracts replaces IFRS 4 “Insurance Contracts”. The standard has been adapted for the central government context and has an implementation date of 1 April 2025.

IFRS 17 identifies insurance contracts as those contracts under which the entity accepts significant insurance risk from another party (the policyholder) by agreeing to compensate the policyholder if a specified uncertain future event (the insured event) adversely affects the policyholder. The FCDO has reviewed its current contracts and contingent liabilities to assess whether any constitute insurance contracts under IFRS 17, however an initial assessment, in conjunction with HMT, has concluded that it is unlikely that the new standard will have a material impact on the FCDO financial statements. Note that the FReM specifies that Financial Guarantee contracts are out with the scope of IFRS 17 and should be accounted for under IAS 32, IFRS 7 and IFRS 9.

IFRS 18 Presentation and Disclosure in Financial Statements

IFRS 18 “Presentation and Disclosure in Financial Statements” will replace IAS 1 “Presentation of Financial Statements”. Implementation in the private sector is expected to be effective for accounting periods beginning on or after 1 January 2027. HMT have agreed an outline timetable with the Financial Reporting Advisory Board (FRAB) which would see implementation in the Public Sector from 1 April 2028. Technical working group meetings will commence from June 2025 to assess the impact on public sector accounting.

Non-Investment Asset Valuations

In December 2023 HM Treasury released an exposure draft on potential changes to make to valuing and accounting for non-investment assets (e.g. PPE, intangible assets). The following changes to the valuation and accounting of non-investment assets are to be included in the 2025-26 FReM for mandatory implementation:

• references to assets being held for their ‘service potential’ and the terms ‘specialised/non-specialised’ assets are being removed from the FReM. Non-investment assets are instead described as assets held for their ‘operational capacity’. This change has no impact on the valuation basis of non-investment assets, which remains Existing Use Value (EUV)
• an adaptation to IAS 16 will be introduced to withdraw the requirement to revalue an asset where its fair value materially differs from its carrying value. Assets are now valued using the one of the following processes:
• a rolling programme of valuations over a 5-year cycle, with annual indexation applied to assets during the 4 intervening years
• for non-property assets only, appropriate indices
• in rare circumstances where an index is not available, a quinquennial revaluation supplemented by a desktop revaluation in year 3
• the option to measure intangible assets using the revaluation model is withdrawn. The carrying values of intangible assets at 31 March 2025 will be considered the historical cost at 1 April 2025

1.6 Critical accounting judgements and estimates

Management, in preparing the accounts, is required to select suitable accounting policies, apply them consistently and make estimates and assumptions that are reasonable and prudent. These judgements and estimates are continually evaluated, based on historical experience and other factors considered relevant, including expectations of future events that are believed to be reasonable under the circumstances. Actual results may differ from these estimates and assumptions. Critical accounting estimates are those which involve the most complex or subjective judgements or assessments. The areas of the FCDO’s business that typically require such estimates in implementing the accounting policies set out above are explained in more detail below.

(a) Impairment review of financial assets held at amortised cost

The FCDO carries out an annual impairment review of the carrying value of its financial assets which are measured at amortised cost. Impairment losses are calculated based on the best estimate of the current fair value. Long term loan balances are held with a number of overseas governments and organisations. The FCDO carries out an annual review to assess whether there has been a significant increase in credit risk. This is done by considering factors affecting recoverability such as political matters, for example, stability within the recipient country; or economic developments and progress towards debt reduction initiatives, such as the Paris Club or the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative. Expected Credit Losses (ECLs) are then measured for all amortised cost financial assets by reviewing history of default and credit ratings together with a forward look at expected economic conditions and applies that information to estimate expected future cash flows. Further details of how the FCDO calculates and assesses ECLs are available in Note 1.23.

(b) Fair value of financial investments

Financial investments are measured at fair value at the Consolidated Statement of Financial Position (CSoFP) date using a range of valuation techniques as appropriate to the nature of each asset. These valuation techniques involve a number of assumptions and judgements depending on the method applied. The valuation of the FCDO’s investments can be subjective where there is no observable market and there is an inherent risk that valuations may not reflect fair value. As a result, there is a level of estimation uncertainty of investment valuations. Details of these uncertainties and relevant sensitivity analyses are available in Note 7.

For a number of financial investments, the valuation date is prior to 31 March because of the timing of investment reporting. Where this is the case, an estimate of the fair value at year end is made based on judgements around any material changes between the valuation point and 31 March and recording any additions in this time at cost as a proxy for fair value. In the absence of available market data, an approximation of the fair value of the FCDO’s interests is assessed as the FCDO’s share of the net assets based on the number of shares subscribed by the FCDO. Where possible, valuations are based on financial information contained within published annual accounts but given that year-ends of most entities are non-coterminous with the FCDO, quarterly financial information has been used to value investments where the FCDO judges these provide a more accurate valuation of shareholding. For these entities a letter of assurance is also sought to give additional confidence over valuation procedures and methodology.

(c) Valuation of property, plant and equipment

Land and buildings are valued by qualified surveyors using observable market prices adjusted as necessary for any difference in the future, location or condition of the specific asset. Note 5 provides additional information on the valuation of land and buildings. Surveyors must use a degree of professional judgement to arrive at the valuations. Estimation is based on experience with similar assets. Overseas properties can be held under a number of different individual agreements, and the FCDO values these appropriately within the local market. The estimated useful life of each asset is reviewed periodically. The FCDO assesses material movements between the date of measurement (30 September) and the year-end (31 March). Where the foreign exchange and market movements are not deemed material, the 30 September valuation is used at year end.

(d) Estimation of provisions

The estimation of provisions is the best estimate of the consideration required to settle the present obligation at the end of the reporting period, taking into account the risks and uncertainties surrounding the obligation. A provision is recognised where the likelihood of a liability crystallising is deemed probable and where it is possible to quantify the effect with reasonable certainty. Wherever possible expert advice is sought, e.g. Counsel opinion regarding legal provisions. The FCDO’s largest provisions are in relation to legally binding pledges to the International Finance Facility for Immunisation (IFFIm). Further information on these provisions is provided at Note 11.

(e) Calculation of accruals and prepayments

Expenditure is recognised in the period in which the underlying event or activity occurs. In some instances, this will require resource adjustments through accruals and prepayments. Accruals and prepayments are based on the known value of the transaction wherever possible. Where estimates need to be made, they are based on appropriate and consistently applied methods. For prepayments, judgement is required on a case-by-case basis to ascertain if the FCDO spending and the activities funded can be separately identified in order to make an appropriate estimate of the prepayment adjustment required. Judgement is also required to establish whether there is a legal right to return of any committed funds, and thus whether a constructive obligation has been created in full or in part.

(f) Valuation of defined benefit pension schemes

The present value of the net pension liability depends on actuarially derived assumptions about variables such as inflation, discount factors, and mortality rates. The majority of pension investments are held in pension funds or insurances in order to give a guaranteed income. This has reduced the volatility that would otherwise occur if the assets had been directly invested in stocks and shares.

(g) Fair value of financial guarantees

Financial guarantees are measured at fair value at the CSoFP date and recorded as a financial liability.

Where financial guarantee contracts are issued below fair value and where no active market or observable equivalent exists (which is the case for all of the FCDO’s guarantees), then, in accordance with the FReM, they are measured at initial recognition and at each reporting period end using lifetime ECLs as the fair value. The FCDO’s financial guarantees in non-active markets are guarantees of International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), African Development Bank (AfDB) and Asian Development Bank (ADB) lending to sovereigns (see Note 13 for details) whereby the guarantee will be called in the event of a sovereign default, guarantees for European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) lending to a state-owned entity whereby the guarantee will be called in the event of the borrower default and to NatWest, who provide a Revolving Credit Facility to Government of Gibraltar.

Defaults to the Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs) are rare meaning there is little data to make an accurate assumption about loss given default. Bank of Canada (BoC) developed a database of sovereign defaults that is published on their website and updated in partnership with the Bank of England (BoE). This database records all types of sovereign defaults, including to MDBs, from 1960 to 2024.

The FCDO has used this information as the basis for its scenario modelling of default recovery and probability weighting. The FCDO has chosen the following scenarios: recovery within 1 year, recovery in 2 to 5 years, recovery in 6-10 years, recovery in 11 to 15 years and recovery in 15 years or more which has been equated to perpetual default (or the sovereign never recovering from default). Probability weights are then calculated based on historical occurrences of these scenarios as recorded in the BoC database. Additionally, analysis into probability weighting also incorporates each sovereign’s income classification, as defined by the World Bank. Including income classification to probability assessment adds an important layer of sophistication to the expected loss assessment, reflecting empirical evidence that defaults tend to be more frequent and more prolonged in countries assessed as being lower-middle income and low-income.

The FCDO has chosen to use only IBRD defaults rather than the whole BoC database as these are most relevant to the FCDO’s guarantees. All IBRD data in the BoC database from 1960 to 2024 has been used. The FCDO calculates the lifetime ECL (i.e. fair value) of its IBRD and AfDB guarantees by performing modelling in each of these scenarios using the Government Actuaries Department (GAD) designed model, then probability weighting each result to give an overall estimated fair value. For portfolio guarantees where the FCDO employs a marginal default rate to calculate fair value (Room 2 Run and IFCAP), a scenario weighted Loss Given Default is calculated to amend the sovereign transition matrix to include a “rate of continued default” and a “recovery rate”, allowing the chosen scenarios of default length to be targeted. This also allows FCDO to model more than one default event.

Lifetime ECL of the EBRD and NatWest guarantees are also calculated through the GAD designed model, however the loans have tenors of 5 and 3 years respectively, therefore default recovery scenario analysis was not deemed necessary. The ADB guarantee covers the bank’s total lending portfolio rather than country-specific guarantee coverage and therefore default recovery scenario analysis was also not deemed necessary. There is a level of estimation uncertainty in the valuation of financial guarantees. To illustrate the differences that different assumptions may have on the fair value of guarantees issued below fair value and where there is no active market or observable market equivalent, sensitivity analysis is included at Note 13.

This sensitivity analysis takes the best and worst case scenarios of foreign exchange and basic interest rates along with default recovery, where applicable, to give a full range of possible outcomes. In the case of the NatWest guarantee to Government of Gibraltar, it is necessary also to perform sensitivity analysis in respect of credit rating as a shadow sovereign credit rating was assigned to assess probability of default.

In line with IFRS 9, the lifetime ECL has been discounted to the reporting date using HM Treasury rates to reflect the time value of money. The discount rate applied at 31 March 2025 was 2.15% (31 March 2024: 2.05%).

The development guarantees that the FCDO enters into with MDBs are structured in such a way that a single default does not trigger payment of the full guaranteed amount, but only the ‘defaulted’ loan repayment – i.e. each loan repayment that is guaranteed is a distinct event. This means that over the lifetime of a loan guarantee facility, the FCDO may be liable for multiple occurrences of sovereign default rather than one singular default where total remaining exposure is immediately due. The FCDO worked with the GAD to build a model for calculating ECLs. As a result of the structure of the FCDO’s guarantees where each default is a distinct event, both the FCDO and GAD judged that a cumulative default rate would be the most appropriate for the calculation of risk for single guarantees because it takes into account the probability of survival from one period to the next.

1.7 Operating segments

In line with IFRS 8 ‘Operating Segments’, the FCDO’s operating segments are reported in a manner consistent with the internal reporting provided to the chief operating decision-maker, who is responsible for allocating resources and assessing performance of operating segments, which for this purpose has been identified as the Management Board.

The FCDO is managed, and reports internally, on a basis consistent with its nine Director General (DG) areas and as such, these have been determined as the operating segments. The Management Board reviews a monthly finance report as a standing item on its agenda. This aggregates financial data and summarises financial performance, both historical and forecast, by DG area. Note 2 sets out gross expenditure, income, and the net position for each operating segment.

1.8 Operating income and revenue recognition

Operating income is income which relates to the operating activities of the FCDO. It principally comprises charges for services provided, on a full cost recovery basis, to external partners across government. Operating income is stated net of VAT and is recognised in accordance with the FReM and IFRS 15.

The FCDO’s operating revenue is primarily derived from providing services, with revenue recognised over time as the service is provided to the customer. The significant operating income streams of the FCDO are income from other government departments and organisations, running costs receipts and consular fees, details of which can be found in Note 4.

The FCDO recognises notional income reflecting the release of discounting on loans. This is calculated in accordance with IFRS 9 using the effective interest rate method to amortise, or spread, cash flows over the life of the loan.

1.9 Income collected as agent for the consolidated fund

Income collected by the FCDO where it was acting as an agent for the Consolidated Fund rather than as principal is excluded from the CSoCNE. Details of the amount and balance held at the year-end date are given in SOPS Note 4.2.

1.10 Notional costs – audit fees

In accordance with the requirements of the FReM, the external audit fees for the core department and its agency are charged to Net Operating Cost as notional costs to the FCDO borne by the National Audit Office (NAO). Further details of the amounts paid to the NAO are disclosed in section 2.3 Parliamentary Accountability and Audit Report.

1.11 Staff costs

In accordance with IAS 19 Employee Benefits, all short-term staff costs accrued at the year-end are recognised in the CSoCNE. These short-term benefits largely relate to bonuses announced but not paid and accrued paid holiday entitlement at the period end date. Longer-term benefits, such as pensions provided to staff, are recognised in line with IAS 19 as modified by the FReM.

1.12 Grants payable

Grants payable are recorded as expenditure either in the period in which the underlying event or activity giving entitlement to the grant occurs (where it is possible to ascertain how and when the FCDO funds are spent) or at the point at which constructive obligation is deemed to have taken place. Where grants are made to governments or international organisations and the FCDO contributions are pooled, every effort is made to match expenditure with particular activities. Where the period to which the payments are to be applied is clearly defined, the appropriate resource adjustments are made to reflect the period of expenditure through accruals and prepayments. Recognition of entitlement to the grant will vary according to the individual programme.

Grant in Aid (GIA) payments from the department to ALBs are paid only when the need for cash has been demonstrated by the body concerned. ALBs treat receipts of GIA as financing. These transactions are eliminated on consolidation.

A promissory note is a legally binding undertaking by the government to provide to the named beneficiary any amount up to the specified limit that the beneficiary may demand, at any time. The FCDO uses promissory notes mainly, but not exclusively, as part of the arrangements whereby we pay certain sums to International Development Banks and Funds. Promissory notes deposited in the financial year are recorded as expenditure. Promissory notes payable have been classified as financial liabilities measured at amortised cost. They have been shown as due within 1 year, as they are legally payable on demand, so the maturity profile in the CSoFP, and in Note 7, shows the earliest date at which they could be payable.

International subscriptions are fees for membership of international organisations, paid on behalf of the government. These are treated as 12 equal payments over the annual period of membership.

1.13 Value Added Tax (VAT)

The department is registered for VAT and pays tax on its purchases in accordance with the Value Added Tax Act 1994. Income and expenditure are shown net of VAT where output tax is charged, or input tax is recoverable. Irrecoverable VAT incurred is included within the overall cost of purchases. Amounts owed by HM Revenue and Customs for VAT recoverable at the CSoFP date are included in ‘Trade and other receivables’ (Note 9).

1.14 Foreign exchange

For peacekeeping expenditure obligations, the FCDO has foreign currency forward purchase contracts for US Dollars and Euros in order to gain greater budget certainty. Further details on these are provided at Note 1.22 Financial Investments and Loans.

Transactions denominated in foreign currencies are translated into sterling in accordance with IAS 21.29 at the spot rate or average rate when settled. Transactions within the FCDO’s accounting system are translated to sterling at an average rate of exchange determined on the first day of the month in which the transaction occurs (as an approximation of the actual exchange rate at the date of the transaction).

Average Rate is the rate of exchange on the last working day of the previous month. If the exchange rate deviates from this rate during the month by +/- 3% over 3 or more consecutive days, the average rate is updated to a revised spot rate.

Monetary assets and liabilities denominated in foreign currency are translated into sterling at the exchange rates ruling at the CSoFP date.

Differences on translation of balances are recognised as operating costs within the CSoCNE. Non-monetary assets and liabilities are subject to annual revaluation and are translated at the CSoFP date as part of the fair value revaluation.

The foreign exchange element of revaluations of investments, property, plant and equipment is accounted for as part of the revaluation amount.

Most FCDO rates are gathered from the same source, Olsen and Associates (OANDA), so the underlying data is consistent between both average rate and spot rate transactions.

1.15 Cash and cash equivalents

The FCDO’s cash comprises cash on hand with UK and overseas banks and on-demand deposits at the CSoFP date. The FCDO bank accounts are provided either by the Government Banking Service, or by commercial providers where this is not possible, e.g. overseas accounts.

UK Visas and Immigration

The FCDO acts as agent for UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) and accounts for income as cash and recognises a payable to the UKVI in the accounts. Direct expenses paid by the UKVI, are made from bank accounts held and controlled by the FCDO. The FCDO accounts to UKVI for these expenses and recognises a receivable from UKVI in the accounts.

Visa prices in UK Sterling (GBP) are set annually through the Home Office Fees Order laid before Parliament. The legislation states that visas should normally be purchased in the appropriate local currency. All cash is paid in to the FCDO’s local bank accounts. The FCDO recharges costs on to UKVI for expenses incurred in collecting visa income.

Cash equivalents comprise any assets considered by management to be readily convertible to cash, due to their highly liquid and short-term nature, by way of a readily available market for sale.

1.16 Property, plant and equipment

In line with the requirements of IAS 16, on initial recognition property, plant and equipment (PPE) are measured at cost including any costs such as installation directly attributable to bringing them into working condition. PPE are subsequently included in the accounts at the valuation applicable at the CSoFP date; any movements in valuation during the year are taken to Other Comprehensive Net Expenditure in the CSoCNE and to the revaluation reserve or are treated as impairments where appropriate. The revaluation is contributed to by both market and foreign exchange movements.

The minimum level for capitalisation of a single tangible asset is £10,000. This threshold is subject to grouping conventions where appropriate. The only exceptions to the £10,000 capitalisation threshold are Land, Buildings and Antiques and works of art (AWA).

Compounds are split between individual assets therefore the FCDO capitalises all compound land and buildings assets, not just those above the £10,000 capitalisation threshold. Land and Building assets can have an actual revalued net book value much greater than historic cost.

AWA were acquired many years ago and not capitalised at the time. Consequently, there is no definitive information on historic costs. The capitalisation threshold for Antiques and works of art (AWA) is £3,000.

Transport equipment, plant and machinery and information technology are stated at current value using appropriate indices. Current value is updated at year-end using indices provided by the ONS website. January 2025 indices were used for year-end 2024 to 2025, as ONS paused publication in February 2025.

PPE does not include items purchased as part of the FCDO’s overseas programme spending.

Non-specialised buildings

Non-specialised buildings which are owned or held on long term leases, and perpetual leasehold land, are stated at fair value on an existing use basis using periodic professional valuations. When a new property is brought into active use it is immediately re-valued in accordance with the relevant Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) guidelines. The overseas estate is subject to a three to five year rolling revaluation programme and interim annual review. Since 2010 to 2011, property valuations are carried out at 30 September. A review is undertaken at 31 March to assess whether there are significant movements in the intervening period and, where material, property values are updated. Market movements outside the UK will also be influenced by foreign exchange movements.

Refurbishments to freehold and leasehold properties are capitalised at the actual costs incurred where these extend the useful life or functionality of the underlying asset. These costs are superseded once properties are revalued as the refurbished element will be within the updated building valuation.

Specialised buildings

Specialised buildings are valued using Depreciated Replacement Cost methodology (DRC). The asset being valued is compared with another existing asset. The FCDO uses recent building projects that are as equivalent in scale as possible but can be from another country (adjusted to make the valuation more comparable). The technique involves assessing all the costs of providing a modern equivalent asset using pricing at the valuation date. Further detail on building valuations is given at Note 5.

Assets under construction

Assets under construction are capitalised on the basis of actual costs incurred during the period until the work is completed, when the asset is deemed available for use and reclassified accordingly. Assets under construction are held at historic cost and an impairment exercise is performed.

Assets held for sale

In accordance with the requirements of IFRS 5, non-current assets are reclassified as held for sale if it is highly probable that their carrying amount will be recovered principally through a sales transaction rather than continuing use. This will be the case when the FCDO has made a firm decision to sell a non-current asset and it is actively marketed. At year end, any such assets will be shown as assets held for sale, measured at the lower of carrying amount and fair value less costs to sell.

Antiques and works of art (AWA)

AWA are not depreciated as the length of its expected useful economic life are regarded to be close to infinite. AWA are grouped and valued on a market value basis by professional valuers. Valuations take place every five years on a rolling basis, valuing a separate region each year. Within each region the valuations focus on the posts with the highest value AWA. Most AWA are held overseas. The FCDO collection includes furniture, carpets, architectural fittings such as chandeliers, silverware, glassware and china, tapestries, sculpture, decorative arts and some paintings (but not the Government Art Collection). Around half of the FCDO’s art and antiques are in Europe, with the second largest collection in the Americas. The FCDO does not have a purchasing programme for AWA. To maintain safe stewardship, posts are required to complete an annual physical check of their AWA against their existing inventory. A five yearly valuation and inventory exercise of the posts with the higher value collections is also carried out. The FCDO records AWA assets in Note 5.

Intangible assets

Intangible assets are carried at current value in existing use. Intangible assets mainly relate to software licences.

Purchased computer software licences are capitalised as intangible assets where expenditure of £10,000 or more is incurred. Intangible asset costs can include salaries and other employee benefits of departmental staff directly attributable to the development, construction and acquisition of the asset. Capitalised software licences are amortised on a straight-line basis over the shorter of the term of the licence and the useful economic life.

1.17 Depreciation

PPE is depreciated at rates calculated to write off the cost or valuation of the assets on a straight-line basis over their estimated useful lives. Freehold and perpetual leasehold land is not depreciated. Assets under construction are not depreciated until the asset is brought into use. The useful life of an asset is the period over which an asset is expected to be available for use. Useful lives are normally in the following ranges:

• freehold buildings – up to remaining 60 years
• leasehold-related assets – over the remaining term of the lease
• information technology – over 1 and up to 10 years
• software Licences – over the shorter of the term of the licence and the useful economic life
• transport equipment – 2 to 8 years
• plant and machinery:
  • office equipment – between 5 and 10 years
  • technical equipment – up to 20 years
  • heavy machinery – up to 20 years

Non-residential enhancements are depreciated over the unexpired period of the lease or the estimated remaining useful lives of the improvements, whichever is the shorter. Depreciation methods, estimated useful lives and residual values are reviewed at each reporting date. Freehold buildings have their remaining life adjusted annually based on expert valuation, and the depreciation is adjusted over the remaining life of the building. Non-property assets whose historic cost is greater than £150k are reviewed as part of the asset verification exercise and re-lifed where appropriate. Such changes constitute a change in accounting estimate.

1.18 Leases

FCDO leases are accounted for under IFRS 16.

IFRS 16 eliminates the distinction between operating and finance leases and imposes a single model aimed towards the recognition of all but low value or short-term leases. The FCDO defines low value as where the underlying asset has a value on adoption under £10,000 (in line with our capitalisation threshold), and short-term leases are where the lease term is 12 months or less. Any lease which is not considered to be an IFRS 16 lease for these reasons will continue to be expensed in the Consolidated Statement of Comprehensive Net Expenditure (CSoCNE).

Assumptions

The definition of a lease includes arrangements with nil consideration. Ground leases are examples of these, they are leases with nil or nominal consideration, and the consequent calculation would result in the lease being recorded at significantly below market value. The FCDO measures these assets at fair value on initial recognition. At each reporting period they are subject to revaluation and held at current cost. Any differences between the lease liability and right of use asset for new ground leases after implementation of IFRS 16 are recorded within income in the CSoCNE. For the majority of leases the cost measurement model in IFRS 16 is used as an appropriate proxy for current value in existing use.

The FCDO has elected to exclude intangible assets, and to use the HM Treasury PES rate as the appropriate discount rate for determining present value.

Policy applicable from 1 April 2022

At inception of a contract, the FCDO assesses whether a contract is, or contains, a lease.

A contract is, or contains a lease, if the contract conveys the right to control the use of an identified asset for a period of time.

This includes assets for which there is no consideration. To assess whether a contract conveys the right to control the use of an identified asset, an assessment is made to determine whether:

• the contract involves the use of an identified asset
• the department has the right to obtain substantially all of the economic benefit from the use of the asset throughout the period of use; and
• the department has the right to direct the use of the asset

The FCDO assesses whether it is reasonably certain to exercise break options or extension options at the lease commencement date. This estimate determines the length of the lease term impacting the lease liabilities and right of use assets. This is reviewed if there is a significant event or significant change of circumstances that were not anticipated. Management’s judgement includes the use of alternative buildings and the strategic importance of the building. Estimates include the length of the lease term, and the cost of a replacement property and any significant leasehold improvements that have been made. Reliance is placed on the professional judgement of estates staff, supported by information on corporate asset management plans, other business strategies, investment already made in the underlying asset, ongoing business needs and market conditions. The impact of these judgements and estimates are significant to the financial statements and are reviewed on a regular basis.

For residential leases (private rented accommodation used by staff), the FCDO considers factors, such as business needs and costs compared to alternatives, to determine whether renewal is reasonably certain. Where leases include an option to extend, an assessment will be made as to whether to revise the lease length.

For overseas offices and residences, when determining that a lease extension is reasonably certain, the FCDO assumes that the footprint will tend to be static due to the high cost of ingoing works and security adaptations. For these leases the FCDO will seek to extend the old lease or agree a new lease at expiry, unless a change has been agreed as part of the Global Asset Management Plan (GLAMP). Regional surveyors will review any upcoming lease expiry up to three years before the end of the lease. Consideration will be given to using an option to renew, negotiating an extension, or creating a separate new lease.

The FCDO’s Estates team requires the completion of a Lease Authorisation Record (LAR) for any proposed contract regarding future lease commitments. The approval of an LAR is deemed to be the recognition point for making an option to extend a lease reasonably certain.

For residential leases, the FCDO will enter into an initial term, which can vary from a few months to 4 to 5 years. The average lease length is between 2 to 3 years. The lease will usually be extended to accommodate staff tour dates, and also to reflect additional work carried out on the property that would otherwise need to be replicated in an alternative property.

Options to extend or renew residential leases will largely depend upon the local market practices, legal jurisdictions and tax treatment. In many markets local law contains renewal or extension rights even if the lease itself is silent on extension or renewal options. Each decision on extension is different and will be driven by the needs of the FCDO’s mission overseas.

Cash payments for the principal portion of the lease liability and cash payments for the interest portion are presented within financing activities in the cash flow statement. Payments in relation to short-term leases and leases of low value assets which are not included on the balance sheet are included within operating expenses. Irrecoverable VAT is not part of the lease liability and is not capitalised as part of the right of use asset. Instead, it is treated in line with IFRIC 21 and expensed at the tax point.

 As a lessee

 Right of use assets

The department recognises a right of use asset and lease liability at the commencement date. The right of use asset is initially measured at cost, which comprises the initial amount of the lease liability adjusted for initial direct costs, prepayments or incentives, and costs related to restoration at the end of a lease.

Lessees are required to recognise lease incentives over the lease term as a reduction of lease expense. For the FCDO, in most cases incentives are paid as a deduction of the regular rent charge over the lease term often to the first review period, and the net rent is used for the PV calculation. Where there are exceptional cases with material incentives these should be accounted for separately upfront.

The cost measurement model in IFRS 16 is used as an appropriate proxy for current value in existing use for the majority of leases except for those which meet one of the following:

• a longer-term lease that has no provisions to update lease payments for market conditions or if there is a significant period of time between those updates and
• the fair value or current value in existing use of the underlying asset is likely to fluctuate significantly due to changes in market prices

In all other cases the regular rent reviews in contracts mean that the cost will reflect the fair value of the lease. This is because the rents payable are aligned to open market rates. In the case of longer leases where there are not regular rent reviews, there is a greater chance of divergence between cost and fair value, hence a professional revaluation is appropriate.

The right of use asset is depreciated using the straight line method from the commencement date to the earlier of the end of the useful life of the right of use asset or the end of the lease term. The estimated useful lives of the right of use assets are determined on the same basis as those of property plant and equipment assets.

Under some circumstances, the FCDO provides guarantees via a bank with no money paid directly to the landlord. In these circumstances the bond is a recoverable debtor balance, with interest earned on the amount deposited with the bank.

The right of use asset is a non-monetary asset and the lease liability is a monetary liability. The right of use asset is remeasured into GBP using the exchange rate on the lease commencement date, while the lease liability is remeasured based on the period end exchange rate.

Where cost is used as a proxy the resulting depreciation charge of the assets in subsequent periods is a fixed amount in the reporting currency (i.e. at the exchange rate used at the inception of the lease), while the periodic repayment is recorded at the average exchange rate of the relevant period. Any changes to the lease liability due to exchange rate changes would be recognised in the CSoCNE.

Lease liabilities

The lease liability is initially measured at the present value of the lease payments that are not paid at the commencement date, discounted using the interest rate provided by HM Treasury (HMT). The HMT discount rates were 4.72% for leases entered during 2024, or 4.81% after 1 January 2025.

The HMT discount rate is used, as a Supply-funded public sector body, undertakes any “borrowing” through a request for Supply from the Exchequer. There are no interest rates levied to supply-funded bodies and the interest rates charged upon the Exchequer do not take account of the reasons for the borrowing.

The FCDO applies IAS 36 Impairment of Assets to determine whether the right of use asset is impaired and to account for any impairment loss identified. An impairment test will only be necessary for an individual right of use (ROU) assets where there are indicators of impairment at the end of the reporting period. The FCDO considers that residential leases are unlikely to require impairment assessment.

Lease payments included in the measurement of the lease liability comprise the following:

• fixed payments, including in-substance fixed payments
• variable lease payments that depend on an index or a rate are treated as a fixed payment, and initially measured using the index rate at the commencement date
• amounts expected to be payable under a residual value guarantee
• the exercise price under a purchase option that the department is reasonably certain to exercise, lease payments in an optional renewal period if the department is reasonably certain to exercise an extension option, and penalties for early termination of a lease unless the department is reasonably certain not to terminate early

When the lease liability is re-measured, a corresponding adjustment is made to the right of use asset or recorded in the CSoCNE if the carrying amount of the right of use asset is zero.

The lease payment is re-measured when there is a change in future lease payments arising from a change in the index or rate, if there is a change in the department’s estimates of the amount expected to be payable under a residual value guarantee, or if the department changes its assessment of whether it will exercise a purchase, extension or termination option.

A lease modification is a change in the scope of a lease, or the consideration for a lease, that was not part of its original terms and conditions.

The FCDO accounts for a lease modification as a separate lease if both:

a. the modification increases the scope of the lease by adding the right to use one or more underlying assets and b. the consideration for the lease increases by an amount commensurate with the standalone price for the increase in scope and any appropriate adjustments to that stand-alone price to reflect the circumstances of the particular contract

In the event that a lease contract has expired, but the FCDO remains in occupation pending negotiations for a renewed term, the lease term has been measured as the estimated time until the new contract will be agreed.

The lease liabilities are included within current and non-current liabilities on the CSoFP.

Cross charging agreements

The FCDO considers the cross-charging agreements with partner organisations (PAGs) for sharing the platform do not contain a lease and therefore fall out of the scope of the IFRS 16.

Short-term and low value leases

Following the adoption of IFRS 16 on 1 April 2022, most assets previously held under operating leases have now been capitalised and put onto the balance sheet as ROU assets. Only buildings and land held on short term leases of less than 12 months, or which are under the capitalisation threshold when the ROU is calculated, are expensed during the year. For these short term and low value leases the rental payments are recorded in the CSoCNE on a straight-line basis over the term of the lease.

1.19 Capital commitments

Capital commitments represent capital expenditure contracted for at the end of the reporting period, but not recognised as liabilities as no payment has been made and no performance has been rendered by the supplier. These commitments are only those where the contracts are non-cancellable.

1.20 Financial instruments

IFRS 7 ‘Financial Instruments: Disclosures’ requires disclosures in the accounts that enable users to evaluate the significance of financial instruments to the financial position and performance of the department. Furthermore, it requires the disclosure of the nature and extent of risks arising from financial instruments to which the FCDO is exposed during the year and at the financial year-end and requires explanation of how those risks are managed.

Financial assets and liabilities are recognised when the department becomes party to the contracts that give rise to them and conditions satisfying recognition are met. Financial assets are measured at their fair values except for those assets which are designated as measured at amortised cost. The basis for designation as fair value or amortised cost is based on criteria set out in IFRS 9 and the FCDO’s application is set out in Note 1.22.

Financial assets are derecognised when the right to receive cash flows has expired or where the FCDO has transferred substantially all the risks and rewards of ownership or control of the asset. Financial liabilities are derecognised if the department’s obligations specified in the contract expire or are discharged or cancelled. All other financial assets and liabilities that are not separately disclosed in the accounting policies are recorded at amortised cost using the effective interest rate method to amortise, or spread, cash flows, such as interest or discounts, over the life of the instrument.

In line with IFRS 13, the FCDO discloses fair values at the end of the reporting period, the levels of the fair value hierarchy (Level 1, 2 or 3) and necessary transfers between the levels in Note 7.

1.21 Investment in other public sector bodies

The FCDO holds an investment in FCDO Services, comprised of 100% of its public dividend capital. As a trading fund, FCDO Services is not included within the FCDO departmental boundary and the department’s investment is reported in these accounts at historical cost.

The FCDO is the sponsor department for British International Investment plc (BII), a wholly owned public limited company. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has recently conducted a review of the statistical classification of British International Investments (and its UK subsidiaries) and concluded that this should be classified under the public captive financial institutions subsector. The FCDO is the controlling entity of BII under IFRS, with 100% shareholding, but due to the application of ESA 2010 and HM Treasury direction, BII is not consolidated within the departmental resource accounting boundary. The FCDO’s ownership interest in BII is recognised in these financial statements within non-current financial asset investments adopting the recognition and measurement provisions of IFRS 9.

1.22 Financial investments and loans

Development capital (DC) assets are investments made by the FCDO to achieve defined development objectives while retaining an ongoing, recoverable interest in the assets funded. The FCDO’s financial investments are recognised initially at fair value using settlement date accounting. At initial recognition, the best evidence of fair value in an arm’s length transaction is cash received or paid, unless there is evidence to the contrary. After initial recognition, these financial assets are carried at fair value as defined by IFRS 13. IFRS 9 requires the FCDO’s financial assets to be classified as either held at amortised cost, fair value through other comprehensive income (FVOCI) or fair value through profit or loss (FVTPL), dependent on the business model and cash flow characteristics of the financial asset. The FCDO’s financial investments are held to collect contractual cash flows. Where the cash flows are solely payments of interest and principal on specified dates, the assets are held at amortised cost. For all other assets, they are measured at either FVOCI or FVTPL.

(a) Investments measured at FVOCI

The FCDO has applied the irrevocable election available in IFRS 9 to measure equity instruments at fair value through other comprehensive income with movements in fair value being charged or credited to Other Comprehensive Net Expenditure.

International Financial Institutions (IFIs)

Investments include the UK interest in certain IFIs. Shares in these bodies are not traded securities. Investments in IFIs are valued at fair value. In the absence of available market data, an approximation of the fair value of the FCDO’s interests is assessed as the FCDO’s share of the net assets of the IFIs, based on the number of shares subscribed by the FCDO (taking into consideration its assessment of material changes to fair value for bodies with non-coterminous reporting dates). The Articles of Agreement of all the IFIs specify that this is the valuation basis that would be used to determine the value that the FCDO would realise on dissolution of the individual institutions. This value is determined based on the net assets disclosed in the Statement of Financial Position of each IFI at the date closest to the FCDO year-end, adjusted for any subsequent and material known changes. The IFIs apply Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (United States) or IFRS. Investment additions in IFIs are funded using promissory notes (refer to Notes 6 and 10.3).

British International Investment (BII)

In the absence of observable market data for investments in public corporations outside the departmental boundary, net asset value per recent audited accounts (taking into consideration the department’s assessment of material changes to fair value for bodies with non-coterminous reporting dates) is used as a measure for determining fair value. This applies to the FCDO’s investment in BII. BII’s financial investments are held at fair value under IFRS, and changes in the value of BII’s net assets are recorded as changes in the value of the FCDO’s investment in BII. Investment additions in BII are funded using promissory notes (refer to Notes 6 and 10.3).

Other development capital (DC): equities

The fair values of DC equity assets are estimated based on a variety of valuation techniques performed by independent valuation experts, as appropriate to the nature of each asset. Valuation techniques used include the use of earnings multiples, discounted cash flows analysis using the discount rate set by HM Treasury and net asset values.

(b) Investments and loans measured at amortised cost

Loans and receivables have been valued at amortised cost based on expected future cash flows, net of ECLs calculated in line with IFRS 9. The discount rate applied to future cash flows to calculate amortised cost is the higher of the long-term interest rate set by HM Treasury at the date of inception or the rate intrinsic to each agreement. Expected credit losses applied are based on appropriate evidence and likelihood of default. Further information on expected credit loss allowances is set out in Note 7.

Other development capital (DC): amortised cost

The fair value of DC assets held at amortised cost is estimated based on discounted cash flow analysis using the discount rate set by HM Treasury at the date of inception.

(c) Investments and convertible loans measured at FVTPL

Other development capital (DC): FVTPL

Embedded derivatives and debt instruments which do not meet the criteria to be measured at fair value through other comprehensive income are measured at fair value through profit or loss with movements in fair value being charged or credited to the CSoCNE. This includes convertible loans. The fair values of these assets are estimated based on a variety of valuation techniques performed by independent valuation experts, as appropriate to the nature of each asset. Valuation techniques used include the use of earnings multiples and discounted cash flows analysis.

Foreign currency forward purchase contracts

The FCDO has foreign currency forward purchase contracts for US Dollars and Euros for its peacekeeping expenditure obligations. Open contracts are measured at fair value through profit or loss with movements in fair value being charged or credited to the CSoCNE. The fair value is measured as the difference between the currency’s midmarket forward rate at the date of valuation (provided by the Bank of England) and the rate stipulated in the contract multiplied by the number of contracted units of currency. Once each contract has been settled it is removed from the CSoFP with any further gain or loss, calculated by comparing the contract proceeds translated at the corporate rate of exchange at maturity with the purchase cost at the rate stipulated in the contract, taken to the CSoCNE. Details of open and settled contracts are in Note 7.

1.23 Impairment of financial assets

Financial investments measured at FVTPL

Gains and losses (the difference between the acquisition cost and the current fair value) on financial investments measured at FVTPL are recognised in the CSoCNE.

Financial investments measured at amortised cost

IFRS 9 requires a loss allowance to be recognised at an amount equal to either 12 month or lifetime ECLs, dependent on the level of credit risk. However, for trade receivables, the FReM requires government departments to recognise lifetime ECLs.

The FCDO’s largest group of trade receivables are with Other Government Departments. HM Treasury has mandated that receivable balances with core central government departments (including their executive agencies) are excluded from being recognised for impairments; with the liabilities being assessed as having zero credit risk.

The department will consider a financial asset to be in default when the borrower is unlikely to pay its credit obligations to the FCDO in full. The department will consider reasonable and supportable information that is relevant and available without undue cost or effort when determining whether credit risk has increased significantly since initial recognition. This will include qualitative and quantitative information and analysis based on historical experience, expert credit assessment (where available) and forward-looking information.

The credit risk at initial recognition for some of the FCDO’s historic loan balances is not known. Many of these balances are fully provided for already. For those without an existing provision, all available information will be used to determine the level of loss allowances required. The FCDO’s loan balances include historic loans to sovereign states which fall under Paris Club agreements. One of the main principles is that any debt negotiations must be agreed by all creditor countries meaning that the FCDO cannot write off any debts without full Paris Club agreement. As a result, many historic sovereign loan balances are fully provided for with no reasonable expectation of repayment but not written off.

For callable capital, the FCDO will consider the balance likely to be drawn down in the next 12 months from the reporting date and will calculate loss allowances based on this.

1.24 Service concessions (PFI)

Private Finance Initiative (PFI) transactions have been accounted for in accordance with HM Treasury and FReM requirements. Where the terms of the PFI meet the definition of service concession arrangements in IFRIC 12 Service Concession Arrangements, the infrastructure asset is recognised as a non-current asset and the liability to pay for it is accounted for as if a finance lease. Contract payments are apportioned between a reduction in the capital obligation and charges to the CSoCNE for service performance and finance cost. Further details can be found in Note 15.

1.25 Provisions

The FCDO provides for legal and constructive obligations, related to past events, where the obligations are of uncertain timing or value at the CSoFP date. Such provisions are based on the best estimate of the expenditure required to settle the obligation taking into account the risks and uncertainties surrounding the obligation. Where the time value of money is material, expected cash flows are stated at discounted amounts using the nominal discount rate set by HM Treasury (4.03% between 0 and 5 years, 4.07% between 5 and 10 years and 4.81% exceeding 10 years). Further information on the FCDO’s provisions is provided at Note 11.

1.26 Pensions: UK employees

Pension benefits for the majority of current and former employees are covered by the provisions of the Civil Service pension arrangements.

From 1 April 2015 a pension scheme known as Alpha was introduced, and all newly appointed civil servants, and most of those already in service, joined Alpha. Prior to that date UK-based employees were covered by the provisions of the Principal Civil Service Pension Scheme (PCSPS). Both Alpha and PCSPS defined benefit schemes are unfunded.

The FCDO recognises the expected cost of providing these pensions on a systematic and rational basis over the period during which it benefits from employees’ services by payment to the scheme of amounts calculated on an accruing basis. Liability for payment of future benefits is a charge on the Civil Service pension arrangements. In respect of the defined contribution ‘money purchase’ schemes, the FCDO recognises the contributions payable for the year. For more details of these schemes please see the relevant section of the Remuneration Report.

1.27 Overseas pensions and terminal benefits

The FCDO is required to observe local employment laws regarding the payment of pensions, gratuities and terminal benefits at its overseas posts. Where state or other trustee schemes exist, the FCDO discharges its obligation in-year by the payment of accrued contributions. Where the final gratuity or terminal benefit has to be met by the FCDO, the full cost has been provided for in the accounts.

The FCDO has adopted the requirements of IAS 19: Employee Benefits in respect of its overseas pension schemes. Actuarial gains/ losses are taken through Other Comprehensive Net Expenditure. In respect of the defined contribution elements of the Schemes, the FCDO recognises the contributions payable for one year. A summary of the performance of the schemes is provided in these financial statements, with further information available in Note 14.

Terminal gratuities are recorded within these accounts as provisions under IAS 37 (See Note 11). A full exercise was carried out during 2020-21 to test for a material difference between the IAS 37 valuation of terminal gratuities and that using IAS 19 methodology; no material difference was found. A follow-up analysis did not indicate any change from this position. The FCDO used assumptions based on reportable data, bearing in mind the cost of providing IAS 19 data in full. The FCDO keeps the assumption of no material difference under annual review.

1.28 Contingent assets and liabilities

Where the time value of money is material, contingent liabilities which are required to be disclosed under IAS 37 are stated at discounted amounts and the amount reported to Parliament separately noted. Remote contingent liabilities, disclosed in the Parliamentary Accountability Report, are stated at the amounts reported to Parliament.

The department discloses a contingent asset where it is probable there will be an inflow of economic benefits from a past event, but where the outcome (timing and/or value) is uncertain. An estimate of the financial effect is indicated, where possible.

In addition to contingent liabilities and assets described above (disclosed in accordance with IAS 37), the FCDO also discloses for parliamentary reporting and accountability purposes certain statutory and non-statutory contingent liabilities and guarantees where the likelihood of a transfer of economic benefit is remote, but which have been reported to Parliament in accordance with the requirements of ‘Managing Public Money’. These remote contingent liabilities can be found in the Parliamentary Accountability and Audit Report of the Annual Report and Accounts.

2. Statement of Operating Expenditure by Operating Segment

Director General	Gross (£000) 2024 to 2025	Income (£000) 2024 to 2025	Net (£000) 2024 to 2025	Gross (£000) (Restated) 2023 to 2024	Income (£000) (Restated) 2023 to 2024	Net (£000) (Restated) 2023 to 2024
DG Africa, the Americas and Overseas Territories	2,096,879	(1,419)	2,095,460	1,286,817	(1,679)	1,285,138
DG Indo-Pacific & MENA	1,532,566	(13,915)	1,518,651	1,048,260	(13,387)	1,034,873
DG Defence and Intelligence	634,139	(28,092)	606,047	591,994	(25,097)	566,897
DG Europe	316,564	(1,684)	314,880	329,144	(1,609)	327,535
DG Geopolitics and Political	469,101	(28)	469,073	490,871	(6)	490,865
DG Economics, Climate & Global Issues	1,362,525	–	1,362,525	1,172,337	(18)	1,172,319
DG Humanitarian and Development	2,885,720	–	2,885,720	4,671,964	(9)	4,671,955
DG Finance & Corporate	1,253,792	(25,268)	1,228,524	1,304,500	(28,525)	1,275,975
Other	616,886	(222,769)	394,117	197,398	(222,973)	(25,575)
Total	11,168,172	(293,175)	10,874,997	11,093,285	(293,303)	10,799,982

The department reports its expenditure by operating segment in accordance with IFRS 8 Operating Segments. The basis for defining operating segments is set out in Note 1.7.

The standard also includes a requirement to show net assets per operating segment. The structure of the FCDO means that all assets included in the Consolidated Statement of Financial Position are used for the general administration and benefit of the FCDO as a whole. It is not possible to accurately allocate assets and liabilities to operating segments and thus such information is not reported to the Management Board or included in the segmental reporting in these financial accounts.

More details of the FCDO’s performance reporting can be found in the Performance Analysis within the Annual Report.

Other includes corporate accounting adjustments and non DG specific expenditure such as Non Cash. Other income relates to funding received from other Government Departments in relation to provision of One HMG overseas platform.

3. Operating Expenditure

	Note	Core Department & Agencies (£000) 2024 to 2025	Departmental Group (£000) 2024 to 2025	Core Department & Agencies (£000) 2023 to 2024	Departmental Group (£000) 2023 to 2024
Staff costs
Wages and salaries		758,940	762,747	745,966	749,599
Social security costs		46,532	46,918	43,053	43,429
Other pension costs		136,812	137,697	120,617	121,397
Recoveries outward secondments		(1,678)	(1,678)	(2,071)	(2,071)
Apprenticeship levy costs		2,006	2,023	1,877	1,877
		942,612	947,707	909,442	914,231
Grants
Diplomatic programmes		197,936	197,936	445,508	445,508
British Council		166,075	166,075	179,990	179,990
UK Integrated Security Fund programmes		726,420	726,420	716,167	716,167
Peacekeeping foreign exchange rate loss/(gain)		2,543	2,543	6,073	6,073
Humanitarian assistance payments		444,935	444,935	177,116	177,116
Trust funds contributions		274,774	274,774	180,993	180,993
Voluntary contributions		826,765	826,765	721,359	721,359
Core contributions		1,842,566	1,842,566	1,983,829	1,983,829
Accountable grant payments		630,242	630,242	401,960	401,960
Other[footnote 72]		939,652	939,652	965,399	965,399
		6,051,908	6,051,908	5,778,394	5,778,394
Promissory notes
Promissory note deposits		2,194,368	2,194,368	2,583,721	2,583,721
		2,194,368	2,194,368	2,583,721	2,583,721
Subscriptions to International Organisations
Subscriptions to international organisations (including NATO, UN & Council of Europe)		218,883	218,883	197,518	197,518
		218,883	218,883	197,518	197,518
Other costs
Reimbursements of duties to other Governments		59,886	59,886	46,274	46,274
Audit fees for arms length bodies		–	100	–	89
Auditors’ remuneration and expenses – cash[footnote 73]		331	347	166	166
Exchange rate (gains)/losses – realised		742	742	(12,553)	(12,553)
Business hospitality		10,543	10,543	12,016	12,016
Consular		3,732	3,732	9,653	9,653
Contractor, consultancy and fee based services		88,096	88,096	82,586	82,664
Estate, security and capital related costs		330,596	330,596	286,659	288,035
Grant in aid to other Arms Length Bodies		41,174	–	37,774	–
Information and commercial services		34,758	34,758	6,738	6,738
IT and communications		189,016	189,016	206,122	206,122
Medical		24,434	24,434	22,426	22,426
Recruitment		1,236	1,236	1,758	1,758
Representation		3,622	3,622	2,912	2,912
Rentals under short term and low value leases[footnote 74]		8,459	8,459	13,413	13,413
Service element of on–CSoFP PFI contracts		2,680	2,680	2,358	2,358
Transport equipment costs		6,381	6,381	6,827	6,827
Training		12,023	12,023	12,573	12,573
Travel		83,263	83,263	105,772	105,772
Other non programme costs[footnote 75]		46,165	93,495	33,780	75,916
		947,137	953,409	877,254	883,159
Cash Finance Expenditure
On-CSoFP PFI contracts interest expense		1,435	1,435	1,651	1,651
Lease liability interest expense	16	11,545	11,546	9,607	9,607
		12,980	12,981	11,258	11,258
Total Cash		10,367,888	10,379,256	10,357,587	10,368,281
Depreciation, amortisation and impairment
Depreciation of property, plant and equipment		193,931	193,938	139,393	139,399
Depreciation of right of use assets		145,412	145,675	201,559	201,559
Amortisation of intangible assets		4,600	4,600	5,774	5,774
Movement on impairments – Departmental Expenditure Limit		(359)	(359)	(18,756)	(18,756)
Movement on impairments – Annually Managed Expenditure		(12,352)	(12,352)	92,588	92,588
		331,232	331,502	420,558	420,564
Other non-cash costs
(Gain)/Loss on disposal of property, plant and equipment		3,471	3,471	4,910	4,910
(Gain)/Loss on disposal of investments		8,690	8,690	3,732	3,732
Financial guarantee		370,655	370,655	245,055	245,055
Revaluation of investments and loans through profit and loss		23,228	23,228	11,885	12,239
Auditors’ remuneration and expenses[footnote 73]		942	942	872	872
Provisions: Provided in year	11	73,996	73,996	31,618	31,618
Provisions: Written back in year	11	(6,223)	(6,223)	(7,454)	(7,454)
Exchange rate (gains)/losses – unrealised		(4,367)	(4,364)	22,174	24,726
		470,392	470,395	312,792	315,698
Non-cash Finance Expenditure
Provisions: Discounting	11	37,897	37,897	5,437	5,437
		37,897	37,897	5,437	5,437
Total Non-Cash		839,521	839,794	738,787	741,699
Total Expenditure		11,207,409	11,219,050	11,096,374	11,109,980

4. Income

	Core Department & Agencies (£000) 2024 to 2025	Departmental Group (£000) 2024 to 2025	Core Department & Agencies (£000) 2023 to 2024	Departmental Group (£000) 2023 to 2024
Revenue from contracts with customers
Income from OGDs[footnote 76]	213,865	213,865	210,458	210,458
Income from other organisations[footnote 77]	1,499	1,499	1,403	1,403
Consular fees[footnote 78]	27,946	27,946	24,986	24,986
Running cost receipts[footnote 79]	32,734	32,784	39,361	39,432
	276,044	276,094	276,208	276,279
Income of consolidated bodies
Agency: Wilton Park	4,210	4,210	6,447	6,447
Non-Departmental Public Bodies	–	12,871	–	10,577
	4,210	17,081	6,447	17,024
Total operating income	280,254	293,175	282,655	293,303
Finance income
Effective interest rate (EIR) interest income[footnote 80]	39,848	39,848	32,287	32,287
Dividends receivable	3,954	3,954	2,519	2,519
Interest on loans	2,973	3,035	3,405	6,029
	46,775	46,837	38,211	40,835
Consolidated Fund extra receipts
Interest payments for the British Council loan	15,260	15,260	9,329	9,329
Receipts in respect of capital sales proceeds	–	–	6,846	6,846
Consolidated Fund extra receipts[footnote 81]	568	568	98	98
	15,828	15,828	16,273	16,273
Total Income	342,857	355,840	337,139	350,411

5. Property, Plant and Equipment

	Non-residential Land (£000) 2024 to 2025	Buildings Excluding Dwellings (£000) 2024 to 2025	Non-residential Enhancements (£000) 2024 to 2025	Residential Land (£000) 2024 to 2025	Dwellings (£000) 2024 to 2025	Residential Enhancements (£000) 2024 to 2025	Information Technology (£000) 2024 to 2025	Transport Equipment (£000) 2024 to 2025	Plant and Machinery (£000) 2024 to 2025	Antiques and Works of Art (£000) 2024 to 2025	Assets Under Construction (£000) 2024 to 2025	Total (£000) 2024 to 2025
Cost or Valuation
At 1 April 2024	252,551	1,500,736	135,473	288,335	1,210,886	4,884	268,655	121,360	397,846	20,198	199,788	4,400,712
Additions	–	–	272	–	–	–	170	–	159	–	157,476	158,077
Disposals	(2,563)	(12,733)	(1,010)	(1,618)	(4,076)	(885)	(162,967)	(23,455)	(39,656)	–	–	(248,963)
Impairments (net of reversals)	(681)	7,696	(186)	(2,053)	197	–	(185)	(11)	(13,441)	1	(3,773)	(12,436)
Reclassification	135	18,743	1,434	1,011	2,190	2,229	24,288	9,683	17,370	–	(82,876)	(5,793)
Revaluation	(2,027)	233,485	–	(5,245)	99,182	–	1,401	5,936	63,108	–	–	395,840
At 31 March 2025	247,415	1,747,927	135,983	280,430	1,308,379	6,228	131,362	113,513	425,386	20,199	270,615	4,687,437
Depreciation
At 1 April 2024	–	806,721	97,189	–	594,723	3,977	213,115	92,445	242,060	–	–	2,050,230
Charged in year	–	50,412	8,144	–	31,305	282	19,391	9,543	35,207	–	–	154,284
Disposals	–	(7,307)	(1,000)	–	(1,908)	(811)	(162,949)	(20,927)	(38,592)	–	–	(233,494)
Impairments	–	4,506	(55)	–	237	1	(167)	56	(11,859)	–	–	(7,281)
Reclassification	–	177	–	–	(177)	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
Revaluation	–	134,893	–	–	74,582	–	1,107	4,167	40,011	–	–	254,760
At 31 March 2025	–	989,402	104,278	–	698,762	3,449	70,497	85,284	266,827	–	–	2,218,499
Net Book Value 1 April 2024	252,551	694,015	38,284	288,335	616,163	907	55,540	28,915	155,786	20,198	199,788	2,350,482
Net Book Value 31 March 2025	247,415	758,525	31,705	280,430	609,617	2,779	60,865	28,229	158,559	20,199	270,615	2,468,938
Asset Financing
Owned	233,959	738,789	31,705	280,430	609,617	2,779	60,865	28,229	158,559	20,199	270,615	2,435,746
On-balance sheet (CSoFP) PFI Contracts	13,456	19,736	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	33,192
Net Book Value 31 March 2025	247,415	758,525	31,705	280,430	609,617	2,779	60,865	28,229	158,559	20,199	270,615	2,468,938
Of the Total
Department	247,415	758,525	31,080	280,430	609,617	2,779	60,541	28,229	158,187	20,199	270,564	2,467,566
Agencies	–	–	625	–	–	–	317	–	372	–	51	1,365
ALBs	–	–	–	–	–	–	7	–	–	–	–	7
Net Book Value 31 March 2025	247,415	758,525	31,705	280,430	609,617	2,779	60,865	28,229	158,559	20,199	270,615	2,468,938

	Non-residential Land (£000) 2023 to 2024	Buildings Excluding Dwellings (£000) 2023 to 2024	Non-residential Enhancements (£000) 2023 to 2024	Residential Land (£000) 2023 to 2024	Dwellings (£000) 2023 to 2024	Residential Enhancements (£000) 2023 to 2024	Information Technology (£000) 2023 to 2024	Transport Equipment (£000) 2023 to 2024	Plant and Machinery (£000) 2023 to 2024	Antiques and Works of Art (£000) 2023 to 2024	Assets Under Construction (£000) 2023 to 2024	Total (£000) 2023 to 2024
Cost or Valuation
At 1 April 2023	254,320	1,202,162	131,170	279,572	1,166,288	4,884	251,464	110,758	339,438	20,223	299,590	4,059,869
Additions	–	–	302	–	–	–	233	–	160	–	210,471	211,166
Disposals	(58)	(9,836)	–	(3,380)	(12,092)	–	(142)	(8,768)	(4,117)	(25)	–	(38,418)
Impairments (net of reversals)	(4,597)	(13,422)	–	735	(8,557)	–	142	–	(491)	–	(54,433)	(80,623)
Reclassification	7,462	137,915	4,001	–	4,942	–	14,897	18,359	64,155	–	(255,840)	(4,109)
Revaluation	(4,576)	183,917	–	11,408	60,305	–	2,061	1,011	(1,299)	–	–	252,827
At 31 March 2024	252,551	1,500,736	135,473	288,335	1,210,886	4,884	268,655	121,360	397,846	20,198	199,788	4,400,712
Depreciation
At 1 April 2023	–	648,912	88,020	–	547,355	3,525	189,307	88,836	214,117	–	–	1,780,072
Charged in year	–	38,926	9,169	–	25,771	452	22,427	10,446	32,208	–	–	139,399
Disposals	–	(2,909)	–	–	(4,529)	–	(121)	(7,523)	(3,323)	–	–	(18,405)
Impairments	–	1,286	–	–	(2,391)	–	102	–	(3)	–	–	(1,006)
Reclassification	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
Revaluation	–	120,506	–	–	28,517	–	1,400	686	(939)	–	–	150,170
At 31 March 2024	–	806,721	97,189	–	594,723	3,977	213,115	92,445	242,060	–	–	2,050,230
Net Book Value 1 April 2023	254,320	553,250	43,150	279,572	618,933	1,359	62,157	21,922	125,321	20,223	299,590	2,279,797
Net Book Value 31 March 2024	252,551	694,015	38,284	288,335	616,163	907	55,540	28,915	155,786	20,198	199,788	2,350,482
Asset Financing
Owned	238,763	673,769	38,284	288,335	616,163	907	55,540	28,915	155,786	20,198	199,788	2,316,448
On-balance sheet (CSoFP) PFI Contracts	13,788	20,246	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	34,034
Net Book Value 31 March 2024	252,551	694,015	38,284	288,335	616,163	907	55,540	28,915	155,786	20,198	199,788	2,350,482
Of the Total
Department	252,551	694,015	37,657	288,335	616,163	907	55,243	28,915	155,413	20,198	199,760	2,349,157
Agencies	–	–	627	–	–	–	289	–	373	–	28	1,317
ALBs	–	–	–	–	–	–	8	–	–	–	–	8
Net Book Value 31 March 2024	252,551	694,015	38,284	288,335	616,163	907	55,540	28,915	155,786	20,198	199,788	2,350,482

Property Valuations

Valuations are carried out by Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) qualified surveyors in accordance with RICS Valuation – Global Standards. Non-specialist properties are valued at fair value, interpreted as market value for existing use; specialist properties, for which there is no external market, are valued at depreciated replacement cost (DRC).

Further information on the methods of valuation can be found at Note 1 – Accounting Policies.

Physical inspections to inform valuations of properties were carried out as follows:

Property Location	Valuer	Effective Valuation Date
Americas (Americas Directorate)	Knight Frank	30 September 2024
Asia Pacific and South Asia and Afghanistan (Asia Pacific Directorate) (South Asia & Afghanistan Directorate)	Colliers International	30 September 2023
European Union; Wider Europe and Russia; Caucasus; Central Asia (Europe Directorate) (Eastern Europe and Central Asia Directorate)	Colliers International	30 September 2022
Middle East & North Africa (Middle East & North Africa Directorate)	Colliers International	30 September 2021
Sub-Saharan Africa (Africa Directorate)	Knight Frank	30 September 2021

Desk reviews for revaluation purposes were carried out for all of the FCDO’s properties at 30 September 2024 where not physically inspected in year. Desktop updates performed do not represent full valuation exercises, however they include indexation for market movements, updates to valuations through the use of comparison methodologies or roll forward of depreciated replacement cost valuations with consideration of relevant factors such as obsolescence.

End of year impairments were assessed by Colliers International and Knight Frank in conjunction with the FCDO’s in-house chartered surveyors. The total fees payable to the valuers in all cases represent less than 5% of the total fee income of the valuing firm/body. Americas were inspected for 2024 to 2025.

Impact of valuation movements

The FCDO assesses material market movements between the date of measurement (30 September) and the year end (31 March).

This was based on the top 30 assets by value, which were revalued to 31 March values. There was some movement in office and residential use types in Ethiopia between valuation date and year end.

Elsewhere any movements in the market were deemed insignificant. The FCDO considers that this exercise incorporates all material changes in valuation to 31 March.

Colliers have quoted a material uncertainty for Russia, Ukraine, Myanmar, Syria, Iran, Yemen, Israel, Gaza, Lebanon and Iraq due to conflicts in those countries. In addition Colliers have included uncertainty for asset valuations for Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka, where the commercial and residential property markets are very opaque with little in the way of publicly available transactions. This assessment of valuation movements is required annually as the FCDO uses a non-coterminous year- end valuation of land and buildings. The non-coterminous year-end valuation is driven by the requirement to revalue the entire FCDO portfolio worldwide, which would delay the publication of the FCDO’s Annual Report & Accounts beyond the administrative deadline set by HMT. The FCDO’s property database was updated to replace foreign exchange rates at 30 September 2024 with those at 31 March 2025, and the valuations shown in Note 5 amended for changes in FX rates.

Specialised Properties

Specialised properties have been valued using the DRC methodology ignoring listed status (where relevant). It should be noted that DRC valuations are only relevant subject to the continuing prospect of the property in question remaining viable and occupied. In the event the property is no longer required for service delivery then the achievable market value of the asset may be significantly less or more than the value now reported on a DRC basis.

All the valuations have been prepared in accordance with the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors Professional Standards (Global and UK). All valuers are experienced and qualified Chartered Valuation Surveyors and Registered Valuers with relevant knowledge, skill and understanding. The desk valuations have been undertaken by way of a desk review of the valuations previously supplied by external Chartered Valuation Surveyors. These valuations are valid at 30 September 2024, and reviewed at the reporting date for any material impact from global market volatility. Unless there are material changes the valuation is not changed from that at 30 September.

The FCDO also holds a number of cemeteries across the world which are classified as non-operational assets, and as such, have de minimis carrying values. The cemeteries were purchased from public subscriptions. The cemeteries are held in the Embassy name for the local British Community.

Leased Properties

Since the implementation of IFRS 16 on 1 April 2022 ground leaseholds are now shown separately in Note 16.5. All leases in Note 16 are valued at fair value. Except for ground leases, cost is used as a proxy for fair value. The fair value of ground leases are measured using the revaluation process used for PPE included in Note 5. A ground lease is a lease with nil or nominal consideration.

Antiques and Works of Art (AWA)

The FCDO has appointed Golding Young and Mawer as antiques and works of art valuers. AWA assets in some of our Designated Residences were inspected during 2024 to 2025. These inspections will be part of a 5 yearly inspection and valuation schedule.

Assets Under Construction (AUC)

The top 3 projects contained within the AUC category are the New York Permanent Representative’s Residence (£23.1 million), Geneva Office relocation (£18.8 million), and Mumbai Office refurbishment (£11.1 million). The majority of projects are at early stages, where spending will grow in future years.

Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (RAAC)

The FCDO has reviewed all the properties in its estate to consider the risk of a building’s valuation being affected by RAAC. No buildings were found to be at a high risk, a small proportion (2%) of the estate buildings were assessed as a medium risk and the remaining 98% were assessed as low risk of RAAC existing and impacting on valuation. We do not assess RAAC existence having a material impact on the valuation of our properties.

5.1 Assets held for sale

The following assets are classified as held for sale:

Overseas Properties	2024 to 2025 (£000)	2023 to 2024 (£000)
Balance at 1 April	4,737	10,372
Reclassification to assets held for sale at carrying value	13,050	10,957
Revaluation to fair value less costs to sell	–	–
(Impairments)/reversals	–	–
Disposals	(8,424)	(16,592)
Balance at 31 March	9,363	4,737

The FCDO manages its property portfolio in line with its dynamic business needs, including investment in new properties and disposal of those no longer required. Capital disposal receipts are retained for further investment by the FCDO as agreed with HMT. These assets are included as current assets on the CSoFP.

Proceeds from Assets Sales

In 2024 to 2025 asset sales included £6.2 million from the sale of property in Paris.

6. Financial Investments

	Other Development Capital (£000) 2024 to 2025	International Financial Institutions (£000) 2024 to 2025	BII (£000) 2024 to 2025	Other Public Sector Bodies (£000) 2024 to 2025	Total (£000) 2024 to 2025
At 1 April 2024	590,315	4,970,483	8,803,000	4,981	14,368,779
Additions	161,143	93,274	880,000	–	1,134,417
Disposals	(36,391)	–	–	–	(36,391)
Reclassifications	(3,849)	–	–	–	(3,849)
Impairment	552	–	–	–	552
Gains taken to other comprehensive income	3,055	116,514	2,200	–	121,769
Losses taken to profit and loss	(24,518)	–	–	–	(24,518)
Financing cost[footnote 82]	1,041	–	–	–	1,041
At 31 March 2025	691,348	5,180,271	9,685,200	4,981	15,561,800
At 1 April 2023	630,858	4,752,079	8,267,700	4,981	13,655,618
Additions	142,110	161,976	433,000	–	737,086
Disposals	(166,064)	–	–	–	(166,064)
Impairment	(11,935)	–	–	–	(11,935)
Gains taken to other comprehensive income	12,670	56,427	102,300	–	171,397
Losses taken to profit and loss	(12,239)	–	–	–	(12,239)
Financing cost[footnote 82]	(5,085)	–	–	–	(5,085)
At 31 March 2024	590,315	4,970,482	8,803,000	4,981	14,368,778

The above financial investments relate to investments held by the FCDO Departmental Group. The FCDO has made the irrevocable election available in IFRS 9 to measure equity investments (other development capital equity investments, International Financial Institutions and BII) at fair value through other comprehensive income because they are not held for trading and to be consistent with previous treatment under IAS 39. The investment in FCDO Services, within Other Public Sector Bodies, is public dividend capital. It is therefore not a financial instrument under the FReM and so is held at historical cost. Further information on the valuation of FCDO investments is available in Accounting Policy 1.22.

Other development capital

Other development capital (DC) assets are investments made by the FCDO to achieve defined development objectives while retaining an ongoing, recoverable interest in the assets funded. At 31 March 2025, these include equity investments (£290.7 million), debt instruments (£354.7 million), convertible loans (£11.1 million) and other returnable grant arrangements (£34.9 million), the terms of which will vary depending on programme circumstances. The convertible loans are embedded derivatives.

The fair value of the FCDO’s DC assets increased by £101.0 million during the year to 31 March 2025 due to further investment of £161.1 million, disposals of £36.4 million relating to the exit of mature investments, an impairment reversal of £0.6 million for one investment, negative revaluations of £21.5 million and financing costs of £1.0 million. In addition one convertible loan of £3.8 million was restructured and reclassified within Development Capital loans (see Note 9).

International financial institutions

Investments in International Financial Institutions (IFIs) are valued at fair value. There is no market for these investments – all shareholders are sovereign states. Fair value has been assessed as the FCDO’s share of the net assets of the IFIs, based on the number of shares subscribed by the FCDO. The Articles of Agreement of all of the IFIs specify that this is the value that the FCDO would receive on the dissolution of the IFIs.

During the year to 31 March 2025, the FCDO invested £51.2 million in IBRD Hybrid Capital. This is a perpetual loan to the IBRD which can be converted into share capital at a subsequent IBRD capital increase, and so is effectively pre-paid capital. This equity investment will be held at cost given that it will convert to shares in IBRD at the par value.

All investments in IFIs are denominated in a currency other than sterling. The FCDO is therefore exposed to currency risk if the value of these currencies was to fall against sterling. The FCDO is also exposed to market risk, as the value of each investment is dependent upon the net assets of the IFIs.

The fair value of the FCDO’s investments in IFIs increased by £209.8 million during the year to 31 March 2025. Additions of £93.3 million relate to hybrid capital in the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development £51.2 million and further shares being subscribed in the International Finance Corporation £42.1 million. Favourable investment revaluations of £116.5 million are due to an increase in IFI profits of £222.0 million partly off-set by changes in exchange rates resulting in lower sterling holding amounts of £105.5 million.

Base currencies of investments in IFIs are shown below. Figures in US dollars include those bodies for which the US dollar is used as the working equivalent for units of account formally expressed in Special Drawing Rights (SDRs).

	Currency (000) 2024 to 2025	(£000) 2024 to 2025	Currency (000) 2023 to 2024	(£000) 2023 to 2024
International Bank for Reconstruction and Development	$2,674,371	2,067,450	$2,528,450	1,997,701
International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (Hybrid Capital)	$64,755	51,208	$0	–
International Finance Corporation	$1,954,845	1,511,214	$1,815,346	1,434,285
Asian Development Bank	$1,149,925	888,961	$1,126,692	890,187
Inter-American Development Bank	$388,964	300,693	$374,095	295,568
African Development Bank (in Units of Account)	206,330	213,993	202,373	212,375
Caribbean Development Bank	$83,876	65,357	$81,708	64,556
Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency	$96,979	74,971	$88,542	69,956
IDB Invest	$8,310	6,424	$6,042	5,854
		5,180,271		4,970,482

British International Investment (BII)

The FCDO, on behalf of the UK Government, owns 100% of the issued ordinary share capital of BII, an investment company that invests in private sector businesses in developing countries. BII aims to demonstrate that it is possible to invest successfully in challenging environments, thereby attracting other sources of capital including fully commercial capital.

The FCDO agrees BII’s high-level strategy but has no involvement in day-to-day decision making which is the responsibility of the BII Board of Directors and management.

HM Treasury requires that self-financing public corporations achieve a rate of return, described as ‘cost of capital’, to ensure that the opportunity cost of the departments’ investments is covered. If BII does not meet its rate of return over each Comprehensive Spending Review period, then the shareholding department may face a further charge to the extent that such a return has not been met. BII investments aim to achieve returns from capital appreciation, investment income or both. All BII’s profits are reinvested in businesses throughout its target emerging markets. Information on BII’s strategies can be found at https://www.bii.co.uk/en/about/our-company/ how-we-operate/.

BII is a key instrument in the FCDO’s approach to economic development, providing long-term patient capital to private sector businesses and projects in developing economies to support their productive, sustainable, and inclusive development. BII’s current five-year strategy (2022 to 2026) expands its geographical remit to include the Indo-Pacific and Caribbean and includes an increased focus on climate and gender finance. This more geographically diverse approach complements the organisation’s existing strong profile in Africa and South Asia. Preparations for BII’s next five-year strategy are expected to begin mid-2025.

The fair value of the BII investment is based on the net asset value of BII per the audited financial statements at 31 December 2024 which are prepared in accordance with applicable law and International Financial Reporting Standards. This is then adjusted for any additions or disposals between 31 December 2024 and 31 March 2025 and a post-financial statement review of BII is performed to 31 March 2025 to identify other possible adjustments. At 31 March 2025, this post-financial statement review noted an estimated decrease of £184.3 million in the FCDO’s investment.

The fair value of FCDO’s investment in BII increased by £882.2 million during the year to 31 March 2025. Additions of £880.0 million were due to further shares being subscribed. The favourable revaluation increase of £2.2 million is due to an audited profit of for the 9 months to 31 December 2024 of £186.5 million and an estimated loss of £184.3 million in the 3 months to 31 March 2025. BII’s total net assets increased during 2024 from £8,496.1 million to £9,869.5 million, a rise of 16.2% (2023: 4.9%). BII’s investment portfolio decreased by £28.4 million in 2024 to £7,291.2 million. In US dollar terms, the portfolio generated a gain of 3.3% (2023: 5.2% gain) due to some positive performances across BIIs investments. Most of the BII portfolio is denominated in US dollars and as such, results can be significantly impacted by changes in the sterling to US dollar exchange rate.

During the year ending 31 March 2025, the FCDO subscribed for a further 880.0 million shares in BII (including £60 million for Ukraine capital) for £880.0 million consideration (2023 to 2024: 280.0 million shares for £280.0 million consideration). These transactions were funded through the use of promissory notes (refer to Notes 10.2, 10.3 and 19).

The preparation of BII’s financial statements under IFRS requires management to make judgements, estimates and assumptions that affect the application of policies and reported amounts of assets and liabilities, income and expenses.

The estimates and associated assumptions are based on historical experience and other factors that are believed to be reasonable under the circumstances, the results of which form the basis for making judgements about carrying values of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from other sources. The estimates are reviewed on an ongoing basis. The area on which the most significant estimates and judgements are made is on the fair value of equity investments. In the process of applying its accounting policies, BII has made the judgement that it meets the definition of an investment entity within IFRS 10 ‘Consolidated Financial Statements’.

BII’s operations are managed within the risk appetite defined by the BII Board of Directors and set out in the BII Risk Management Policy.

BII’s principal risks, mitigating policies and processes can be found in BII’s Annual Accounts 2024.

Significant uncertainty arising from the nature of the department’s investments in IFIs and BII

As set out in Accounting Policy 1.6 (b), there is a significant risk around the fair value of investments, particularly IFIs and BII due to the magnitude of these investments on the FCDO’s balance sheet. Valuations are based on financial information contained in published, audited annual accounts, but most entities have a year-end non-coterminous with the FCDO therefore we also use quarterly financial information to help value investments where the FCDO judges these to provide a more accurate valuation of shareholding.

The IFIs and BII base their estimates and assumptions, and thus their reported financial results, on their current perceptions of risk, on the basis of information which is available at the time of preparing the financial information and by employing experience and judgement.

Whilst the department considers that the financial information reported by the IFIs and BII are fairly stated, the ultimate realisable value of the reported assets and liabilities will vary as a result of subsequent information and events. Accordingly, so too will the value of the department’s investments in the IFIs and BII as recorded in these financial statements.

Other Public Sector Bodies

Other Public Sector Bodies consists of a £5.0 million investment in FCDO Services, comprised of 100% of its Public Dividend Capital (PDC). As a trading fund, FCDO Services is not included within the FCDO departmental boundary. Historical cost is considered to be a reasonable approximation for fair value of this asset as any surplus from trading is paid annually to the department in the form of a dividend.

7. Financial Instruments

7.1 Fair Values of Financial Instruments

The carrying values of financial assets and financial liabilities do not differ from fair values in these accounts at either 31 March 2025 or 31 March 2024. The fair values of all financial assets and liabilities by class together with their carrying amounts shown in the Consolidated Statement of Financial Position are as follows:

	Amortised Cost (£000) 2024 to 2025	FVTPL (£000) 2024 to 2025	FVOCI (£000) 2024 to 2025	Total carrying value (£000) 2024 to 2025
Financial Assets
Non-Current Financial Assets
Financial investments	34,920	365,770	15,156,129	15,556,819
Forward currency contracts	–	–	–	–
Trade and other receivables	1,153,944	–	–	1,153,944
	1,188,864	365,770	15,156,129	16,710,763
Current Financial Assets
Forward currency contracts	–	–	–	–
Trade and other receivables	175,616	–	–	175,616
Cash and cash equivalent	256,490	–	–	256,490
	432,106	–	–	432,106
Total financial assets	1,620,970	365,770	15,156,129	17,142,869
Financial Liabilities
Non-current Financial Liabilities
Forward currency contracts	–	–	–	–
Financial guarantee	–	(1,093,541)	–	(1,093,541)
Trade and other payables	(30,261)	–	–	(30,261)
	(30,261)	(1,093,541)	–	(1,123,802)
Current Financial Liabilities
Forward currency contracts	–	(4,213)	–	(4,213)
Bank overdraft	–	–	–	–
Trade and other payables	(7,225,348)	–	–	(7,225,348)
	(7,225,348)	(4,213)	–	(7,229,561)
Total financial liabilities	(7,255,609)	(1,097,754)	–	(8,353,363)
Net financial instruments	(5,634,639)	(731,984)	15,156,129	8,789,506

	Amortised Cost (£000) 2023 to 2024	FVTPL (£000) 2023 to 2024	FVOCI (£000) 2023 to 2024	Total carrying value (£000) 2023 to 2024
Financial Assets
Non-Current Financial Assets
Financial investments	34,304	285,421	14,044,072	14,363,797
Forward currency contracts	–	–	–	–
Trade and other receivables	959,501	–	–	959,501
	993,805	285,421	14,044,072	15,323,298
Current Financial Assets
Forward currency contracts	–	2,728	–	2,728
Trade and other receivables	438,403	–	–	438,403
Cash and cash equivalent	233,511	–	–	233,511
	671,914	2,728	–	674,642
Total financial assets	1,665,719	288,149	14,044,072	15,997,940
Financial Liabilities
Non-current Financial Liabilities
Forward currency contracts	–	(5,512)	–	(5,512)
Financial guarantee	–	(722,886)	–	(722,886)
Trade and other payables	(36,057)	–-	–	(36,057)
	(36,057)	(728,398)	–	(764,455)
Current Financial Liabilities
Forward currency contracts	–	(5,264)	–	(5,264)
Bank overdraft	–	–	–	–
Trade and other payables	(6,712,142)	–	–	(6,712,142)
	(6,712,142)	(5,264)	–	(6,717,406)
Total financial liabilities	(6,748,199)	(733,662)	–	(7,481,861)
Net financial instruments	(5,082,480)	(445,513)	14,044,072	8,516,079

Valuation of financial instruments

The FCDO measures fair values using the following fair value hierarchy that reflects the significance of the inputs used in making the measurements:

Level 1: Quoted market price (unadjusted) in an active market for an identical instrument.

Level 2: Valuation techniques based on observable inputs, either directly (i.e. as prices) or indirectly (i.e. derived from prices). This category includes instruments valued using:

• quoted market prices in active markets for similar instruments
• quoted prices for identical or similar instruments in markets that are considered less than active; or
• other valuation techniques where all significant inputs are directly or indirectly observable from market data

Level 3: Valuation techniques using inputs that are not based on observable market data (unobservable inputs). This category includes all instruments where the valuation technique includes inputs not based on observable data and the unobservable inputs have a significant effect on the instrument’s valuation.

This category includes unlisted entities for which the FCDO uses net assets as a proxy for fair value. Net assets are considered to be a good proxy for fair value because the underlying assets of each entity are held at fair value with reference either to market value or, when this is not available, discounted cash flows.

See Notes 1.6, 1.20, 1.22 and 6 for more information on valuation techniques and inputs.

	Note	2024 to 2025 (£000)	2023 to 2024 (£000)
Financial assets
Level 1
Cash and cash equivalents	8	256,490	233,511
Financial investments	6	48,275	16,929
Level 2
Trade and other receivables	9	1,329,560	1,397,904
Forward Currency Contracts		–	2,728
Level 3
Financial investments	6	15,508,544	14,346,868
		17,142,869	15,997,940
Financial liabilities
Level 1
Bank overdraft	8	–	–
Level 2
Trade and other payables	10	(7,255,609)	(6,748,199)
Forward Currency Contracts		(4,213)	(10,776)
Financial Guarantee	13	–	–
Level 3
Financial Guarantee	13	(1,093,541)	(722,886)
		(8,353,363)	(7,481,861)

There have been no transfers between Level 1 and Level 2 of the fair value hierarchy in 2024 to 2025 or 2023 to 2024.

A reconciliation from the opening balances to the closing balances of recurring fair value measurements within Level 3 of the fair value hierarchy is given in the table below:

	Level 3 Financial investments (£000)
Balance at 31 March 2023	13,632,057
Additions	725,301
Disposals	(166,064)
Transfers	–
Gains/(losses) taken to other comprehensive income	171,397
Gains/(losses) taken to profit and loss	(12,239)
Impairment	1,501
Other movements	(5,085)
Balance at 31 March 2024	14,346,868
Additions	1,100,732
Disposals	(33,458)
Gains/(Losses) taken to other comprehensive income	121,726
Gains/(Losses) taken to profit and loss	(24,517)
Impairment	–
Other movements	(2,807)
Balance at 31 March 2025	15,508,544

7.2 Market risk

Financial risk management

Market risk is the risk that changes in market prices, such as foreign exchange rates, interest rates and equity prices will affect the department’s net expenditure or the value of its holdings of financial instruments.

Exposure to market risk

(i) Foreign currency risk

The FCDO is exposed to foreign currency risks which can be significant because of the nature of its business and geographical presence. Transactions denominated in foreign currencies are translated into sterling at the spot rate or average rate when settled. Accounting policy 1.14 gives more details about the foreign exchange policy.

The FCDO manages non-ODA expenditure exchange risks through the Foreign Currency Mechanism (FCM) agreed with HM Treasury. The FCM increases or decreases the FCDO’s budget each year in the Supplementary Estimates to take account of movements in the top 100 currencies where the department spent the most money. The FCM uses exchange rate movements covering the period February to January and applies it to the FCDO’s baseline spend to calculate the adjustment to the FCDO’s budget. However, significant currency movement between February and March each year would only be reflected in a budget adjustment to the following financial year. Consequently, there remains a foreign exchange risk related to movements in February and March in the current year.

The FCM only applies to non-ODA expenditure and it does not include Peacekeeping or ODA expenditure.

The FCDO continues to use forward purchase currency contracts for Peacekeeping expenditure to minimise budget uncertainty. Subject to HMT’s review and approval and with the assistance from the MOD in calculating and drawing up the required contracts, the FCDO forward purchases foreign currency for each financial year by taking out contracts through the Bank of England at regular purchase points over the preceding three years. Adjustments in-year are made by buying additional currency at the spot rate or selling excess currency as necessary, allowing the amount of currency procured to match requirements as closely as possible. Forward purchases contracts matured as follows:

	Foreign Currency (000) 2024 to 2025	Sterling Cost (£000) 2024 to 2025	Average Exchange Rate 2024 to 2025	Foreign Currency (000) 2023 to 2024	Sterling Cost (£000) 2023 to 2024	Average Exchange Rate 2023 to 2024
Euro	12,857	11,375	1.13	23,780	20,625	1.15
US Dollar	241,554	192,277	1.26	352,469	281,732	1.25
		203,652			302,357

Forecast unrealised gains and losses on forward purchases maturing in future periods, based on the actual rates of exchange at the reporting period date, are analysed as follows:

	Foreign Currency 2024 to 2025	Currency Value (000) 2024 to 2025	Sterling Value (£000) 2024 to 2025	Unrealised Gains (£000) 2024 to 2025	Unrealised Losses (£000) 2024 to 2025
Current Assets and Liabilities
Maturing in 2025 to 2026	Euro	6,850	6,198	–	(484)
	US Dollar	110,653	91,540	–	(3,729)
			97,738	–	(4,213)
Non-current Assets and Liabilities
Maturing in 2026 to 2027	Euro	–	–	–	–
	US Dollar	–	–	–	–
			–	–	–
Total			97,738	–	(4,213)

	Foreign Currency 2023 to 2024	Currency Value (000) 2023 to 2024	Sterling Value (£000) 2023 to 2024	Unrealised Gains (£000) 2023 to 2024	Unrealised Losses (£000) 2023 to 2024
Current Assets and Liabilities
Maturing in 2024 to 2025	Euro	12,857	11,374	–	(286)
	US Dollar	241,554	192,277	2,728	(4,978)
			203,651	2,728	(5,264)
Non-current Assets and Liabilities
Maturing in 2025 to 2026	Euro	6,850	6,198	–	(197)
	US Dollar	110,653	91,540	–	(5,315)
			97,738	–	(5,512)
Total			301,389	2,728	(10,776)

FCDO’s exposure to foreign currency risk mainly relates to ODA expenditure, which is not covered by the FCM, and is shown in the following tables. This is based on the carrying amount for monetary financial instruments.

	Sterling (£000) 2024 to 2025	Euro (£000) 2024 to 2025	US dollar (£000) 2024 to 2025	Other (£000) 2024 to 2025	Total (£000) 2024 to 2025
Financial investments	10,011,912	2,651	5,096,046	446,210	15,556,819
Trade and other receivables	1,274,080	10,628	44,852	–	1,329,560
Cash and cash equivalents	165,762	21,034	26,729	42,965	256,490
Trade and other payables	(7,217,936)	–	(37,673)	–	(7,255,609)
Net exposure	4,233,818	34,313	5,129,954	489,175	9,887,260

	Sterling (£000) 2023 to 2024	Euro (£000) 2023 to 2024	US dollar (£000) 2023 to 2024	Other (£000) 2023 to 2024	Total (£000) 2023 to 2024
Financial investments	9,053,034	856	4,881,742	428,165	14,363,797
Trade and other receivables	1,340,820	12,879	44,205	–	1,397,904
Cash and cash equivalents	128,164	20,969	36,980	47,398	233,511
Trade and other payables	(6,745,928)	–	(2,271)	–	(6,748,199)
Net exposure	3,776,090	34,704	4,960,656	475,563	9,247,013

Sensitivity analysis

A 10% strengthening of the following currencies against the pound sterling at 31 March 2025 and at 31 March 2024 would have increased taxpayers’ equity and lowered net comprehensive expenditure by the amounts shown below. This calculation assumes that the change occurred at the Consolidated Statement of Financial Position date and had been applied to risk exposures existing at that date.

This analysis assumes that all other variables, in particular other exchange rates and interest rates, remain constant.

	Equity (£000) 2024 to 2025	(Profit) or loss (£000) 2024 to 2025	Equity (£000) 2023 to 2024	(Profit) or loss (£000) 2023 to 2024
Euro €	3,813	(3,518)	3,856	(3,761)
US Dollar $	573,928	(7,701)	551,184	(8,768)
	577,741	(11,219)	555,040	(12,529)

A 10% weakening of the above currencies against the pound sterling at 31 March 2025 and at 31 March 2024 would have had the equal but opposite effect on the above currencies to the amounts shown above, on the basis that all other variables remain constant.

(ii) Interest rate risk

The department’s interest rate exposure is limited to loans made at fixed and floating rates and cash balances held overseas. At the Consolidated Statement of Financial Position date the interest rate profile of the FCDO’s interest-bearing financial instruments was:

	2024 to 2025 (£000)	2023 to 2024 (£000)
Fixed rate instruments
Cash and cash equivalents	–	–
Trade and other receivables	1,004,055	1,007,614
	1,004,055	1,007,614
Variable rate instruments
Cash and cash equivalents	151,605	164,007
Trade and other receivables	196,640	196,718
	348,245	360,725

For the financial year ending 31 March 2025 the department earned interest from financial instruments of £1.3 million (2023 to 2024: £1.7 million). The interest earned from these financial instruments does not represent a material source of income for the FCDO.

(iii) Equity price risk

The department’s exposure to equity price risk arises from its investment in equity securities which are classified as financial assets, held at fair value through other comprehensive income and fair value through profit or loss, and are shown on the Statement of Financial Position as financial investments (see Note 6).

Sensitivity analysis

The FCDO’s investments in IFIs are based on the FCDO’s share of the net assets of each IFI, which are recorded at fair value. Although there is no publicly traded market for these investments, changes in the underlying net asset values of the IFIs would impact on the investment value shown in these accounts. At 31 March 2025, a 10% reduction in net asset values of the IFIs, with all other variables held constant, would result in the FCDO’s net assets being reduced by £518.0 million (at 31 March 2024: £497.0 million).

The FCDO’s investment in BII is based on the net assets as included in their most recent audited financial statements drawn up to 31 December 2024 and reflecting any capital contributions by the FCDO in the period between that date and 31 March 2025. The resultant value is adjusted to reflect any other material movements in fair value over that 3-month period based on management information provided. At 31 March 2025, a 10% reduction in the fair value of this organisation, with all other variables held constant, would result in the department’s net assets being reduced by £968.5 million (at 31 March 2024: £880.3 million).

7.3 Credit risk

Financial risk management

Credit risk is the risk of financial loss to the department if a customer or counterparty to a financial instrument fails to meet its contractual obligations, and arises principally from the FCDO’s receivables from sovereign debt, investment instruments and financial guarantee contracts.

Exposure to credit risk

The fair value of financial assets held at amortised cost, trade receivables and cash and cash equivalents in Note 7.1 represents the maximum credit exposure to the FCDO.

Bilateral and multilateral loans within trade and other receivables at the Consolidated Statement of Financial Position date, which are past due, have allowances for expected credit losses of £22.5 million (2023 to 2024: £40.3 million).

Bilateral loans, and loans formerly managed by BII, are made directly to sovereign states; multilateral loans are made to sovereign states through multilateral bodies such as the European Investment Bank. Credit impairment is assessed based on default history, programme team knowledge, political risks and the potential future granting of debt relief.

The British Council had a £200 million revolving credit facility designed to provide short term liquidity. This has been converted to a £197 million term loan due to be repaid on the termination date of 30 September 2026.The expected credit loss allowance is £0.4 million.

IFRS 9 requires ECLs to be measured in a way that reflects an unbiased and probability weighted amount that is determined by evaluating a range of possible outcomes, the time value of money and reasonable and supportable information that is available without undue cost or effort at the reporting date about past events, current conditions and forecasts of future economic conditions.

Financial guarantee contracts have been issued in support of sovereign borrowers including Iraq, Egypt, Jordan, Gibraltar, Ukraine and India, as well as to portfolios of loans held by the African Development Bank (AfDB) (under the ‘Room2Run’ initiative) and to the Asian Development Bank (ADB) (under the ‘IFFEd’ and ‘IFCAP’ programmes).

Credit risk across the guarantee portfolio is assessed using a combination of Moody’s sovereign credit ratings, advice from our economic advisers, and statistical modelling. The maximum credit exposure of the guarantee portfolio is £8.2 billion, with a lifetime expected credit loss of £1.1 billion. See Note 1.6(g) and Note 13 for more information on how we value these guarantees.

Credit risk on the department’s cash balances held within the Government Banking Service is considered to be very low. Imprest balances are held with various institutions, all of which are major global banks with good credit ratings.

Financial assets are held with, or investments are made through IFIs, public sector bodies and managed investment entities.

Liquid assets are divided between a number of different financial institutions, each of whose credit rating is assessed.

Under IFRS 9, an entity must determine whether the financial asset is in one of three stages in order to determine both the amount of expected credit loss (ECL) to recognise as well as how interest income should be recognised.

Stage 1 is where credit risk has not increased significantly since initial recognition. For financial assets in stage 1, entities are required to recognise 12-month ECL and recognise interest income on a gross basis – this means that interest will be calculated on the gross carrying amount of the financial asset before adjusting for ECL.

Stage 2 is where credit risk has increased significantly since initial recognition. When a financial asset transfers to stage 2 entities are required to recognise lifetime ECL but interest income will continue to be recognised on a gross basis.

Stage 3 is where the financial asset is credit impaired. For financial assets in stage 3, entities will continue to recognise lifetime ECL, but they will now recognise interest income on a net basis. This means that interest income will be calculated based on the gross carrying amount of the financial asset less ECL.

For financial guarantees issued below fair value and where no active market exists, the FReM requires the financial guarantees to be measured upon initial recognition, and at each reporting period end, at an amount equal to lifetime expected credit losses (ECLs) in accordance with the requirements of IFRS 9. Initial measurement and subsequent measurement are recognised through profit and loss. Details of the FCDO financial guarantees can be found in Note 13. The FReM requires lifetime losses to be recognised for trade receivables. For trade receivables with no significant financing components, IFRS 9 allows the use of a simplified method for calculating expected losses using historical default rates over the expected life of the trade receivables and adjusting for forward-looking estimates.

The most significant assumption included within the ECL model, for both 12-month and lifetime losses, is that future performance will be reflective of past performance. To address this risk, the FCDO reviews and updates default rates on a regular basis to ensure they incorporate the most up to date assumptions along with forward-looking information. Forward looking information is gathered through discussions with programme teams including economists who have a deep knowledge and understanding of the conditions surrounding each instrument.

The FCDO defines default as a history of non‑payment with no reasonable expectation of repayment in the future. Where there is no history of default, the FCDO uses Moody’s credit agency ratings to predict expected losses on future cashflows. Details of how the FCDO determines whether assets are credit impaired can be found in Note 1.6(a) and 1.22. Financial assets are deemed fully credit impaired when there is no reasonable expectation of recovery. Write offs are restricted due to agreements with the Paris Club, more information can be found in Note 1.

Stage 1 loans consist of the British Council loan, most multilateral loans and one bilateral loan. The bilateral loan has no repayments until 2041 and therefore has no 12-month ECL allowance. The British Council loan ECL is based on an assessed credit rating using Moody’s methodology adjusted for likely support from the UK government and has been assessed at £0.4 million. Default risk of the multilateral loans is considered by the programme teams to be equivalent to investment grade bonds therefore a low ECL allowance of £0.002 million has been assessed. If the credit ratings were to be downgraded by one notch, they would still be investment grade and therefore there would not be a significant impact on the credit risk and would not move to Stage 2.

Stage 2 loans consist of the remaining multilateral and bilateral loans. These loans carry higher credit risk which is reflected in the higher ECL allowance of £22.5 million.

Reconciliation of Expected Credit Losses

	Stage 1: Loss allowance based on 12 month ECLs (£000)	Stage 2: Loss allowance based on lifetime ECLs – not credit impaired (£000)	Stage 3: Loss allowance based on lifetime ECLs – credit impaired (£000)	Loss allowance based on lifetime ECLs for guarantees (£000)	Loss allowance based on lifetime ECLs for trade receivables (£000)	Total (£000)
Balance at 1 April 2023	6,956	52,581	–	371,958	3,540	435,035
Impact of change to cashflows	–	(9,076)		310,946	1,611	303,481
Impact of change of credit rating assessment	(6,672)	(3,182)	–	39,982	–	30,128
Balance at 31 March 2024	284	40,323	–	722,886	5,151	768,644
Impact of change to cashflows	15	(17,860)		368,560	(97)	350,618
Impact of change of credit rating assessment	63			2,095		2,158
Balance at 31 March 2025	362	22,463	–	1,093,541	5,054	1,121,420

Credit quality of loans held at amortised cost

	Stage 1 (£000) 2024 to 2025	Stage 2 (£000) 2024 to 2025	Stage 3 (£000)  2024 to 2025	Stage 1 (£000) 2023 to 2024	Stage 2 (£000) 2023 to 2024	Stage 3 (£000) 2023 to 2024
Loan balance excluding allowances:
Neither past due nor credit–impaired	1,178,342	–	–	1,183,048	–	–
Past due but not credit–impaired	–	40,039	–	–	61,891	–
Credit–impaired	–	–	–	–	–	–
Less: impairment allowances	(362)	(22,463)	–	(284)	(40,323)	–
Loan balance net of allowances	1,177,980	17,576	–	1,182,764	21,568	–

7.4 Liquidity risk

The contractual maturities of financial liabilities (undiscounted) including estimated interest payments are shown below.

In common with other government departments, the future financing of the FCDO’s liabilities is to be met by future grants of supply and application of future income, both to be approved annually by Parliament. Such approval for the amounts has already been provided until 2028 to 2029 and 2029 to 2030 for capital commitments.

	Within 1 year due on demand (£000) 2024 to 2025	Within 1 year not due on demand (£000) 2024 to 2025	1-5 years (£000) 2024 to 2025	More than 5 years (£000) 2024 to 2025	Total (£000) 2024 to 2025
Non–Derivative Financial Liabilities
Financial guarantees	–	583,623	2,106,678	5,520,130	8,210,431
Trade and other payables	6,117,898	854,759	30,261	–	7,002,918
Lease liabilities	–	121,628	264,151	328,302	714,081
Derivative Financial Liabilities
Forward currency contracts	–	4,213	–	–	4,213

	Within 1 year due on demand (£000) 2023 to 2024	Within 1 year not due on demand (£000) 2023 to 2024	1-5 years (£000) 2023 to 2024	More than 5 years (£000) 2023 to 2024	Total (£000) 2023 to 2024)
Non-Derivative Financial Liabilities
Financial guarantees	–	320,630	2,292,380	5,259,767	7,872,777
Trade and other payables	5,683,930	800,225	36,057	–	6,520,212
Lease liabilities	–	126,473	249,474	405,553	781,500
Derivative Financial Liabilities
Forward currency contracts	–	5,264	5,512	–	10,776

7.5 Concentration risk

In accordance with its Risk Management Framework, the FCDO monitors single country concentration risk in relation to its portfolio of financial guarantees and reports on this at its Financial Transactions Steering Board. Further details on the FCDO’s financial guarantees are shown in Note 13.

8. Cash and cash equivalents

	Department & Agencies (£000) 2024 to 2025	Departmental Group (£000) 2024 to 2025	Department & Agencies (£000) 2023 to 2024	Departmental Group (£000) 2023 to 2024
Balance at 1 April	227,721	233,511	510,862	518,620
Net change in cash balances	24,970	22,979	(283,141)	(285,109)
Balance at 31 March 2025	252,691	256,490	227,721	233,511
Of which:
Cash and cash equivalents	252,691	256,490	227,721	233,511
Bank overdraft	–	–	–	–
Balance at 31 March 2025	252,691	256,490	227,721	233,511
The following balances and overdrafts were held at 31 March:
Government Banking Service	104,885	104,885	69,505	69,505
Government Banking Service – NDPB	–	996	–	2,295
Commercial banks and cash in hand UK and overseas	147,806	150,609	158,216	161,711
Balance at 31 March 2025	252,691	256,490	227,721	233,511

Cash balances at the Government Banking Service were held in sterling. No interest is earned on cash balances held at the Government Banking Service. Local commercial bank accounts and imprest balances are held in a variety of local currencies.

Reconciliation of liabilities arising from financing activities

	31 March 2024 (£000)	Cash flows (£000)	Acquisition (£000) Non-Cash Changes	Forex Movements (£000) Non-Cash Changes	Fair value changes (£000) Non-Cash Changes	Other changes (£000) Non-Cash Changes	31 March 2025 (£000) Non-Cash Changes
Supply	220,777	11,092,528	–	–	–	(11,064,370)	248,935
Lease Liabilities	690,127	(151,925)	68,223	(10,288)	–	61,909	658,046
PFI Liabilities	17,959	(2,868)	–	–	–	–	15,091
Total liabilities from financing activities	928,863	10,937,735	68,223	(10,288)	–	(11,002,461)	922,072

	31 March 2023 (£000)	Cash flows (£000)	Acquisition (£000) Non-Cash Changes	Forex Movements (£000) Non-Cash Changes	Fair value changes (£000) Non-Cash Changes	Other changes (£000) Non-Cash Changes	31 March 2024 (£000) Non-Cash Changes
Supply	515,297	9,956,269	–	–	–	(10,250,789)	220,777
Lease Liabilities	734,394	(164,598)	132,448	15,305	–	(27,422)	690,127
PFI Liabilities	20,722	(2,763)	–	–	–	–	17,959
Total liabilities from financing activities	1,270,413	9,788,908	132,448	15,305	–	(10,278,211)	928,863

9. Trade receivables, financial and other assets

	Department & Agencies (£000) 2024 to 2025	Departmental Group (£000) 2024 to 2025	Department & Agencies (£000) 2023 to 2024	Departmental Group (£000) 2023 to 2024
Amounts Falling Due Within 1 Year
Development capital loans	400	400	–	–
Bilateral and multilateral loans	46,351	46,351	48,112	48,112
Trade receivables	32,540	34,097	80,087	81,022
Other receivables	65,754	65,765	248,974	248,992
Deposits and advances	9,231	9,586	6,763	6,861
Prepayments	276,275	277,272	228,290	229,177
Contract assets	18,271	19,417	53,053	53,416
	448,822	452,888	665,279	667,580
Amounts Falling Due After 1 Year
Other receivables	196,640	196,640	–	–
Bilateral and multilateral loans	952,565	952,565	959,501	959,501
Development capital loans	4,739	4,739	–	–
	1,153,944	1,153,944	959,501	959,501
Total	1,602,766	1,606,832	1,624,780	1,627,081

10. Trade payables and other liabilities

10.1 Analysis by type

	Department & Agencies (£000) 2024 to 2025	Departmental Group (£000) 2024 to 2025	Department & Agencies (£000) 2023 to 2024	Departmental Group (£000) 2023 to 2024
Amounts Falling Due Within 1 Year
Other taxation and social security	2,589	2,723	(1,516)	(1,378)
Trade payables	71,114	72,184	91,386	92,236
Other payables	87,983	87,986	112,503	112,506
Accruals	681,217	682,647	582,767	583,427
Contract liabilities	4,554	6,791	9,012	11,105
Promissory notes: due on demand	6,117,898	6,117,898	5,683,930	5,683,930
Capital and interest elements of PFI contracts	2,428	2,428	2,329	2,329
Total excluding amounts due to the Consolidated Fund	6,967,783	6,972,657	6,480,411	6,484,155
Amounts issued from the Consolidated Fund for supply but not spent	248,935	248,935	220,777	220,777
Income due to be paid to the Consolidated Fund	3,756	3,756	7,210	7,210
	7,220,474	7,225,348	6,708,398	6,712,142
Amounts Falling Due After 1 Year
Payables, accruals and deferred income	17,598	17,598	20,427	20,427
Capital and interest elements of PFI contracts	12,663	12,663	15,630	15,630
	30,261	30,261	36,057	36,057
Total	7,250,735	7,255,609	6,744,455	6,748,199

10.2 Promissory notes payable: movement during the year

	£000
Balance at 31 March 2023	4,625,058
New notes deposited in year	2,583,721
Cash drawn down against notes previously issued	(1,524,796)
Foreign exchange gains/(losses)	(53)
Balance at 31 March 2024	5,683,930
New notes deposited in year	2,194,368
Cash drawn down against notes previously issued	(1,760,402)
Foreign exchange gains/(losses)	2
Balance at 31 March 2025	6,117,898

Promissory notes payable have been classified as financial liabilities at amortised cost. They have been shown as due within 1 year, as they are legally payable on demand, so the maturity profile in the Consolidated Statement of Financial Position, and in Note 7, shows the earliest date at which they could be payable.

Included within promissory notes payable is an amount of £2,465.8 million which is expected to be encashed within 1 year and £3,652.0 million which is expected to be encashed after 1 year based on non-legally binding encashment schedules.

10.3 Promissory notes payable: analysis by institution

	At 31 March 2025 (£000)	At 31 March 2024 (£000)
International Development Association	2,247,560	2,732,128
BII	1,396,000	515,200
African Development Fund	460,613	506,269
International Bank for Reconstruction and Development	1,627,815	1,563,807
Caribbean Development Bank	58,190	95,747
World Health Organisation	75,000	61,000
Private Infrastructure Development Group	101,374	96,041
Asian Development Fund	54,098	50,561
European Bank for Reconstruction and Development	5,950	7,174
International Finance Corporation	37,673	2,271
Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency	3,098	3,097
Sustainable Infrastructure Programme	–	19,822
Renewable Energy Performance Platform	32,361	10,280
IBRD Territorios Forestalos Sostenibles (TEFOS)	15,910	15,910
UNODC Territorios Forestalos Sostenibles (TEFOS)	2,256	4,623
Total	6,117,898	5,683,930

11. Provisions

11.1 Analysis of Movement

	IFFIm (£000) 2024 to 2025	IFFIm – COVAX (£000) 2024 to 2025	IFFIm – Gavi (£000) 2024 to 2025	Terminal Gratuities (£000) 2024 to 2025	Other (£000) 2024 to 2025	Total (£000) 2024 to 2025
Balance at 1 April 2024	259,730	283,084	385,000	58,210	23,253	1,009,277
Provided in year	–	–	–	9,980	64,748	74,728
Provisions not required written back	–	–	–	–	(6,223)	(6,223)
Provisions utilised in the year	(96,998)	(53,333)	–	(5,866)	(2,514)	(158,711)
Changes in discount rate	430	1,310	3,015	–	–	4,755
Unwinding of discount/(initial discount on recognition of provision)	8,067	10,488	14,587	–	–	33,142
Foreign exchange unrealised (gain)/loss	–	–	–	(2,158)	–	(2,158)
Balance at 31 March 2025	171,229	241,549	402,602	60,166	79,264	954,810

	IFFIm (£000) 2023 to 2024	IFFIm – COVAX (£000) 2023 to 2024	IFFIm – Gavi (£000) 2023 to 2024	Terminal Gratuities (£000) 2023 to 2024	Other (£000) 2023 to 2024	Total (£000) 2023 to 2024
Balance at 1 April 2023	364,984	360,338	388,075	56,557	15,596	1,185,550
Provided in year	–	–	–	11,498	20,120	31,618
Provisions not required written back	–	–	–	–	(7,454)	(7,454)
Provisions utilised in the year	(111,020)	(80,000)	–	(7,567)	(5,009)	(203,596)
Changes in discount rate	(3,592)	(7,672)	(15,285)	–	–	(26,549)
Unwinding of discount/(initial discount on recognition of provision)	9,358	10,418	12,210	–	–	31,986
Foreign exchange unrealised gain	–	–	–	(2,278)	–	(2,278)
Balance at 31 March 2024	259,730	283,084	385,000	58,210	23,253	1,009,277

11.2 Analysis of Expected Timing of Discounted Cash Flows

	IFFIm (£000) 2024 to 2025	IFFIm – COVAX (£000) 2024 to 2025	IFFIm – Gavi (£000) 2024 to 2025	Terminal Gratuities (£000) 2024 to 2025	Other (£000) 2024 to 2025	Total (£000) 2024 to 2025
Not later than 1 year	79,948	52,202	–	3,918	62,515	198,583
Later than 1 year but not later than 5 years	91,281	189,347	402,602	11,370	12,046	706,646
Later than 5 years	–	–	–	44,878	4,703	49,581
Balance at 31 March 2025	171,229	241,549	402,602	60,166	79,264	954,810

	IFFIm (£000) 2023 to 2024	IFFIm – COVAX (£000) 2023 to 2024	IFFIm – Gavi (£000) 2023 to 2024	Terminal Gratuities (£000) 2023 to 2024	Other (£000) 2023 to 2024	Total (£000) 2023 to 2024
Not later than 1 year	95,826	52,140	–	4,861	8,180	161,007
Later than 1 year but not later than 5 years	156,764	188,104	242,021	11,852	12,905	611,646
Later than 5 years	7,140	42,840	142,979	41,497	2,168	236,624
Balance at 31 March 2024	259,730	283,084	385,000	58,210	23,253	1,009,277

The International Finance Facility for Immunisation (IFFIm)

The IFFIm is an international development financing institution that provides funding to Gavi (the vaccine alliance) and is supported by sovereign donors (https://www.iffim.org). The IFFIm borrows funds in the international capital markets to support Gavi with funding today backed by these longer-term pledges.

In 2006, the UK pledged £1,630.0 million through two legally binding agreements which set out bi-annual payment obligations from April 2007 to October 2029. During 2020 to 2021, the UK pledged £500.0 million to IFFIm in support of the Gavi COVID-19 Vaccines Advanced Market Commitment (COVAX AMC), through a legally binding agreement with annual payment obligations from October 2022 to October 2029. During 2022 to 2023, the UK pledged a further £461.0 million to IFFIm in support of Gavi, through a legally binding agreement with annual payment obligations from October 2026 to October 2029. This pledge is not in support of any specific immunisation programme and closely resembles the structure of the original IFFIm obligation.

The signing of each of the legal agreements was the recognition point for the provisions.

The value of each payment is uncertain until the final notice for that payment is provided to the FCDO. The value of the FCDO’s payments can change based on a formula set out in the IFFIm grant agreements which make an adjustment to the FCDO’s payments when specified countries named in the agreements are in protracted arrears on International Monetary Fund obligations. The percentage reduction has never been higher than 4% in the history of the agreements and this year has remained at 0% as none of the specified countries are currently in protracted arrears.

The provisions are calculated as the total of the FCDO’s expected remaining payments after adjusting for reductions for countries in protracted arrears at the period end, discounted at the nominal discount rates set by HM Treasury (4.03% between 0 and 5 years, 4.07% between 5 and 10 years and 4.81% exceeding 10 years, at 31 March 2025).

At 31 March 2025, the UK liabilities in net present value terms (after deducting payments already made) are IFFIm: £171.2 million, IFFIm – COVAX: £241.5 million and IFFIm-Gavi: £402.6 million.

Terminal Gratuities

The FCDO, depending upon local employment law and custom at Post, may set up a Terminal Gratuity Provision for locally engaged staff. This is not a formal pension fund but does allow the FCDO to create a liability for payments to employees. These get paid out upon their retirement or when they leave service (depending on the specific terms and conditions of the scheme in that country). As the employee works through each year, they gradually increase the value of their own specific Terminal Gratuity Provision, which will be paid to them if they meet the conditions of the scheme.

Other Provisions

Other provisions include staff-related liabilities such as claims against the department, and the cost of early retirement payments. It also includes claims made against the department by third parties and liabilities for other estate commitments.

12. Contingent Assets and Contingent Liabilities

12.1 Contingent Assets

Actis

On 30 April 2012, the FCDO signed a binding sale agreement with the management of Actis LLP (‘Actis’) in relation to disposing of its 40% shareholding in Actis, a fund management entity. This sale agreement confirmed our intention to dispose of this shareholding to the management of Actis, in exchange for cash payments totalling US$13.0 million (£9 million) and a 10% interest in Actis management’s carried interest in Actis Fund 3 and a 7.5% interest in Actis management’s carried interest in Actis Fund 4. Carried interest only refers to profits generated by the funds over the period from the sale agreement date until the expiry of the funds.

This is based on the performance of the fund as a whole but will only become payable once a predetermined hurdle rate (the minimum rate of return) has been achieved.

This target is based on investment market performance in the future, therefore it is not practical to assess the value of the carried interest element of the sale proceeds reliably.

We recognise carried interest as additional sales revenue only when it has been calculated as payable and confirmed by an external audit of Actis and the associated funds. During the year ended 31 March 2025 we received carried interest payments of £1.3 million (2023 to 2024: £0.1 million).

EIB ACP Investment Reflows

The European Investment Bank’s (EIB) African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) Investment Facility is part of the European Fund for Sustainable Development and the EU External Investment Plan. A total of €3.7 billion of EDF contributions (including UK contributions) has been committed to a revolving fund in the Investment Facility, which invests in assets (e.g. loans, equity) that generate reflows for reinvestment.

Under the EU/UK Withdrawal Agreement (Article 152) the UK’s share of the Investment Facility shall be reimbursed to the UK as the investments mature.

By the end of 2022, the UK share of the Investment Facility to be reimbursed was estimated to be around €500 million, less any losses.

The FCDO recognises this reimbursement as income in the period in which it is received. In 2024 to 2025 the FCDO received £38.7 million (2023 to 2024 £75.2 million).

12.2 Contingent Liabilities

The department has the following quantifiable non‑remote contingent liabilities:

	1 April 2024 (£000)	Increase in year (£000)	Liabilities crystallised in year (£000)	Obligations expired in year (£000)	31 March 2025 (£000)
Contributions due to IFIs	1,662,992	–	(711,415)	(1,012)	950,565
EIB Guarantees	242,615	4,976	(12,957)	–	234,634
Callable Capital – GuarantCo	130,000	–	–	–	130,000
Pension liability – CABI	19,066	444	–	–	19,510
Dilapidations	10,900	–	–	(6,052)	4,848
Legal claims	65,095	781,188	(3,245)	(1,511)	841,527
Total contingent liabilities	2,130,668	786,608	(727,617)	(8,575)	2,181,084

Contingent liabilities of £950.6 million (2023 to 2024: £1,663.0 million) exist in respect of contributions due to International Financial Institutions (IFIs). Uncertainty exists as this is subject to certain future performance conditions, which have been subject to formal approval by Parliament but are not yet supported either by promissory notes or cash payments. The movement in the year is due to further replenishments to the IFIs which have been made in the year. The FCDO expects a high proportion of this amount to crystallise as a liability in the coming years.

Contingent liabilities of £234.6 million (2023 to 2024: £242.6 million) exist in respect of the UK share of EU member states’ collective guarantees of the European Investment Bank’s (EIB) lending under the Cotonou I,II and III Agreements and the Decision on the association of Overseas Countries and Territories with the European Economic Community. These loans are for investment projects in the African, Caribbean and Pacific States and Overseas Countries and Territories. The EIB maintains its own Loan Loss Cover Accounts which are expected to cover any guarantee calls, and therefore the likelihood of a guarantee call on the member states has previously been considered remote. However, in December 2024, a significant loan to a project in Madagascar had to be restructured, resulting in a guarantee call, of which the UK share was €15.48 million (£12.96 million). This contingent liability is therefore no longer considered to be remote, however we still assess the probability of further calls to be low given that the EIB hold substantial balances in the loan loss cover accounts and their analysis indicates a low risk of further calls on member states.

Contingent liabilities of £130.0 million (2023 to 2024 £130.0 million) exist in respect of callable capital to GuarantCo Ltd (GuarantCo), an entity that provides high grade local currency denominated guarantees supporting infrastructure projects in low-income countries. GuarantCo is funded by a mix of debt and equity, and the ratio of debt to equity must stay within certain limits to preserve GuarantCo’s credit rating. The callable capital can be drawn down if the GuarantCo cash balance drops below a certain level. Based on current projections which are monitored regularly, this is unlikely to be called in the next 12 months. The FCDO also holds a financial investment in GuarantCo in the form of a debt instrument and is part of the PIDG Group of investments.

A contingent liability of £19.5 million (2023 to 2024: £19.1 million) exists, related to the UK membership of CABI, an intergovernmental organisation established by a UN treaty level agreement. In the event of CABI’s dissolution, the assets are shared among/liabilities met by the member governments. The potential liability is calculated in proportion to the member government’s level of contribution. An obligation at 31 March 2025 is deemed to be unlikely due to preventative measures that have been carried out as a result of intervention by the UK’s Pensions Regulator.

Dilapidation costs in respect of leases are an estimate of the expenditure required to return vacated leased buildings to their original condition at the date of commencement of the lease. Dilapidation costs can be difficult to predict as they are obligations under the terms of a lease which are the subject of negotiation at the time of exit from a lease. Until those negotiations are completed the costs remain uncertain.

The FCDO policy is to provide for dilapidation costs when they can be reasonably estimated, which is usually around 3 years before the lease expires. Other possible future dilapidation costs are treated as a contingent liability. For 2024 to 2025 the contingent liability calculation is based on the extrapolation of actual dilapidation costs in 2024 to 2025 across the total lease portfolio, which results in a figure of £4.8 million.

All other contingent liabilities are not individually material or are not disclosed separately for commercial reasons. These include varied areas of litigation, such as employment dispute, consular and sanctions cases. The potential liability relating to sanctions challenges is considered to be unquantifiable given the limited legal precedents to date and the unknown volume and variety of potential future challenges. Other risks include estates related legal action covering our liability for properties overseas and potential backdated charges in relation to IR35.

In addition to contingent liabilities disclosed in accordance with IAS 37 Provisions, Contingent Liabilities and Contingent Assets, the FCDO discloses, for parliamentary reporting and accountability purposes, certain statutory and non-statutory contingent liabilities where the likelihood of a transfer of economic benefit is remote, but which have been reported to parliament in accordance with the requirement of HMT’s Managing Public Money. These can be found in the Parliamentary Accountability and Audit Report of the Annual Report and Accounts.

12.3 Indemnities

The department has the following indemnity:

	1 April 2024 (£000)	Increase in year (£000)	Liabilities crystallised in year (£000)	Obligations expired in year (£000)	31 March 2025 (£000)
British Virgin Islands indemnity	3,000	–	–	–	3,000

An indemnity of a maximum of £3.0 million was provided in 2021 in respect of a Governor established independent inquiry in the British Virgin Islands, tasked with establishing whether there is information that corruption, abuse of office or other serious dishonesty in relation to officials, whether statutory, elected or public may have taken place in recent years. The indemnity will cover the Commissioner and his team against any liability for any act done or omission made honestly and in good faith in the execution of his or her duty as such, or in the purported execution of his duty as such.

13. Guarantees

At 31 March 2025, the total outstanding amounts and corresponding fair values of our financial guarantees are as follows:

	Guaranteed amount outstanding (Currency 000) 2024 to 2025	Guaranteed amount outstanding (£000) 2024 to 2025	Fair Value (£000) 2024 to 2025	Guaranteed amount outstanding (Currency 000) 2023 to 2024	Guaranteed amount outstanding (£000) 2023 to 2024	Fair Value (£000) 2023 to 2024
Government of Egypt	$268,452	207,532	43,416	$300,370	238,072	29,091
Republic of Iraq	$396,380	306,431	50,154	$459,771	364,412	50,835
Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan	$312,442	241,540	11,316	$345,905	274,162	19,125
Government of Ukraine	$4,786,116	3,700,014	475,252	$4,077,883	3,232,105	395,529
Government of Ukraine	€553,607	463,383	69,312	€629,346	538,441	70,754
African Development Bank (Room to Run)	$1,599,900	1,236,838	224,018	$1,599,950	1,268,110	127,605
Government of India	$1,670,522	1,291,435	17,535	$1,772,339	1,404,745	13,651
Asian Development Bank (IFFEd)	$102,000	78,853	3,070	$102,000	80,845	3,282
Ukrenergo	$51,307	42,945	8,973	$54,801	46,885	12,871
Government of Gibraltar	–	425,000	40	–	425,000	143
Asian Development Bank (IFCAP)	$280,000	216,460	190,455	–	–	–
		8,210,431	1,093,541		7,872,777	722,886

The movement in the department’s financial guarantees during 2024 to 2025 is shown below:

	1 April 2024 (£000)	Increase in year (£000)	Liabilities crystallised in year (£000)	Obligations expired in year (£000)	31 March 2025 (£000)
Government of Egypt	238,072	–	–	(30,539)	207,533
Republic of Iraq	364,412	–	–	(57,981)	306,431
Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan	274,162	–	–	(32,623)	241,539
Government of Ukraine	3,770,546	467,908	–	(75,058)	4,163,396
African Development Bank	1,268,110	–	–	(31,272)	1,236,838
Government of Gibraltar	425,000	–	–	–	425,000
Government of India	1,404,745	–	–	(113,310)	1,291,435
Asian Development Bank (IFFEd)	80,845	–	–	(1,991)	78,854
Ukrenergo	46,885	–	–	(3,940)	42,945
Asian Development Bank (IFCAP)	–	216,460	–	–	216,460
Total Guarantees	7,872,777	684,368	–	(346,714)	8,210,431

Initial measurement of the fair value of guarantees issued at below market value, where no active market or observable equivalent exists is based on lifetime expected credit losses (ECLs) in accordance with the FReM. Guarantees are subsequently measured by recalculating the lifetime ECLs at the reporting date. The FCDO guarantees loans provided by the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) to the Government of Egypt (Egypt), the Republic of Iraq (Iraq), the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan (Jordan), the Government of Ukraine (Ukraine) and the Government of India (India). These loans were issued at below fair value where there is no active market or observable market equivalents so have been fair valued using lifetime ECLs.

The guarantee to Egypt was entered into in 2018, guaranteeing US$150.0 million principal plus interest over 35 years. The guarantee to Iraq was entered into in 2017, guaranteeing US$372.0 million principal plus interest over 18 years. The guarantee to Jordan was split into two tranches and entered into in 2019 and 2020, guaranteeing US$126.0 million and US$39.0 million principal plus interest over 34 years. The guarantees to Ukraine have been issued in six tranches between 2022 and 2025. The first tranche guarantees €426.0 million principal plus interest over 18.5 years. The second, third and fourth tranches each guarantee US$500.0 million principal plus interest each over 19, 29 and 19 years respectively. The fifth tranche guarantees $516.2 million principal plus interest over 33.5 years and the sixth tranche guarantees $483.8 million principal plus interest over 30 years. The guarantee with India was entered into in 2023, guaranteeing US$1.0 billion principal plus interest over 22 years.

The FCDO has three portfolio guarantees, where a single guarantee covers multiple sovereign loans rather than specified loans:

i. The Room to Run (R2R) guarantee covers US$2.0 billion of existing Africa Development Bank (AfDB) lending to 11 countries. The UK’s share of the R2R guarantee (US$1.6 billion) is on a second loss basis, with private insurance companies guaranteeing the first US$400.0 million of losses. The first loss cover reduces the overall credit risk of the R2R guarantee. The R2R guarantee was issued with a fee equal to 0.1% of the value of the R2R cover. The fee is payable biannually to cover the ongoing provision of the guarantee and is significantly below fair value. The R2R guarantee has therefore been deemed to be issued at below fair value and has been valued using discounted lifetime ECLs rather than the transaction price

ii. the International Finance Facility for Education (IFFEd) guarantee will enable participating Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs) to expand their total lending capacity specifically in support of education projects in lower-middle income countries (LMICs). IFFEd commits to pay a pro-rata share of principal and interest defaults on any loan in the participating MDB’s (currently the Asian Development Bank) total sovereign portfolio. The UK’s liability is capped at US$120 million, split between a paid in element of US$18 million and a contingent liability of US$102 million. The IFFEd guarantee was issued with no fee, therefore it is deemed to be issued at below fair value and has been valued using discounted lifetime ECLs.

iii. The International Financing Facility for Climate in Asia and the Pacific (IFCAP) is a multi-donor mechanism developed by the Asia Development Bank (ADB). Through the guarantee, guarantors provide first loss credit protection to the ADB on a reference portfolio of sovereign exposures to 29 countries. For each country, there is a US Dollar limit on the maximum amount of losses that IFCAP will protect the ADB against. In the event of a default to the ADB by a country in the portfolio, IFCAP guarantors will cover 100% of losses up to the country limit, with the share of losses covered by each guarantor based on the guarantor’s share of the total IFCAP guarantee. The UK’s total contribution to IFCAP is $280 million. Once a country limit is reached, all remaining and future losses for that country will be absorbed by the ADB. The IFCAP guarantee was issued with a fee equal to 23 basis points of the value of the IFCAP cover. The fee is payable biannually to cover the ongoing provision of the guarantee and is significantly below fair value. The IFCAP guarantee has therefore been deemed to be issued at below fair value and has been valued using discounted lifetime ECLs rather than the transaction price.

In 2022, the FCDO signed a guarantee to enable additional EBRD lending to Ukrenergo, a state-owned electricity transmission operator in Ukraine. The FCDO’s guarantee exposure is capped at €54.4 million for any loan repayment defaults until October 2027. Ukraine is not considered to have an active market and therefore the guarantee fair value has been calculated based on lifetime ECLs.

In 2020, the UK agreed to guarantee a 3-year £500 million revolving credit facility (RCF) entered into by the Government of Gibraltar (GoG). The guarantee enabled the GoG to borrow at more favourable rates while it managed the financial impact of COVID-19. The facility expired in December 2023 and has been replaced by a new 3-year facility on similar terms. There was insufficient evidence to demonstrate that the loan and guarantee had been issued in an active market and therefore the guarantee has been valued using discounted lifetime ECLs.

Further information regarding the fair valuation of guarantees can be found in Accounting Policy 1.6 (g).

Governance of Financial Guarantees

The FCDO has a governance board which is responsible for the strategy, policy, and oversight of the FCDO’s portfolio of investments and guarantees. The board, a sub-committee of the Investment and Delivery Committee (IADC), ensures that the FCDO’s Contingent Liability Risk Framework is fit-for-purpose and in-line with best practice. The board also reviews and recommends any changes to the FCDO’s risk appetite to the Accounting Officer. The FCDO’s portfolio of existing and proposed guarantees are reviewed on a regular basis, and any new guarantee proposals are evaluated in the context of the risk framework and risk appetite prior to being submitted to the IADC and Ministers for approval.

Further details on individual FCDO financial guarantees can be found in the business cases disclosed on DevTracker.

Sensitivity analysis

As stated in Note 1.6 (g), there is a level of estimation uncertainty in the valuation of financial guarantees issued below fair value and where there is no active market or observable market equivalent, due to the little data available to make accurate assumptions about loss given default. The FCDO’s best estimate of the fair value of these guarantees at 31 March 2025 is £1,093.5 million (31 March 2024: £722.9 million) representing an increase of £370.7 million.

The increase is principally due to the new guarantee to the Government of Ukraine and a new portfolio guarantee with the Asian Development Bank entered into in the year.

As described in Accounting Policy 1.6 (g), where applicable, for single country guarantees, the fair values have been calculated using probability weighting for different recovery rates on defaults: recovery within 1 year, recovery in 2 to 5 years, recovery in 6 to 10 years, recovery in 11 to 15 years and recovery in 15 years or more which we have equated to perpetual default.

These scenarios were then probability weighted based on historical occurrences of sovereign defaults to MDBs and World Bank sovereign income classifications. For portfolio guarantees where the FCDO employs a marginal default rate to calculate fair value (Room 2 Run and IFCAP), a scenario weighted Loss Given Default is calculated to amend the sovereign transition matrix to include a “rate of continued default” and a “recovery rate” where there is a probability of those in default returning to C grade credit rating (and therefore no longer being in default). This overcomes an assumption that defaulting sovereigns remain in default in perpetuity. These scenarios were then probability weighted based on historical occurrences.

Historical performance may not always reflect future performance. For this reason, the FCDO calculates a best-case scenario, where defaults will always recover within one year and with a simultaneous 10% strengthening of GBP and fall in basic interest rates, and a worst-case scenario, where defaults will always last to perpetuity and with a simultaneous 10% weakening of GBP and rise in basic interest rates. We also perform credit rating sensitivity analysis on the guarantee to the Government of Gibraltar by modelling the lifetime ECL under both a one-notch upgrade and downgrade in the shadow rating, combined with an increase and decrease in base interest rate. Exchange rate sensitivity is not required as the loan is denominated in GBP. This results in a minimum possible fair value of the total guarantee portfolio of £359.2 million and a maximum possible fair value of £3,454.7 million.

Additionally, because probability weightings are assigned to default duration scenarios based on a sovereign’s income classification, the fair value of the portfolio can fluctuate with changes to that classification. Notably, we have significant and concentrated exposure to Ukraine. As at 31 March 2025, the fair value assigned to the Ukraine guarantees is £544.6 million based on an upper-middle income classification. If Ukraine were to be reclassified as lower-middle income, the fair value would increase to £890.4 million. The majority of the remaining guarantee portfolio is classified as either lower-middle income or low income; therefore, fair value of the remaining portfolio is considerably less sensitive to any further deterioration in income classification.

The stated fair value of £1,093.5 million is closer to the best-case scenario which reflects the high proportion of defaults that have historically recovered in 5 years or less.

14. Retirement Benefit Schemes

Retirement benefits for UK-based employees are provided through the Civil Service pension arrangements. Details are given in the Remuneration Report. For staff engaged overseas the FCDO observes local employment laws and, where local state pension provision does not meet the FCDO requirements, provides for the payment of pensions or other terminal benefits. Local staff terminal gratuities are provided at some Posts where other retirement schemes are not available or are insufficient. These are accounted for under IAS 37 and are included under Provisions shown in Note 11. Defined contribution schemes are operated at some Posts and the value of contributions in 2024 to 2025, excluding contributions to local government schemes, was £5.6 million (2023 to 2024: £5.3 million).

The FCDO also operates legacy defined benefit schemes in eight overseas locations. These are based on final salary and provide for pensions at retirement and for benefits on death or disablement in service. Posts retain responsibility for the stewardship of these schemes and funding is met by the FCDO out of in year resources. They are accounted for under IAS 19 and are subject to annual actuarial review. They are all closed to new members and are all funded other than for a scheme based in Cyprus (in respect of former BBC World Service staff who operated on the island) which is unfunded with the benefits being paid out of current resources. The estimated amount of contributions expected to be paid to the schemes in the next financial year is £0.2 million.

Pension Schemes Obligations (Liabilities)	Funded Schemes (£000) 2024 to 2025	Unfunded Schemes (£000) 2024 to 2025	Total (£000) 2024 to 2025	Funded Schemes (£000) 2023 to 2024	Unfunded Schemes (£000) 2023 to 2024	Total (£000) 2023 to 2024
Balance at 1 April	18,325	16,082	34,407	17,808	16,659	34,467
Employees contributions	97	–	97	98	–	98
Matched by annuity contracts	(41)	–	(41)	(23)	–	(23)
Interest cost	904	779	1,683	943	654	1,597
Changes in assumptions	(229)	209	(20)	116	(1,299)	(1,183)
Current service cost	238	–	238	242	–	242
Payments of pensions	(908)	(1,235)	(2,143)	(847)	(1,311)	(2,158)
Actuarial gains & losses	368	162	530	848	1,868	2,716
FX gain/loss	(903)	(365)	(1,268)	(860)	(489)	(1,349)
Balance at 31 March	17,851	15,632	33,483	18,325	16,082	34,407

FV Pension Schemes Assets	Funded Schemes (£000) 2024 to 2025	Unfunded Schemes (£000) 2024 to 2025	Total (£000) 2024 to 2025	Funded Schemes (£000) 2023 to 2024	Unfunded Schemes (£000) 2023 to 2024	Total (£000) 2023 to 2024
Balance at 1 April	23,734	–	23,734	23,884	–	23,884
Employees contributions	97	–	97	98	–	98
Matched by annuity contracts	(41)	–	(41)	(23)	–	(23)
Finance income	1,221	–	1,221	1,314	–	1,314
Employers contributions	39	–	39	227	–	227
Payments of pensions	(908)	–	(908)	(847)	–	(847)
Actuarial gains & losses	(186)	–	(186)	251	–	251
FX gain/loss	(1,180)	–	(1,180)	(1,170)	–	(1,170)
Balance at 31 March	22,776	–	22,776	23,734	–	23,734
Net Asset/(Liability)	4,925	(15,632)	(10,707)	5,409	(16,082)	(10,673)

15. Capital and Other Commitments

15.1 Capital Commitments

	Core Department & Agencies (£000) 2024 to 2025	Departmental Group (£000) 2024 to 2025	Core Department & Agencies (£000) 2023 to 2024	Departmental Group (£000) 2023 to 2024
Estates Projects	65,579	65,579	88,247	88,247
IT Infrastructure	3,140	3,140	10,456	10,456
Vehicles	262	262	344	344
	68,981	68,981	99,047	99,047

Estates Projects has entered into a number of commitments for new projects, however from 2025 to 2026, the FCDO’s non-ODA CDEL settlement will no longer include funding drawn from the Tokyo Embassy sale receipt. Instead, HM Treasury has provided an uplift to the FCDO’s baseline, which supersedes FCDO’s previous terms of access to the Reserve under the Tokyo receipt agreement.

15.2 Other Financial Commitments

	Core Department & Agencies (£000) 2024 to 2025	Departmental Group (£000) 2024 to 2025	Core Department & Agencies (£000) 2023 to 2024	Departmental Group (£000) 2023 to 2024
Not later than 1 year	38,546	38,546	55,760	55,760
Later than 1 year but not later than 5 years	69,853	69,853	101,998	101,998
Later than 5 years	79,764	79,764	93,435	93,435
	188,163	188,163	251,193	251,193

The department has entered into non-cancellable contracts (which are not leases, PFI contracts or other service concession arrangements), for contracts to support Estates Operations and IT services. The payments to which the department are committed are disclosed above.

16. Leases

The vast majority of the FCDO’s leases are for operational land and buildings, comprised of two distinct elements:

• leases for offices and official residences. These are managed by chartered surveyors within the Estates team. Lease terms are taken out in the name of the Secretary of State, and will vary from 1 year to many years; and
• residential post hirings. These are typically shorter agreements, leased in the name of the local UK Mission. Lease terms vary from a few months to four-five years, and exceptionally in a few locations, up to nine years

There are 3,318 residential properties in the portfolio and 316 non-residential properties. The gross value of the residential properties is £431.1 million, with the non-residential properties having a gross value before depreciation of £624.4 million.

The most significant leases are:

• King Charles Street, which is held under a Terms of Occupation Agreement (TOA) with the Government Property Agency (GPA). Lease liability £312.1 million
• UK Mission New York. Lease liability £34.4 million
• Abercrombie House, held under a TOA with GPA. Lease liability £12.1 million
• UK Embassy, Beijing. Lease liability £9.1 million
• Abuja compound Nigeria. Lease liability £8.7million

16.1 Quantitative disclosure around right of use assets

Consolidated	Land (£000) 2024 to 2025	Buildings excluding dwellings (£000) 2024 to 2025	Dwellings (£000) 2024 to 2025	Plant & Machinery (£000) 2024 to 2025	Vehicles (£000) 2024 to 2025	Total (£000) 2024 to 2025
Cost or valuation
At 1 April 2024	–	621,408	365,855	267	211	987,741
Additions	–	6,098	61,972	153	–	68.223
Disposals	–	(10,104)	(45,330)	(34)	(45)	(55,513)
Remeasurements	–	6,310	48,585	3	–	54,898
Dilapidations	–	689	–	–	–	689
At 31 March 2025	–	624,401	431,082	389	166	1,056,038
Depreciation
At 1 April 2024	–	94,974	162,052	161	107	257,294
Charged in year	–	47,760	97,832	54	29	145,675
Disposals	–	(9,619)	(30,755)	(33)	(45)	(40,452)
Remeasurements	–	344	–	–	–	344
At 31 March 2025	–	133,459	229,129	182	91	362,861
Carrying Amount at 31 March 2025	–	490,942	201,953	207	75	693,177

Consolidated	Land (£000) 2023 to 2024	Buildings excluding dwellings (£000) 2023 to 2024	Dwellings (£000) 2023 to 2024	Plant & Machinery (£000) 2023 to 2024	Vehicles (£000) 2023 to 2024	Total (£000) 2023 to 2024
Cost or valuation
At 1 April 2023	–	603,448	287,266	129	126	890,969
Additions	–	22,380	109,845	138	85	132,448
Disposals	–	(4,420)	(31,256)	–	–	(35,676)
Remeasurements	–	–	–	–	–	–
Dilapidations	–	–	–	–	–	–
At 31 March 2024	–	621,408	365,855	267	211	987,741
Depreciation
At 1 April 2023	–	49,736	83,944	70	35	133,785
Additions	–	49,119	98,075	91	72	147,357
Disposals	–	(3,881)	(19,967)	–	–	(23,848)
Remeasurements	–	–	–	–	–	–
At 31 March 2024	–	94,974	162,052	161	107	257,294
Carrying Amount at 31 March 2024	–	526,434	203,803	106	104	730,447

Rights of use assets – ground leases

	Non-residential Land (£000) 2024 to 2025	Buildings excluding dwellings (£000) 2024 to 2025	Residential Land (£000) 2024 to 2025	Dwellings (£000) 2024 to 2025	Total (£000) 2024 to 2025
Cost or valuation
At 1 April 2024	42,951	1,165,221	44,689	824,093	2,076,954
Additions	–	27	–	–	27
Disposals	–	(320,659)	(593)	(8,156)	(329,408)
Impairments (net of reversals)	(352)	(385)	(41)	1,598	820
Revaluation	(687)	149,129	(833)	(18,591)	129,018
At 31 March 2025	41,912	993,333	43,222	798,944	1,877,411
Depreciation
At 1 April 2024	–	781,034	–	574,683	1,355,717
Charged in year	–	24,438	–	15,214	39,652
Disposals	–	(320,151)	–	(5,914)	(326,065)
Impairments (net of reversals)	–	(51)	–	646	595
Revaluation	–	73,035	–	9,663	82,698
At 31 March 2025	–	558,305	–	594,292	1,152,597
Carrying amount at 31 March 2025	41,912	435,028	43,222	204,652	724,814

	Non-residential Land (£000) 2023 to 2024	Buildings excluding dwellings (£000) 2023 to 2024	Residential Land (£000) 2023 to 2024	Dwellings (£000) 2023 to 2024	Total (£000) 2023 to 2024
Cost or valuation
At 1 April 2023	45,033	759,129	45,182	646,492	1,495,836
Disposals	–	(156)	(17)	(128)	(301)
Impairments (net of reversals)	(24)	(2,228)	221	2,389	358
Revaluation	(2,058)	408,476	(697)	175,340	581,061
At 31 March 2024	42,951	1,165,221	44,689	824,093	2,076,954
Depreciation
At 1 April 2023	–	434,987	–	382,574	817,561
Charged in year	–	33,649	–	20,552	54,201
Disposals	–	(3)	–	(59)	(62)
Impairments (net of reversals)	–	(776)	–	1,274	498
Revaluation	–	313,177	–	170,342	483,519
At 31 March 2024	–	781,034	–	574,683	1,355,717
Carrying amount at 31 March 2024	42,951	384,187	44,689	249,410	721,237

The FCDO lease valuation policy is set out in Note 1.18.

16.2 Quantitative disclosures around lease liabilities

A maturity analysis of contractual undiscounted cash flows relating to lease liabilities is given below. The cash flows and balances are presented net of irrecoverable VAT.

	Core Department & Agencies (£000) 2024 to 2025	Departmental Group (£000) 2024 to 2025	Core Department & Agencies (£000) 2023 to 2024	Departmental Group (£000) 2023 to 2024
Buildings excluding dwellings
Not later than one year	43,904	44,020	51,058	51,170
Later than one year and not later than 5 years	171,614	171,614	155,924	156,215
Later than five years	312,262	312,262	380,466	380,466
Subtotal Land	527,780	527,896	587,448	587,851
Less: Unaccrued interest	(43,536)	(43,536)	(70,320)	(70,320)
Present value of obligations	484,244	484,360	517,128	517,531
Dwellings
Not later than one year	77,477	77,477	75,173	75,173
Later than one year and not later than five years	92,376	92,376	93,146	93,146
Later than five years	16,040	16,040	25,087	25,087
Subtotal Buildings	185,893	185,893	193,406	193,406
Less: Unaccrued interest	(12,474)	(12,474)	(21,047)	(21,047)
Present value of obligations	173,419	173,419	172,359	172,359
Other (Plant & Machinery and Vehicles)
Not later than one year	131	131	130	130
Later than one year and not later than five years	161	161	113	113
Later than five years	-	-	-	-
Subtotal Other	292	292	243	243
Less: Unaccrued interest	(25)	(25)	(6)	(6)
Present value of obligations	267	267	237	237
Total present value of obligations	657,930	658,046	689,724	690,127
Comprising:
Current	112,454	112,570	111,174	111,577
Non-current	545,476	545,476	578,550	578,550
Balance at 31 March 2025	657,930	658,046	689,724	690,127

The FCDO and its departmental group have no borrowings therefore use HM Treasury issued discount rate of 4.81% (2023 to 2024: 4.72%).

16.3 Amounts recognised in the Consolidated Statement of Comprehensive Net Expenditure

	Note	Core Department & Agencies (£000) 2024 to 2025	Departmental Group (£000) 2024 to 2025	Core Department & Agencies (£000) 2023 to 2024	Departmental Group (£000) 2023 to 2024
Interest on lease liabilities	3	11,545	11,546	9,607	9,607
Foreign exchange		(10,288)	(10,288)	15,305	15,305
Depreciation		185,064	185,327	201,559	201,559
Expenses relating to short-term liabilities		2,431	2,431	2,551	2,551
Expenses relating to leases of low value assets		1,017	1,017	1,272	1,272
Total		189,769	190,033	230,294	230,294

16.4 Amounts recognised in the Consolidated Statement of Cashflows

	Core Department & Agencies (£000) 2024 to 2025	Departmental Group (£000) 2024 to 2025	Core Department & Agencies (£000) 2023 to 2024	Departmental Group (£000) 2023 to 2024
Acquisition of right of use assets	755	755	1,523	1,523
Interest expense	11,545	11,546	9,607	9,607
Repayment of principal on leases	140,153	140,379	154,991	154,991
	152,453	152,680	166,121	166,121

17. Commitments under PFI Contracts and other service concession arrangements

17.1 On-CSoFP

Berlin Embassy

The contract in respect of the building, operation and maintenance of the British Embassy Berlin is for a term of 30 years from 23 June 2000 with an option to extend for a further 30 years. This is the only PFI contract the FCDO has entered into. The property meets the criteria determined by IFRIC 12, and therefore the embassy is included in the accounts within Property, Plant and Equipment. The initial capitalisation of the contract was reflected in the FCO’s accounts for 2002 to 2003.

	2024 to 2025 (£000)	2023 to 2024 (£000)
Not later than 1 year	3,659	3,790
Later than 1 year but not later than 5 years	14,637	15,159
Later than 5 years	915	4,737
	19,211	23,686
Less Interest element	(4,120)	(5,727)
Present Value of obligations	15,091	17,959
The above liability is disclosed under Payables (Note 10) as follows:
Amounts falling due within 1 year	2,428	2,329
Amounts falling due after 1 year	12,663	15,630
	15,091	17,959

Private Finance Initiative (PFI) transactions have been accounted for in accordance with HMT and FReM requirements. Where the terms of the PFI meet the definition of service concession arrangements in IFRIC 12 Service Concession Arrangements, the infrastructure asset is recognised as a non-current asset and the liability to pay for it is accounted for as a finance lease. Contract payments are apportioned between a reduction in the capital obligation and charges to the CSoCNE for service performance and finance cost.

17.2 Future charge to the CSoCNE for the service charge element

Contractual payments comprise two elements: imputed finance lease charges and service charges. The liability to pay for the Berlin Embassy is in substance a finance lease obligation.

	Core Department & Agencies (£000) 2024 to 2025	Departmental Group (£000) 2024 to 2025	Core Department & Agencies (£000) 2023 to 2024	Departmental Group (£000) 2023 to 2024
Not later than 1 year	2,682	2,682	2,633	2,633
Later than 1 year but not later than 5 years	10,728	10,728	10,532	10,532
Later than 5 years	2,682	2,682	5,266	5,266
	16,092	16,092	18,431	18,431

18. Third Party Assets

The department previously held the below cash amounts provided to the FCDO by other development agencies as part of jointly funded programmes. This account was closed on 4 February 2025. These funds were held in the capacity of project manager/lead donor and were disbursed when required by the programme. These were not held in the FCDO’s name and as such are not included in cash held by the Core Department, as set out in Note 8.

	2024 to 2025 (£000)	2023 to 2024 (£000)
Amounts held in third party account	–	1,514
	–	1,514

19. Related Parties

The FCDO is the 100% shareholder in British International Investment plc. During the year to 31 March 2025 the FCDO subscribed for a further 880.0 million shares for £880.0 million consideration (2023 to 2024: 280.0 million shares for £280.0 million consideration). These transactions were funded through the use of promissory notes (refer to Note 10).

The FCDO consolidates Wilton Park as an Executive Agency plus four Non-Departmental Public Bodies (NDPBs) and one advisory body.

In addition, the FCDO sponsors a number of bodies outside its accounting boundary (and therefore not consolidated in these accounts), including FCDO Services and the British Council as listed in the Parliamentary Accountability and Audit Report. These bodies are regarded as related parties with which the department has had various material transactions during the year.

The FCDO provides the One HMG platform overseas and consequently it has had regular transactions with the following Partners across Government:

• British Council
• Cabinet Office
• Department for Business and Trade
• HM Treasury (HMT)
• HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC)
• Home Office, including UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI)
• Ministry of Defence (MOD)
• National Crime Agency (NCA)

Sir Philip Barton, former Permanent Under-Secretary until 17 January 2025, declared that his sister works for Oxford University Clinical Research Unit which received funding from the FCDO of £6,029,749 in 2024 to 2025 (2023 to 2024: £8,709,195) for a joint global health trial and a global convening programme. Beverley Tew, a non-executive director, is a Trustee of Plan International UK (a global children’s charity) which received payments totalling £3,491,634 in 2024 to 2025 (2023 to 2024: £2,225,442). Charlotte Watts, the FCDO’s Chief Scientific Advisor, is a Board Member of CAMFED (a women and girl’s charity). There were no transactions to report for 2024 to 2025 (2023 to 2024: £663,792).

Further to this, no minister, Board member, key manager or other related party has undertaken any material transactions with the department during the year. Please refer to Section 2.2 Remuneration Report for details of salaries paid to ministers, Board members and senior managers. There are no potential conflicts of interest to report.

20. Entities within the departmental accounting boundary

Associated entities inside the Departmental accounting boundary

Within its accounting boundary (and thus consolidated in these accounts) the FCDO has four Non-Departmental Public Bodies (NDPBs), one Executive Agency and one advisory NDPB. The entities within the boundary during 2024 to 2025 were: Wilton Park Executive Agency, The Great Britain-China Centre (GBCC), the Marshall Aid Commemoration Commission (MACC), the Westminster Foundation for Democracy Limited (WFD) and Commonwealth Scholarship Commission in the United Kingdom (CSC).

Advisory NDPBs

Income and expenditure for the FCDO, in the current financial year, incorporated financing of the Independent Commission for Aid Impact (ICAI), which is included within the core department and agencies columns of the Primary Statements.

For more information on this entity, see the Corporate Governance Statement.

21. Events after the reporting period

In accordance with the requirements of IAS 10, events after the reporting period are considered up to the date on which the accounts are authorised for issue. This is interpreted as the date of the Certificate and Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General.

The FCDO has updated its disclosures in its financial statements to reflect information regarding certain events after the reporting period. None of the events provides evidence of conditions that existed at the end of the reporting period (adjusting events) and therefore no adjustments have been made to the financial statements.

In June 2025, the Government announced an investment package worth £1.25 billion over five years, from 2026 to 2030, in support of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance. This will support the immunisation of 62.5 million children, saving around 1.25 million lives.

The accounts do not reflect events after the date of the Comptroller & Auditor General’s certification.

4. Annexes

Annex A: FCDO programme outturn

Annex A sets out the FCDO’s actual ODA and Non-ODA programme resource outturn for 2024 to 2025 and plans for 2025 to 2026.

It should be noted that these figures do not reflect the full range of UK ODA spending in these individual countries, as they do not include spend delivered via core contributions to multilateral organisations, or regional programmes delivered by the FCDO’s central departments. Other UK Government departments also spend a large amount of ODA overseas. Details of ODA spent by other UK Government departments can be found in their Annual Report and Accounts and in the Statistics for International Development.

As set out in the Chancellor’s Spring Statement, the UK ODA budget will be gradually reduced to 0.3% of forecast GNI by 2027, to fund the necessary increase in spending on defence in response to pressing security challenges. The department’s ODA spending plans for 2025-26 reflect the impacts of these reductions and will play an important role in laying the foundations for the pivot in our approach to development and to help smooth the transition to 0.3%. All future plans are subject to revision as, by its nature, the department’s work is dynamic. Programme allocations are continually reviewed to respond to changing global needs, including humanitarian crises and other ODA allocation decisions.

Annex A is unaudited.

	2024 to 2025 Programme Outturn FCDO ODA (£000)	2024 to 2025 Programme Outturn FCDO Non‑ODA (Note 1) (£000)	2024 to 2025 Programme Outturn FCDO Total (£000)	2025 to 2026 Plans FCDO ODA (£000)	2025 to 2026 Plans FCDO Non‑ODA (Note 18) (£000)	2025 to 2026 Plans FCDO Total (£000)
Regional Programmes
Africa	1,551,039	498	1,551,537	1,367,053	500	1,367,553
Democratic Republic of the Congo	118,373	–	118,373	119,952	–	119,952
Ethiopia	214,915	121	215,036	161,744	–	161,744
Ghana and Liberia	15,341	1	15,342	10,453	–	10,453
Kenya	79,499	41	79,540	63,025	–	63,025
Malawi	49,763	60	49,823	50,225	–	50,225
Mozambique	50,885	34	50,919	49,657	–	49,657
Nigeria	117,295	–	117,295	135,000	–	135,000
Other African countries (Note 1)	1,802	88	1,890	3,400	–	3,400
Pan Africa Department	139,189	–	139,189	142,629	–	142,629
Rwanda	29,183	43	29,226	29,000	–	29,000
Sahel & Security Department (Note 2)	103,047	–	103,047	89,204	–	89,204
Sierra Leone	29,698	25	29,723	16,076	–	16,076
Somalia	136,045	–	136,045	98,925	–	98,925
South Africa	11,335	7	11,342	15,000	–	15,000
South Sudan	134,486	–	134,486	103,208	–	103,208
Sudan	145,817	–	145,817	120,000	–	120,000
Tanzania	57,169	29	57,198	60,000	–	60,000
Uganda	44,434	49	44,483	43,000	–	43,000
Zambia	42,102	–	42,102	37,708	–	37,708
Zimbabwe	30,661	–	30,661	18,847	–	18,847
Americas and Overseas Territories	167,435	53,877	221,312	237,438	65,623	303,061
Brazil	258	233	491	–	–	–
Caribbean Development Team	73,061	–	73,061	87,716	–	87,716
Colombia	1,274	(1)	1,273	7,000	–	7,000
Mexico	–	94	94	–	–	–
Other American Countries (Note 3)	705	1,086	1,791	9,782	–	9,782
Overseas Territories	92,036	51,802	143,838	132,940	–	132,940
USA and Canada	–	638	638	–	–	–
Venezuela	101	25	126	–	–	–
Europe	36,981	3,949	40,930	47,818	8,500	56,318
Albania	3,935	–	3,935	–	–	–
Bosnia and Herzegovina	511	259	770	–	–	–
Kosovo	9	–	9	–	–	–
Montenegro	10	–	10	–	–	–
North Macedonia	12	–	12	–	–	–
Other European Countries (Note 4)	–	1,996	1,996	–	–	–
Serbia	76	9	85	–	–	–
Turkey	23,362	595	23,957	33,418	–	33,418
Western Balkans	9,066	1,090	10,156	14,400	–	14,400
Eastern Europe & Central Asia	262,940	126	263,066	268,640	1,700	270,340
Central Asia (Note 5)	12,543	31	12,574	16,805	–	16,805
Eastern Neighbourhood (Note 6)	14,306	67	14,373	11,835	–	11,835
Other Eastern European & Central Asian Countries (Note 7)	315	28	343		–	–
Ukraine	235,776	–	235,776	240,000	–	240,000
Indo Pacific	269,322	4,958	274,280	354,549	6,200	360,750
ASEAN (Note 8)	26,433	899	27,332	20,613	–	20,613
Bangladesh	62,575	–	62,575	62,531	–	62,531
China	–	1,091	1,091	400	–	400
India	(12,925)	1,053	(11,872)	24,526		24,526
Indo Pacific Regional Team	53,086	–	53,086	87,372	–	87,372
Indonesia	7,654	548	8,202	27,200	–	27,200
Myanmar	71,641	–	71,641	79,000	–	79,000
Nepal	60,185	–	60,185	46,557	–	46,557
Other North East Asia Countries and Territories (Note 9)	306	656	962	750	–	750
Other South East Asia and Pacific Countries (Note 10)	367	711	1,078	5,600	–	5,600
Middle East and North Africa	856,601	11,295	867,896	680,804	7,050	687,853
Afghanistan	171,481	–	171,481	139,990	–	139,990
Bahrain	–	902	902	–	–	–
Egypt	–	4,000	4,000	2,900	–	2,900
Iraq	5,152	1,073	6,225	6,570	–	6,570
Jordan	68,822	3	68,825	44,144	–	44,144
Kuwait	683	–	683	–	–	–
Lebanon	56,122	–	56,122	33,500	–	33,500
Libya	402	–	402	–	–	–
Middle East & North Africa Regional Team	29,680	54	29,734	14,200	–	14,200
Occupied Palestinian Territories	127,386	–	127,386	101,000	–	101,000
Oman	–	644	644	–	–	–
Other Middle East and North Africa Countries (Note 11)	1	2,923	2,924	–	–	–
Pakistan	100,625	–	100,625	102,500	–	102,500
Saudi Arabia	–	1,696	1,696	–	–	–
Syria	150,870	–	150,870	97,000	–	97,000
Yemen	145,377	–	145,377	139,000	–	139,000
Regional Programmes Total	3,144,318	74,703	3,219,021	2,956,302	89,573	3,045,874
Policy Priorities, International Organisations and Humanitarian
Economic Development and Partnerships	1,206,379	1,894	1,208,273	782,000	24,778	806,778
Economic Development and Partnerships Directorate (Note 12)	1,206,379	1,894	1,208,273	782,000	24,778	806,778
Centre for Delivery	356	–	356	566	–	566
Better Delivery	356	–	356	566	–	566
Defence and International Security	–	1,730	1,730	450	6,840	7,290
Counter-Proliferation	–	1,730	1,730	450	6,840	7,290
Intelligence Policy Department	–	–	–	–	–	–
Development and Open Societies	71,564	194	71,758	88,000	2,100	90,100
Development Partnerships and Multilateral Effectiveness Department	902	–	902	–	–	–
Development Policy Department	14,252	–	14,252	–	–	–
Safeguarding Unit	6,932	–	6,932	–	–	–
Anti-corruption and illicit Finance	15,541	176	15,717	–	–	–
Civil Society and Civic Space	28,737	–	28,737	–	–	–
Democratic Governance and Media Freedom	5,200	18	5,218	–	–	–
Development and Open Societies Directorate	–	–	–	88,000		88,000
Trade & Economic Security (Note 13)	14,392	357	14,749	–	–	–
Trade & Economic Security Directorate	14,392	357	14,749	–	–	–
Economics and Evalution	2,243	327	2,570	8,900	1,000	9,900
Evaluation and Statistics	2,243	327	2,570	8,900	1,000	9,900
Education, Gender & Equality	490,012	782	490,794	283,668	1,000	284,668
Gender and Equalities Department	72,634	782	73,416	63,923	–	63,923
Girls Education Department	378,431	–	378,431	185,688	–	185,688
Scholarships, Tertiary Education and Partnerships	38,947	–	38,947	34,057	–	34,057
Energy, Climate and Environment	414,084	10	414,094	656,541	1,600	658,141
Adaptation, Nature and Resilience Department (incl. Africa Adaptation)	30,572	–	30,572	–	–	–
Climate Finance and International Systems Department	311,484	–	311,484	–	–	–
Climate, Strategy & Co-ordination Department	1,192	10	1,202	–	–	–
International Energy Unit	–	–	–
International Forest Unit	26,059	–	26,059	–	–	–
Just Energy Transition Partnerships	93	–	93	–	–	–
Performance and Operations Department	–	–	–	–	–	–
UK Partnership for Accelerating Climate Transitions	44,684	–	44,684	–	–	–
Europe	382,919	383	383,302	270,000	–	270,000
EU Attribution	281,735	–	281,735	177,000	–	177,000
Europe Department	101,184	383	101,567	93,000	–	93,000
Health	974,841	–	974,841	527,332	–	527,332
Health Institutions & Health Security Department	806,085	–	806,085	314,903	–	314,903
Health Directorate Central	–	–	–	–	–	–
Human Development Department	168,756	–	168,756	212,429	–	212,429
Vaccines, Therapeutics and Diagnostics	–	–	–	–	–	–
Humanitarian, Food Security and Resillence	359,179	3,538	362,717	351,582	–	351,582
Humanitarian, Food Security and Resillence Directorate	359,179	3,538	362,717	351,582	–	351,582
Information Threats & Influence	–	4,965	4,965	–	4,500	4,500
Information Threats & Influence Directorate	–	4,965	4,965	–	4,500	4,500
International Finance	1,051,717	–	1,051,717	1,602,600	–	1,602,600
International Finance Institutions Department	769,873	–	769,873	1,325,600	–	1,325,600
Private Sector Department	252,791	–	252,791	233,943	–	233,943
Public Finance and Tax Department	29,053	–	29,053	43,057	–	43,057
Multilateral and Human Rights (Note 14)	27,947	24,846	52,793	16,018	2,300	18,318
Multilateral and Human Rights Directorate	27,947	24,846	52,793	16,018	2,300	18,318
Migration and Conflict (Note 15)	24,570	728	25,298	27,545	400	27,945
Migration and Conflict Directorate	24,570	728	25,298	27,545	400	27,945
Research and Evidence	503,551	8,543	512,094	424,120	10,464	434,584
Evidence, Use and Capability	–	–	–	–	–	–
Research and Development	503,551	8,543	512,094	424,120	–	424,120
Technology and Analysis	4,147	1,438	5,585	472	2,800	3,272
Global Statistics and International Technology Department	4,147	1,438	5,585	472	2,800	3,272
Policy Priorities, International Organisations and Humanitarian Total	5,527,901	49,735	5,577,636	5,039,794	57,782	5,097,576
Non-Departmental Public Bodies & Scholarships
British Council (Grant in Aid)	126,500	39,600	166,100	126,900	36,200	163,100
British Council (Loan facility)	–	–	–	–	–	–
Commonwealth Scholarship Commission	27,800	331	28,131	27,800	400	28,200
Chevening Scholarship	57,255	1,677	58,932	57,700	1,700	59,400
Great Britain China Centre	–	350	350	–	350	350
Independent Commission for Aid Impact	1,098	–	1,098	2,800	–	2,800
Marshall Aid Commemoration Commission	–	4,100	4,100	–	4,100	4,100
Westminster Foundation for Democracy	8,150	350	8,500	8,150	350	8,500
Wilton Park	1,400	1,216	2,616	2,350	1,300	3,650
Non-Departmental Public Bodies & Scholarships Total	222,203	47,624	269,827	225,700	44,400	270,100
BBC World Service Total	76,900	27,479	104,379	82,500	54,500	137,000
Multilateral Subscriptions to International Organisations Total	66,616	108,360	174,976	92,939	146,486	239,425
Other Central Programmes Total (Note 16)	(90,071)	7,920	(82,151)	–	18,125	18,125
Crisis Reserve Total	–	–	–	85,000	–	85,000
Integrated Security Fund (ISF) Total (Note 17)	336,568	394,386	730,954	226,950	496,157	723,107
Total	9,284,435	710,207	9,994,642	8,709,185	907,023	9,616,208

Note 1: Other African Countries Includes Angola, Botswana, Burundi, Cameroon, Chad, Cote d’Ivoire, Djibouti, Eritrea, Eswatini, Guinea, Lesotho, Madagascar, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, Namibia, Niger, Senegal, Seychelles, and the Gambia.

Note 2: Included in Sahel, Sudan and South Sudan Department are the regional programmes - allocated separately to the country allocations: Sudan; South Sudan.

Note 3: Other American Countries Includes Antigua & Barbuda, Argentina, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Bolivia, Chile, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Grenada, Guatemala, Guyana, Latin America Department, Network Ops, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Saint Lucia, Trinidad and Tobago, and Uruguay.

Note 4: Other European Countries Includes Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Holy See, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and Europe Department.

Note 5: Central Asia includes Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan.

Note 6: Eastern Neighbourhood includes Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Moldova.

Note 7: Other Eastern European and Central Asian Countries includes Belarus and regional spend which cannot be attributed to a single country.

Note 8: ASEAN is Association of South East Asian Nations which includes: Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.

Note 9: Other North East Asia Countries and Territories includes China, Mongolia, North Korea, Taiwan, Japan, Hong Kong and South Korea.

Note 10: Other South East Asia and Pacific Countries includes Australia, Maldives, New Zealand, Sri Lanka and Vanuatu.

Note 11: Other Middle East and North Africa Countries includes Israel, MENA Directors’ Office, Morocco, the United Arab Emirates, and Qatar.

Note 12: British Investment Partnerships Directorate was renamed Economic Development and Partnerships Directorate, effective July 2024.

Note 13: Economic Security was renamed to Trade & Economic Security.

Note 14: Multilateral & UN Directorate is now called Multilateral and Human Rights Directorate. Human Rights and Rule of Law Department was renamed to Human Rights Department and moved into Multilateral and Human Rights Directorate, effective on 03 January 2023.

Note 15: Office for Conflict, Stabilisation and Mediation was renamed Migration and Conflict.

Note 16: The 2024 to 2025 ODA outturn figure relates to loan reflows and returned funds and the expenditure is offset elsewhere.

Note 17: From April 2024, CSSF was renamed to the UK Integrated Security Fund (ISF). ISF spend by regional, cross regional and non‑discretionary theme is reported in the ISF Annual Report.

Note 18: Non-ODA outturn and plans are presented at a regional and Directorate level.

 Annex B: Annual Reporting of Statistical Information

The International Development (Reporting and Transparency) Act 2006 requires the Secretary of State to report to Parliament on an annual basis. The schedule to the Act sets out the statistical reporting that is required. This information is published each autumn for the preceding year in the FCDO’s publication Statistics on International Development (SID) – the official source of information on the UK’s international development spending known as Official Development Assistance (ODA). Provisional figures for 2024 are provided in Table B.1.

The statistical reporting requirements of the Act are itemised below, with the tables within this Annex showing where the corresponding information can be located. Information is included for the most recent period and each of the four periods before.

The UK ODA budget is spent by a number of departments other than the FCDO. The Statistics on International Development publication sets out detailed information on ODA spend by department and summary information on the main aims of each department’s ODA budget. This data follows Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and Development Assistance Committee (DAC) definitions.

Departments with large ODA budgets will also include information in their own annual report. Table B.3 gives information on the largest ODA spending department for the most recent period by recipient country.

The statistical information included in this Annex are correct at the time of publication and supersedes information for the same period in previous annual reports.

Please note that final UK ODA figures for 2024 will be published in “Statistics on International Development: Final UK ODA Spend 2024 (SID 2024)” in September 2025.

Table B.1: Total UK Net Official Development Assistance (ODA)

	2020 £ million	2021 £ million	2022 £ million	2023 £ million	2024 (Note 1) £ million
Total Bilateral ODA	9,532	7,234	9,640	10,004	11,261
as a % of GNI	0.46	0.32	0.38	0.38	0.40
of which: Administration costs (Note 2)	784	740	678	705	710
of which: Debt Relief	194	–	–	–	–
of which: Non FCDO Department (Note 3)	44	–	–	–	–
Total Multilateral ODA	4,945	4,189	3,146	5,340	2,806
as a % of GNI	0.24	0.18	0.13	0.20	0.10
of which: Total European Commission	1,517	1,319	836	457	383
Total World Bank	990	749	402	2,070	506
Total UN Agencies	582	523	472	570	734
Total Other Organisations (Note 4)	1,857	1,598	1,435	2,244	1,183
TOTAL ODA	14,477	11,423	12,786	15,344	14,066
as a % of GNI	0.70	0.50	0.51	0.58	0.50

Note 1: These are provisional figures from ‘Statistics on International Development: Provisional UK ODA Spend 2024’. Final figures will be published in September 2025 in ‘Statistics on International Development: Final UK ODA Spend 2024’. Figures may not sum to totals due to rounding.

Note 2: This is in line with OECD DAC Statistical Reporting Directives.

Note 3: Export Credits Guarantee Department (operational name: UK Export Finance).

Note 4: Includes Regional Development Banks and other multilateral agencies on the DAC List of Multilateral Organisations.

Table B.2: Total UK Net ODA and Humanitarian Assistance by recipient country (Note 1, Note 2)

Country	ODA Breakdown	2019 £ thousand	2020 £ thousand	2021 £ thousand	2022 £ thousand	2023 £ thousand	Main Spend Departments in 2023 (% Share)
Africa
Algeria	UK Net Bilateral ODA	8,327	6,898	6,185	2,511	553	FCDO 102%
	of which Humanitarian Assistance	–	–	–	–	–
	Percentage of Total Net Bilateral ODA	0.08%	0.07%	0.09%	0.03%	0.01%
Angola	UK Net Bilateral ODA	1,105	1,010	1,466	334	186	FCDO 59%, DSIT 41%
	of which Humanitarian Assistance	–	–	–	–	–
	Percentage of Total Net Bilateral ODA	0.01%	0.01%	0.02%	0.00%	0.00%
Benin	UK Net Bilateral ODA	174	18	30	58	–
	of which Humanitarian Assistance	–	–	–	–	–
	Percentage of Total Net Bilateral ODA	0.00%	0.00%	0.00%	0.00%	–
Botswana	UK Net Bilateral ODA	1,979	1,903	2,356	696	308	FCDO 97%, UKISF 3%
	of which Humanitarian Assistance	–	–	–	–	–
	Percentage of Total Net Bilateral ODA	0.02%	0.02%	0.03%	0.01%	0.00%
Burkina Faso	UK Net Bilateral ODA	1,498	344	201	170	–
	of which Humanitarian Assistance	–	–	–	123	–
	Percentage of Total Net Bilateral ODA	0.01%	0.00%	0.00%	0.00%	–
Burundi	UK Net Bilateral ODA	5,017	2,995	802	1,030	19	FCDO 100%
	of which Humanitarian Assistance	3,601	1,074	523	–	19
	Percentage of Total Net Bilateral ODA	0.05%	0.03%	0.01%	0.01%	0.00%
Cameroon	UK Net Bilateral ODA	11,187	15,092	8,030	2,388	2,059	FCDO 100%
	of which Humanitarian Assistance	6,244	11,714	4,996	2,000	2,000
	Percentage of Total Net Bilateral ODA	0.11%	0.16%	0.11%	0.02%	0.02%
Cape Verde	UK Net Bilateral ODA	248	156	216	294	30	FCDO 100%
	of which Humanitarian Assistance	–	–	–	–	–
	Percentage of Total Net Bilateral ODA	0.00%	0.00%	0.00%	0.00%	0.00%
Central African Republic	UK Net Bilateral ODA	15,111	19,839	9,923	10,401	6,828	FCDO 100%
	of which Humanitarian Assistance	15,111	19,334	9,923	10,401	6,786
	Percentage of Total Net Bilateral ODA	0.15%	0.21%	0.14%	0.11%	0.07%
Chad	UK Net Bilateral ODA	1,939	4,242	1,201	185	2,910	FCDO 100%
	of which Humanitarian Assistance	1,900	1,100	200	–	2,830
	Percentage of Total Net Bilateral ODA	0.02%	0.04%	0.02%	0.00%	0.03%
Comoros	UK Net Bilateral ODA	128	113	149	188	–
	of which Humanitarian Assistance	–	–	–	–	–
	Percentage of Total Net Bilateral ODA	0.00%	0.00%	0.00%	0.00%	–
Congo	UK Net Bilateral ODA	5,534	802	71	34	–
	of which Humanitarian Assistance	–	–	–	–	–
	Percentage of Total Net Bilateral ODA	0.05%	0.01%	0.00%	0.00%	–
Cote d’Ivoire	UK Net Bilateral ODA	1,189	1,364	3,454	2,614	3,731	FCDO 96%, DSIT 4%
	of which Humanitarian Assistance	–	–	–	–	–
	Percentage of Total Net Bilateral ODA	0.01%	0.01%	0.05%	0.03%	0.04%
Democratic Republic of the Congo	UK Net Bilateral ODA	184,033	136,071	72,960	46,879	40,175	FCDO 100%
	of which Humanitarian Assistance	80,355	66,016	33,821	28,233	22,597
	Percentage of Total Net Bilateral ODA	1.77%	1.43%	1.01%	0.49%	0.40%
Djibouti	UK Net Bilateral ODA	608	1,147	280	157	–
	of which Humanitarian Assistance	–	–	–	–	–
	Percentage of Total Net Bilateral ODA	0.01%	0.01%	0.00%	0.00%	–
Egypt	UK Net Bilateral ODA	23,630	17,153	16,325	8,816	10,505	FCDO 87%, UKISF 12%, Other 1%
	of which Humanitarian Assistance	–	–	–	–	–
	Percentage of Total Net Bilateral ODA	0.23%	0.18%	0.23%	0.09%	0.11%
Equatorial Guinea	UK Net Bilateral ODA	–	–	29	35	21	FCDO 100%
	of which Humanitarian Assistance	–	–	–	–	–
	Percentage of Total Net Bilateral ODA	–	–	0.00%	0.00%	0.00%
Eritrea	UK Net Bilateral ODA	4,393	1,908	1,637	762	874	FCDO 100%
	of which Humanitarian Assistance	–	–	–	630	800
	Percentage of Total Net Bilateral ODA	0.04%	0.02%	0.02%	0.01%	0.01%
Eswatini	UK Net Bilateral ODA	315	426	399	131	133	FCDO 100%
	of which Humanitarian Assistance	–	–	–	–	–
	Percentage of Total Net Bilateral ODA	0.00%	0.00%	0.01%	0.00%	0.00%
Ethiopia	UK Net Bilateral ODA	299,246	253,887	119,790	90,131	173,398	FCDO 99%, UKISF 1%
	of which Humanitarian Assistance	85,886	103,037	70,429	39,768	53,913
	Percentage of Total Net Bilateral ODA	2.88%	2.66%	1.66%	0.93%	1.73%
Gabon	UK Net Bilateral ODA	21	–	–	–	–
	of which Humanitarian Assistance	–	–	–	–	–
	Percentage of Total Net Bilateral ODA	0.00%	–	–	–	–
Gambia	UK Net Bilateral ODA	17,281	20,118	17,991	14,356	12,554	DSIT 98%, FCDO 2%
	of which Humanitarian Assistance	–	–	–	–	–
	Percentage of Total Net Bilateral ODA	0.17%	0.21%	0.25%	0.15%	0.13%
Ghana	UK Net Bilateral ODA	47,080	34,450	25,002	15,404	13,909	FCDO 88%, UKISF 6%, Other 6%
	of which Humanitarian Assistance	–	168	24	–	(38)
	Percentage of Total Net Bilateral ODA	0.45%	0.36%	0.35%	0.16%	0.14%
Guinea	UK Net Bilateral ODA	647	562	753	119	34	FCDO 100%
	of which Humanitarian Assistance	–	–	–	–	–
	Percentage of Total Net Bilateral ODA	0.01%	0.01%	0.01%	0.00%	0.00%
Guinea-Bissau	UK Net Bilateral ODA	68	88	310	27	60	UKISF 100%
	of which Humanitarian Assistance	–	–	–	–	–
	Percentage of Total Net Bilateral ODA	0.00%	0.00%	0.00%	0.00%	0.00%
Kenya	UK Net Bilateral ODA	134,334	91,958	71,993	44,931	48,355	FCDO 88%, DSIT 4%, Other 8%
	of which Humanitarian Assistance	11,783	11,700	7,201	4,104	13,390
	Percentage of Total Net Bilateral ODA	1.29%	0.96%	1.00%	0.47%	0.48%
Lesotho	UK Net Bilateral ODA	253	523	899	366	75	FCDO 64%, DSIT 36%
	of which Humanitarian Assistance	–	–	–	–	–
	Percentage of Total Net Bilateral ODA	0.00%	0.01%	0.01%	0.00%	0.00%
Liberia	UK Net Bilateral ODA	9,334	2,939	2,932	3,664	2,365	FCDO 61%, DHSC 39%
	of which Humanitarian Assistance	–	–	–	–	–
	Percentage of Total Net Bilateral ODA	0.09%	0.03%	0.04%	0.04%	0.02%
Libya	UK Net Bilateral ODA	16,427	13,282	12,789	5,229	8,236	UKISF 51%, FCDO 46%, Other 3%
	of which Humanitarian Assistance	96	26	925	–	3,150
	Percentage of Total Net Bilateral ODA	0.16%	0.14%	0.18%	0.05%	0.08%
Madagascar	UK Net Bilateral ODA	3,178	1,643	6,337	4,603	1,959	DEFRA 86%, FCDO 7%, Other 7%
	of which Humanitarian Assistance	–	–	4,800	3,000	86
	Percentage of Total Net Bilateral ODA	0.03%	0.02%	0.09%	0.05%	0.02%
Malawi	UK Net Bilateral ODA	81,104	65,713	42,298	31,726	32,203	FCDO 82%, SG 10%, Other 8%
	of which Humanitarian Assistance	7,058	4,464	1,595	1,530	3,361
	Percentage of Total Net Bilateral ODA	0.78%	0.69%	0.58%	0.33%	0.32%
Mali	UK Net Bilateral ODA	5,197	8,963	8,476	8,144	9,278	UKISF 58%, FCDO 36%, Other 6%
	of which Humanitarian Assistance	–	–	–	–	–
	Percentage of Total Net Bilateral ODA	0.05%	0.09%	0.12%	0.08%	0.09%
Mauritania	UK Net Bilateral ODA	13	(5)	526	101	6	FCDO 100%
	of which Humanitarian Assistance	–	–	–	–	–
	Percentage of Total Net Bilateral ODA	0.00%	0.00%	0.01%	0.00%	0.00%
Mauritius	UK Net Bilateral ODA	2,005	866	892	556	915	FCDO 74%, UKISF 26%
	of which Humanitarian Assistance	–	–	–	–	–
	Percentage of Total Net Bilateral ODA	0.02%	0.01%	0.01%	0.01%	0.01%
Middle Africa, regional	UK Net Bilateral ODA	9,670	8,079	7,585	9,042	8,962	BBCWS 100%
	of which Humanitarian Assistance	–	–	–	–	–
	Percentage of Total Net Bilateral ODA	0.09%	0.08%	0.10%	0.09%	0.09%
Morocco	UK Net Bilateral ODA	9,658	8,193	7,041	2,310	2,100	FCDO 82%, UKISF 19%
	of which Humanitarian Assistance	–	–	–	–	942
	Percentage of Total Net Bilateral ODA	0.09%	0.09%	0.10%	0.02%	0.02%
Mozambique	UK Net Bilateral ODA	95,583	52,852	32,493	28,998	30,990	FCDO 100%
	of which Humanitarian Assistance	36,467	8,308	3,453	3,406	4,655
	Percentage of Total Net Bilateral ODA	0.92%	0.55%	0.45%	0.30%	0.31%
Namibia	UK Net Bilateral ODA	1,125	1,351	1,449	738	287	DSIT 63%, FCDO 37%
	of which Humanitarian Assistance	–	–	–	–	–
	Percentage of Total Net Bilateral ODA	0.01%	0.01%	0.02%	0.01%	0.00%
Niger	UK Net Bilateral ODA	993	645	1,085	357	342	UKISF 81%, FCDO 19%
	of which Humanitarian Assistance	–	100	–	–	–
	Percentage of Total Net Bilateral ODA	0.01%	0.01%	0.01%	0.00%	0.00%
Nigeria	UK Net Bilateral ODA	256,835	240,577	140,146	110,113	99,745	FCDO 82%, UKISF 14%, Other 4%
	of which Humanitarian Assistance	78,277	78,058	37,714	9,167	8,376
	Percentage of Total Net Bilateral ODA	2.47%	2.52%	1.94%	1.14%	1.00%
Rwanda	UK Net Bilateral ODA	62,046	42,380	34,946	25,657	18,259	FCDO 85%, SG 7%, Other 8%
	of which Humanitarian Assistance	3,392	1,800	–	–	–
	Percentage of Total Net Bilateral ODA	0.60%	0.44%	0.48%	0.27%	0.18%
Sao Tome & Principe	UK Net Bilateral ODA	55	0	0	61	15	FCDO 100%
	of which Humanitarian Assistance	–	–	–	–	–
	Percentage of Total Net Bilateral ODA	0.00%	0.00%	0.00%	0.00%	0.00%
Senegal	UK Net Bilateral ODA	2,373	2,609	2,891	1,099	1,304	FCDO 71%, DHSC 34%
	of which Humanitarian Assistance	–	–	–	–	–
	Percentage of Total Net Bilateral ODA	0.02%	0.03%	0.04%	0.01%	0.01%
Sierra Leone	UK Net Bilateral ODA	76,314	74,088	50,048	33,382	32,876	FCDO 95%, DHSC 5%
	of which Humanitarian Assistance	(259)	–	–	–	–
	Percentage of Total Net Bilateral ODA	0.73%	0.78%	0.69%	0.35%	0.33%
Somalia	UK Net Bilateral ODA	175,871	232,457	100,696	99,762	97,559	FCDO 91%, UKISF 9%
	of which Humanitarian Assistance	62,409	63,824	39,443	68,059	53,748
	Percentage of Total Net Bilateral ODA	1.69%	2.44%	1.39%	1.03%	0.98%
South Africa	UK Net Bilateral ODA	33,246	48,065	102,251	22,961	14,514	FCDO 50%, DSIT 31%, Other 19%
	of which Humanitarian Assistance	–	–	–	500	–
	Percentage of Total Net Bilateral ODA	0.32%	0.50%	1.41%	0.24%	0.15%
South Sudan	UK Net Bilateral ODA	207,398	155,765	96,175	76,111	57,743	FCDO 100%
	of which Humanitarian Assistance	77,081	61,529	33,034	19,377	25,051
	Percentage of Total Net Bilateral ODA	1.99%	1.63%	1.33%	0.79%	0.58%
Southern Africa, regional	UK Net Bilateral ODA	–	1,561	2,058	2,774	3,391	FCDO 57%, DHSC 32%, Other 11%
	of which Humanitarian Assistance	–	–	–	–	–
	Percentage of Total Net Bilateral ODA	–	0.02%	0.03%	0.03%	0.03%
St. Helena	UK Net Bilateral ODA	39,205	45,887	38,678	39,859	45,806	FCDO 96%, UKISF 4%
	of which Humanitarian Assistance	–	–	–	–	–
	Percentage of Total Net Bilateral ODA	0.38%	0.48%	0.53%	0.41%	0.46%
Sudan	UK Net Bilateral ODA	93,229	139,241	94,213	29,724	51,355	FCDO 99%, SG 0%, Other 1%
	of which Humanitarian Assistance	55,732	52,634	20,471	12,456	35,811
	Percentage of Total Net Bilateral ODA	0.90%	1.46%	1.30%	0.31%	0.51%
Tanzania	UK Net Bilateral ODA	137,160	96,367	60,605	33,334	29,786	FCDO 94%, DSIT 5%, Other 1%
	of which Humanitarian Assistance	15,608	11,977	5,378	4,150	122
	Percentage of Total Net Bilateral ODA	1.32%	1.01%	0.84%	0.35%	0.30%
Togo	UK Net Bilateral ODA	5	–	–	12	3	DSIT 100%
	of which Humanitarian Assistance	–	–	–	–	–
	Percentage of Total Net Bilateral ODA	0.00%	–	–	0.00%	0.00%
Tunisia	UK Net Bilateral ODA	16,865	14,454	9,974	4,518	3,542	UKISF 69%, FCDO 30%, Other 1%
	of which Humanitarian Assistance	–	–	–	–	–
	Percentage of Total Net Bilateral ODA	0.16%	0.15%	0.14%	0.05%	0.04%
Uganda	UK Net Bilateral ODA	153,768	89,327	64,352	44,672	30,041	FCDO 77%, DSIT 22%, Other 1%
	of which Humanitarian Assistance	43,464	21,130	6,753	8,969	5,311
	Percentage of Total Net Bilateral ODA	1.48%	0.94%	0.89%	0.46%	0.30%
Zambia	UK Net Bilateral ODA	51,000	40,930	27,921	19,473	20,187	FCDO 91%, SG 8%, Other 1%
	of which Humanitarian Assistance	–	1,169	–	–	250
	Percentage of Total Net Bilateral ODA	0.49%	0.43%	0.39%	0.20%	0.20%
Zimbabwe	UK Net Bilateral ODA	99,005	97,808	50,968	37,813	38,335	FCDO 99%, DSIT 0%, Other 1%
	of which Humanitarian Assistance	–	24,448	4,512	1,400	2,000
	Percentage of Total Net Bilateral ODA	0.95%	1.03%	0.70%	0.39%	0.38%
Africa, regional	UK Net Bilateral ODA	395,119	345,336	270,906	232,619	176,738	FCDO 88%, DHSC 7%, Other 5%
	of which Humanitarian Assistance	1,488	10,247	4,705	2,471	7,348
	Percentage of Total Net Bilateral ODA	3.80%	3.62%	3.74%	2.41%	1.77%
Eastern Africa, regional	UK Net Bilateral ODA	5,190	12,669	22,908	13,089	26,319	FCDO 47%, DHSC 24%, Other 29%
	of which Humanitarian Assistance	–	200	566	533	2,263
	Percentage of Total Net Bilateral ODA	0.05%	0.13%	0.32%	0.14%	0.26%
North of Sahara, regional	UK Net Bilateral ODA	10,958	7,984	5,061	2,431	230	DSIT 205%
	of which Humanitarian Assistance	–	–	–	–	–
	Percentage of Total Net Bilateral ODA	0.11%	0.08%	0.07%	0.03%	0.00%
South of Sahara, regional	UK Net Bilateral ODA	156,399	137,013	56,138	49,599	55,403	FCDO 58%, DHSC 21%, Other 21%
	of which Humanitarian Assistance	65,289	61,204	9,653	21,628	23,588
	Percentage of Total Net Bilateral ODA	1.50%	1.44%	0.78%	0.51%	0.55%
Western Africa, regional	UK Net Bilateral ODA	5,378	4,635	4,439	3,458	5,388	UKISF 67%, DHSC 24%, Other 9%
	of which Humanitarian Assistance	–	–	–	1,280	–
	Percentage of Total Net Bilateral ODA	0.05%	0.05%	0.06%	0.04%	0.05%
Afghanistan	UK Net Bilateral ODA	289,773	225,552	187,213	352,512	114,924	FCDO 95%, UKISF 5%
	of which Humanitarian Assistance	69,690	52,324	136,491	336,015	77,318
	Percentage of Total Net Bilateral ODA	2.79%	2.37%	2.59%	3.66%	1.15%
Asia & Middle East
Armenia	UK Net Bilateral ODA	2,675	2,255	4,213	1,768	5,555	FCDO 85%, UKISF 15%
	of which Humanitarian Assistance	–	–	–	–	500
	Percentage of Total Net Bilateral ODA	0.03%	0.02%	0.06%	0.02%	0.06%
Azerbaijan	UK Net Bilateral ODA	2,953	1,772	2,291	1,514	2,213	UKISF 49%, FCDO 49%, Other 2%
	of which Humanitarian Assistance	–	–	–	–	500
	Percentage of Total Net Bilateral ODA	0.03%	0.02%	0.03%	0.02%	0.02%
Bangladesh	UK Net Bilateral ODA	256,296	203,360	87,196	54,673	57,894	FCDO 99%, DSIT 1%
	of which Humanitarian Assistance	124,930	87,224	29,577	23,640	28,419
	Percentage of Total Net Bilateral ODA	2.46%	2.13%	1.21%	0.57%	0.58%
Bhutan	UK Net Bilateral ODA	392	395	197	148	–
	of which Humanitarian Assistance	–	–	–	–	–
	Percentage of Total Net Bilateral ODA	0.00%	0.00%	0.00%	0.00%	–
Cambodia	UK Net Bilateral ODA	2,755	2,109	2,035	1,083	728	FCDO 87%, HMRC 13%
	of which Humanitarian Assistance	–	–	–	–	–
	Percentage of Total Net Bilateral ODA	0.03%	0.02%	0.03%	0.01%	0.01%
China (People’s Republic of)	UK Net Bilateral ODA	68,267	64,120	51,735	14,934	7,177	FCDO 86%, DSIT 14%
	of which Humanitarian Assistance	–	–	–	–	–
	Percentage of Total Net Bilateral ODA	0.66%	0.67%	0.72%	0.15%	0.07%
Georgia	UK Net Bilateral ODA	4,566	3,968	5,239	4,060	5,045	FCDO 67%, UKISF 32%, Other 1%
	of which Humanitarian Assistance	–	–	–	–	–
	Percentage of Total Net Bilateral ODA	0.04%	0.04%	0.07%	0.04%	0.05%
India	UK Net Bilateral ODA	107,514	94,881	80,194	45,728	25,526	FCDO 75%, DSIT 21%, Other 4%
	of which Humanitarian Assistance	59	–	–	–	–
	Percentage of Total Net Bilateral ODA	1.03%	1.00%	1.11%	0.47%	0.26%
Indonesia	UK Net Bilateral ODA	33,496	33,304	29,494	24,060	16,264	FCDO 56%, DSIT 26%, Other 18%
	of which Humanitarian Assistance	812	198	849	(116)	(61)
	Percentage of Total Net Bilateral ODA	0.32%	0.35%	0.41%	0.25%	0.16%
Iran	UK Net Bilateral ODA	1,566	2,877	434	286	134	FCDO 100%
	of which Humanitarian Assistance	–	2,000	–	–	–
	Percentage of Total Net Bilateral ODA	0.02%	0.03%	0.01%	0.00%	0.00%
Iraq	UK Net Bilateral ODA	77,307	46,402	50,693	19,434	22,478	UKISF 54%, FCDO 46%
	of which Humanitarian Assistance	28,287	12,086	9,285	321	–
	Percentage of Total Net Bilateral ODA	0.74%	0.49%	0.70%	0.20%	0.22%
Jordan	UK Net Bilateral ODA	131,206	81,385	62,380	41,942	27,956	FCDO 84%, UKISF 13%, Other 3%
	of which Humanitarian Assistance	34,347	27,384	16,042	12,768	7,743
	Percentage of Total Net Bilateral ODA	1.26%	0.85%	0.86%	0.44%	0.28%
Kazakhstan	UK Net Bilateral ODA	2,803	2,819	1,959	1,705	1,478	FCDO 100%
	of which Humanitarian Assistance	–	–	–	–	–
	Percentage of Total Net Bilateral ODA	0.03%	0.03%	0.03%	0.02%	0.01%
Korea (Democratic People’s Republic of)	UK Net Bilateral ODA	304	218	135	–	–
	of which Humanitarian Assistance	–	–	–	–	–
	Percentage of Total Net Bilateral ODA	0.00%	0.00%	0.00%	–	–
Kyrgyz Republic	UK Net Bilateral ODA	5,322	4,878	4,837	2,910	1,412	FCDO 100%
	of which Humanitarian Assistance	–	–	–	–	100
	Percentage of Total Net Bilateral ODA	0.05%	0.05%	0.07%	0.03%	0.01%
Lao People’s Democratic Republic	UK Net Bilateral ODA	1,138	1,527	1,094	586	109	FCDO 100%
	of which Humanitarian Assistance	–	–	–	–	–
	Percentage of Total Net Bilateral ODA	0.01%	0.02%	0.02%	0.01%	0.00%
Lebanon	UK Net Bilateral ODA	148,716	120,418	57,943	21,686	24,525	UKISF 58%, FCDO 40%, Other 2%
	of which Humanitarian Assistance	54,500	44,348	18,799	10,219	8,750
	Percentage of Total Net Bilateral ODA	1.43%	1.26%	0.80%	0.22%	0.25%
Malaysia	UK Net Bilateral ODA	11,348	10,264	10,930	4,286	3,610	FCDO 66%, DSIT 18%, Other 16%
	of which Humanitarian Assistance	–	–	–	–	–
	Percentage of Total Net Bilateral ODA	0.11%	0.11%	0.15%	0.04%	0.04%
Maldives	UK Net Bilateral ODA	635	595	1,628	1,633	1,414	UKISF 100%
	of which Humanitarian Assistance	–	–	–	–	–
	Percentage of Total Net Bilateral ODA	0.01%	0.01%	0.02%	0.02%	0.01%
Mongolia	UK Net Bilateral ODA	1,773	2,408	1,803	957	260	DSIT 100%
	of which Humanitarian Assistance	–	–	–	–	–
	Percentage of Total Net Bilateral ODA	0.02%	0.03%	0.02%	0.01%	0.00%
Myanmar	UK Net Bilateral ODA	113,030	103,257	66,288	46,785	28,162	FCDO 86%, UKISF 15%
	of which Humanitarian Assistance	32,224	29,348	21,495	11,942	5,541
	Percentage of Total Net Bilateral ODA	1.09%	1.08%	0.92%	0.49%	0.28%
Nepal	UK Net Bilateral ODA	90,053	84,261	59,299	37,241	38,354	FCDO 94%, DSIT 4%, Other 2%
	of which Humanitarian Assistance	15,527	20,701	11,982	4,045	2,879
	Percentage of Total Net Bilateral ODA	0.87%	0.88%	0.82%	0.39%	0.38%
Pakistan	UK Net Bilateral ODA	304,986	199,987	127,766	57,843	68,696	FCDO 86%, UKISF 9%, Other 5%
	of which Humanitarian Assistance	4,705	30,117	7,110	19,430	16,400
	Percentage of Total Net Bilateral ODA	2.93%	2.10%	1.77%	0.60%	0.69%
Philippines	UK Net Bilateral ODA	13,638	19,196	13,671	8,090	7,094	UKISF 38%, FCDO 21%, Other 41%
	of which Humanitarian Assistance	246	898	19	1,000	–
	Percentage of Total Net Bilateral ODA	0.13%	0.20%	0.19%	0.08%	0.07%
Sri Lanka	UK Net Bilateral ODA	8,897	9,659	8,585	4,581	7,702	UKISF 62%, FCDO 37%, Other 1%
	of which Humanitarian Assistance	–	–	–	1,840	936
	Percentage of Total Net Bilateral ODA	0.09%	0.10%	0.12%	0.05%	0.08%
Syrian Arab Republic	UK Net Bilateral ODA	222,943	181,201	91,069	63,416	109,490	FCDO 84%, UKISF 15%, Other 1%
	of which Humanitarian Assistance	194,462	148,013	56,930	32,824	72,341
	Percentage of Total Net Bilateral ODA	2.14%	1.90%	1.26%	0.66%	1.09%
Tajikistan	UK Net Bilateral ODA	2,677	4,462	2,852	1,199	347	FCDO 100%
	of which Humanitarian Assistance	–	–	1,000	–	–
	Percentage of Total Net Bilateral ODA	0.03%	0.05%	0.04%	0.01%	0.00%
Thailand	UK Net Bilateral ODA	13,903	11,496	9,465	3,392	3,332	FCDO 84%, DSIT 14%, Other 2%
	of which Humanitarian Assistance	–	–	–	–	–
	Percentage of Total Net Bilateral ODA	0.13%	0.12%	0.13%	0.04%	0.03%
Timor-Leste	UK Net Bilateral ODA	282	173	159	37	70	FCDO 100%
	of which Humanitarian Assistance	–	–	–	–	–
	Percentage of Total Net Bilateral ODA	0.00%	0.00%	0.00%	0.00%	0.00%
Turkmenistan	UK Net Bilateral ODA	608	548	369	161	158	FCDO 100%
	of which Humanitarian Assistance	–	–	–	–	–
	Percentage of Total Net Bilateral ODA	0.01%	0.01%	0.01%	0.00%	0.00%
Uzbekistan	UK Net Bilateral ODA	4,945	3,288	2,448	1,562	1,460	FCDO 97%, UKISF 3%
	of which Humanitarian Assistance	–	–	–	–	–
	Percentage of Total Net Bilateral ODA	0.05%	0.03%	0.03%	0.02%	0.01%
Vietnam	UK Net Bilateral ODA	11,677	7,831	10,542	6,682	7,724	FCDO 51%, DSIT 24%, Other 25%
	of which Humanitarian Assistance	–	–	–	–	–
	Percentage of Total Net Bilateral ODA	0.11%	0.08%	0.15%	0.07%	0.08%
West Bank & Gaza Strip	UK Net Bilateral ODA	80,726	51,852	41,310	22,524	42,234	FCDO 83%, UKISF 16%, Other 1%
	of which Humanitarian Assistance	16,245	1,800	7,720	18	23,700
	Percentage of Total Net Bilateral ODA	0.78%	0.54%	0.57%	0.23%	0.42%
Yemen	UK Net Bilateral ODA	260,424	221,108	114,414	77,350	100,510	FCDO 96%, UKISF 4%
	of which Humanitarian Assistance	219,246	158,678	79,895	46,601	61,187
	Percentage of Total Net Bilateral ODA	2.50%	2.32%	1.58%	0.80%	1.00%
Asia, regional	UK Net Bilateral ODA	127,380	101,717	83,277	39,270	64,183	FCDO 69%, BBCWS 14%, Other 17%
	of which Humanitarian Assistance	248	4,385	764	2,012	4,134
	Percentage of Total Net Bilateral ODA	1.22%	1.07%	1.15%	0.41%	0.64%
Central Asia, regional	UK Net Bilateral ODA	4,871	2,098	1,643	2,106	2,035	UKISF 98%, DSIT 1%, Other 1%
	of which Humanitarian Assistance	–	–	–	–	–
	Percentage of Total Net Bilateral ODA	0.05%	0.02%	0.02%	0.02%	0.02%
Far East Asia, regional	UK Net Bilateral ODA	2,987	3,766	4,401	11,891	1,710	FCDO 71%, DHSC 23%, Other 6%
	of which Humanitarian Assistance	–	198	50	–	(59)
	Percentage of Total Net Bilateral ODA	0.03%	0.04%	0.06%	0.12%	0.02%
Middle East, regional	UK Net Bilateral ODA	38,894	25,763	24,538	53,100	36,884	FCDO 82%, BBCWS 14%, Other 4%
	of which Humanitarian Assistance	816	432	404	335	654
	Percentage of Total Net Bilateral ODA	0.37%	0.27%	0.34%	0.55%	0.37%
South & Central Asia, regional	UK Net Bilateral ODA	891	5,399	4,069	2,841	2,769	DHSC 100%
	of which Humanitarian Assistance	104	–	–	–	–
	Percentage of Total Net Bilateral ODA	0.01%	0.06%	0.06%	0.03%	0.03%
South Asia, regional	UK Net Bilateral ODA	13,481	31,267	14,126	14,424	22,375	FCDO 68%, DSIT 16%, Other 16%
	of which Humanitarian Assistance	–	–	–	–	–
	Percentage of Total Net Bilateral ODA	0.13%	0.33%	0.20%	0.15%	0.22%
Albania	UK Net Bilateral ODA	2,759	1,348	3,504	2,211	4,633	UKISF 84%, FCDO 16%
	of which Humanitarian Assistance	–	–	977	23	–
	Percentage of Total Net Bilateral ODA	0.03%	0.01%	0.05%	0.02%	0.05%
Rest of the World
Antigua and Barbuda	UK Net Bilateral ODA	253	196	91	–	–
	of which Humanitarian Assistance	–	–	–	–	–
	Percentage of Total Net Bilateral ODA	0.00%	0.00%	0.00%	–	–
Argentina	UK Net Bilateral ODA	4,414	3,639	3,308	1,645	654	FCDO 100%
	of which Humanitarian Assistance	–	–	–	–	–
	Percentage of Total Net Bilateral ODA	0.04%	0.04%	0.05%	0.02%	0.01%
Belarus	UK Net Bilateral ODA	1,996	1,535	2,635	1,196	193	FCDO 100%
	of which Humanitarian Assistance	–	–	–	–	–
	Percentage of Total Net Bilateral ODA	0.02%	0.02%	0.04%	0.01%	0.00%
Belize	UK Net Bilateral ODA	1,694	1,559	1,151	237	60	FCDO 100%
	of which Humanitarian Assistance	–	–	–	–	60
	Percentage of Total Net Bilateral ODA	0.02%	0.02%	0.02%	0.00%	0.00%
Bolivia	UK Net Bilateral ODA	1,573	1,501	1,503	817	17	DSIT 100%
	of which Humanitarian Assistance	–	–	–	–	–
	Percentage of Total Net Bilateral ODA	0.02%	0.02%	0.02%	0.01%	0.00%
Bosnia and Herzegovina	UK Net Bilateral ODA	6,640	4,220	4,794	3,758	2,995	FCDO 95%, UKISF 5%
	of which Humanitarian Assistance	–	–	–	–	–
	Percentage of Total Net Bilateral ODA	0.06%	0.04%	0.07%	0.04%	0.03%
Brazil	UK Net Bilateral ODA	34,134	33,923	28,247	14,556	62,388	DESNZ 87%, FCDO 6%, Other 7%
	of which Humanitarian Assistance	–	–	–	–	–
	Percentage of Total Net Bilateral ODA	0.33%	0.36%	0.39%	0.15%	0.62%
Colombia	UK Net Bilateral ODA	49,589	73,442	42,215	51,011	6,519	UKISF 46%, FCDO 40%, Other 14%
	of which Humanitarian Assistance	8,245	–	–	–	–
	Percentage of Total Net Bilateral ODA	0.48%	0.77%	0.58%	0.53%	0.07%
Costa Rica	UK Net Bilateral ODA	1,179	697	822	336	–
	of which Humanitarian Assistance	–	–	–	–	–
	Percentage of Total Net Bilateral ODA	0.01%	0.01%	0.01%	0.00%	–
Cuba	UK Net Bilateral ODA	2,090	1,837	1,476	561	451	FCDO 100%
	of which Humanitarian Assistance	–	–	–	–	–
	Percentage of Total Net Bilateral ODA	0.02%	0.02%	0.02%	0.01%	0.00%
Dominica	UK Net Bilateral ODA	1,060	981	711	783	192	FCDO 100%
	of which Humanitarian Assistance	85	–	–	–	–
	Percentage of Total Net Bilateral ODA	0.01%	0.01%	0.01%	0.01%	0.00%
Dominican Republic	UK Net Bilateral ODA	526	542	881	404	–
	of which Humanitarian Assistance	–	–	–	–	–
	Percentage of Total Net Bilateral ODA	0.01%	0.01%	0.01%	0.00%	–
Ecuador	UK Net Bilateral ODA	1,068	1,269	1,058	906	480	UKISF 67%, DSIT 33%
	of which Humanitarian Assistance	–	–	–	–	–
	Percentage of Total Net Bilateral ODA	0.01%	0.01%	0.01%	0.01%	0.00%
El Salvador	UK Net Bilateral ODA	868	706	700	60	–
	of which Humanitarian Assistance	–	–	–	–	–
	Percentage of Total Net Bilateral ODA	0.01%	0.01%	0.01%	0.00%	–
Fiji	UK Net Bilateral ODA	3,431	2,761	1,284	772	99	UKISF 101%
	of which Humanitarian Assistance	–	–	–	–	–
	Percentage of Total Net Bilateral ODA	0.03%	0.03%	0.02%	0.01%	0.00%
Grenada	UK Net Bilateral ODA	118	52	93	184	(51)	DSIT 100%
	of which Humanitarian Assistance	–	–	–	–	–
	Percentage of Total Net Bilateral ODA	0.00%	0.00%	0.00%	0.00%	0.00%
Guatemala	UK Net Bilateral ODA	1,224	878	1,764	1,283	970	DSIT 100%
	of which Humanitarian Assistance	–	–	–	–	–
	Percentage of Total Net Bilateral ODA	0.01%	0.01%	0.02%	0.01%	0.01%
Guyana	UK Net Bilateral ODA	2,009	1,678	1,448	164	–
	of which Humanitarian Assistance	–	–	–	–	–
	Percentage of Total Net Bilateral ODA	0.02%	0.02%	0.02%	0.00%	–
Haiti	UK Net Bilateral ODA	439	194	983	276	24	FCDO 100%
	of which Humanitarian Assistance	–	–	485	203	24
	Percentage of Total Net Bilateral ODA	0.00%	0.00%	0.01%	0.00%	0.00%
Honduras	UK Net Bilateral ODA	328	271	282	141	18	DSIT 100%
	of which Humanitarian Assistance	–	–	–	–	–
	Percentage of Total Net Bilateral ODA	0.00%	0.00%	0.00%	0.00%	0.00%
Jamaica	UK Net Bilateral ODA	9,756	8,587	6,134	3,958	3,449	FCDO 94%, UKISF 6%
	of which Humanitarian Assistance	12	–	–	–	–
	Percentage of Total Net Bilateral ODA	0.09%	0.09%	0.08%	0.04%	0.03%
Kiribati	UK Net Bilateral ODA	31	25	7	–	1,018	DEFRA 100%
	of which Humanitarian Assistance	–	–	–	–	–
	Percentage of Total Net Bilateral ODA	0.00%	0.00%	0.00%	–	0.01%
Kosovo	UK Net Bilateral ODA	6,650	7,154	5,351	3,093	711	FCDO 192%
	of which Humanitarian Assistance	–	–	–	–	–
	Percentage of Total Net Bilateral ODA	0.06%	0.08%	0.07%	0.03%	0.01%
Marshall Islands	UK Net Bilateral ODA	83	0	–	–	–
	of which Humanitarian Assistance	–	–	–	–	–
	Percentage of Total Net Bilateral ODA	0.00%	0.00%	–	–	–
Mexico	UK Net Bilateral ODA	24,320	34,964	20,364	6,714	4,359	FCDO 93%, DSIT 7%
	of which Humanitarian Assistance	–	–	–	–	–
	Percentage of Total Net Bilateral ODA	0.23%	0.37%	0.28%	0.07%	0.04%
Micronesia	UK Net Bilateral ODA	141	93	–	–	–
	of which Humanitarian Assistance	–	–	–	–	–
	Percentage of Total Net Bilateral ODA	0.00%	0.00%	–	–	–
Moldova	UK Net Bilateral ODA	846	1,287	2,267	1,456	15,871	FCDO 94%, UKISF 6%
	of which Humanitarian Assistance	–	–	–	–	810
	Percentage of Total Net Bilateral ODA	0.01%	0.01%	0.03%	0.02%	0.16%
Montenegro	UK Net Bilateral ODA	3,810	1,491	1,898	306	953	UKISF 100%
	of which Humanitarian Assistance	–	–	–	–	–
	Percentage of Total Net Bilateral ODA	0.04%	0.02%	0.03%	0.00%	0.01%
Montserrat	UK Net Bilateral ODA	24,847	33,993	27,146	32,578	35,542	FCDO 96%, UKISF 4%
	of which Humanitarian Assistance	–	–	–	–	–
	Percentage of Total Net Bilateral ODA	0.24%	0.36%	0.38%	0.34%	0.36%
Nauru	UK Net Bilateral ODA	–	–	–	28	–
	of which Humanitarian Assistance	–	–	–	–	–
	Percentage of Total Net Bilateral ODA	–	–	–	0.00%	–
Nicaragua	UK Net Bilateral ODA	329	326	415	394	100	FCDO 100%
	of which Humanitarian Assistance	–	–	–	–	–
	Percentage of Total Net Bilateral ODA	0.00%	0.00%	0.01%	0.00%	0.00%
North Macedonia	UK Net Bilateral ODA	4,168	2,655	4,059	2,333	3,714	UKISF 69%, FCDO 31%
	of which Humanitarian Assistance	–	–	–	–	–
	Percentage of Total Net Bilateral ODA	0.04%	0.03%	0.06%	0.02%	0.04%
Panama	UK Net Bilateral ODA	1,698	1,398	867	685	223	UKISF 89%, FCDO 11%
	of which Humanitarian Assistance	–	–	–	–	–
	Percentage of Total Net Bilateral ODA	0.02%	0.01%	0.01%	0.01%	0.00%
Papua New Guinea	UK Net Bilateral ODA	1,443	1,246	1,196	571	890	UKISF 92%, FCDO 8%
	of which Humanitarian Assistance	–	–	–	–	–
	Percentage of Total Net Bilateral ODA	0.01%	0.01%	0.02%	0.01%	0.01%
Paraguay	UK Net Bilateral ODA	582	752	827	466	(2)	FCDO 100%
	of which Humanitarian Assistance	–	–	–	–	–
	Percentage of Total Net Bilateral ODA	0.01%	0.01%	0.01%	0.00%	0.00%
Peru	UK Net Bilateral ODA	10,204	8,021	7,939	1,885	773	FCDO 100%
	of which Humanitarian Assistance	–	–	538	–	–
	Percentage of Total Net Bilateral ODA	0.10%	0.08%	0.11%	0.02%	0.01%
Polynesia, regional	UK Net Bilateral ODA	–	–	–	–	14	FCDO 100%
	of which Humanitarian Assistance	–	–	–	–	–
	Percentage of Total Net Bilateral ODA	–	–	–	–	0.00%
Saint Lucia	UK Net Bilateral ODA	563	395	305	114	–
	of which Humanitarian Assistance	–	–	–	–	–
	Percentage of Total Net Bilateral ODA	0.01%	0.00%	0.00%	0.00%	–
Saint Vincent & Grenadines	UK Net Bilateral ODA	84	60	818	161	–
	of which Humanitarian Assistance	–	–	550	–	–
	Percentage of Total Net Bilateral ODA	0.00%	0.00%	0.01%	0.00%	–
Samoa	UK Net Bilateral ODA	1,870	75	660	78	–
	of which Humanitarian Assistance	–	–	–	–	–
	Percentage of Total Net Bilateral ODA	0.02%	0.00%	0.01%	0.00%	–
Serbia	UK Net Bilateral ODA	3,412	2,761	2,968	1,019	2,023	FCDO 98%, UKISF 2%
	of which Humanitarian Assistance	–	–	–	–	–
	Percentage of Total Net Bilateral ODA	0.03%	0.03%	0.04%	0.01%	0.02%
Solomon Islands	UK Net Bilateral ODA	796	898	599	544	572	UKISF 100%
	of which Humanitarian Assistance	–	–	–	–	–
	Percentage of Total Net Bilateral ODA	0.01%	0.01%	0.01%	0.01%	0.01%
States Ex-Yugoslavia unspecified	UK Net Bilateral ODA	(2,349)	170	77	1,592	–
	of which Humanitarian Assistance	–	–	–	–	–
	Percentage of Total Net Bilateral ODA	(0.02)%	0.00%	0.00%	0.02%	–
Suriname	UK Net Bilateral ODA	64	39	5	–	–
	of which Humanitarian Assistance	–	–	–	–	–
	Percentage of Total Net Bilateral ODA	0.00%	0.00%	0.00%	–	–
Tonga	UK Net Bilateral ODA	72	26	138	119	53	FCDO 100%
	of which Humanitarian Assistance	–	–	–	–	–
	Percentage of Total Net Bilateral ODA	0.00%	0.00%	0.00%	0.00%	0.00%
Turkey	UK Net Bilateral ODA	56,146	52,166	37,872	30,044	36,871	FCDO 92%, UKISF 8%
	of which Humanitarian Assistance	3,516	–	–	–	13,256
	Percentage of Total Net Bilateral ODA	0.54%	0.55%	0.52%	0.31%	0.37%
Tuvalu	UK Net Bilateral ODA	48	13	18	11	–
	of which Humanitarian Assistance	–	–	–	–	–
	Percentage of Total Net Bilateral ODA	0.00%	0.00%	0.00%	0.00%	–
Ukraine	UK Net Bilateral ODA	28,637	25,385	31,210	341,838	249,869	FCDO 77%, UKISF 17%, Other 6%
	of which Humanitarian Assistance	5,797	4,266	656	198,950	139,147
	Percentage of Total Net Bilateral ODA	0.28%	0.27%	0.43%	3.55%	2.50%
Vanuatu	UK Net Bilateral ODA	1,449	74	689	(49)	402	UKISF 100%
	of which Humanitarian Assistance	–	–	–	–	–
	Percentage of Total Net Bilateral ODA	0.01%	0.00%	0.01%	0.00%	0.00%
Venezuela	UK Net Bilateral ODA	8,732	20,555	2,525	1,040	914	FCDO 65%, UKISF 35%
	of which Humanitarian Assistance	6,300	18,600	110	–	–
	Percentage of Total Net Bilateral ODA	0.08%	0.22%	0.03%	0.01%	0.01%
America, regional	UK Net Bilateral ODA	6,670	8,478	7,450	6,653	27,503	DESNZ 72%, FCDO 24%, Other 4%
	of which Humanitarian Assistance	–	–	–	–	–
	Percentage of Total Net Bilateral ODA	0.06%	0.09%	0.10%	0.07%	0.27%
Caribbean & Central America, regional	UK Net Bilateral ODA	4,359	1,669	1,078	–	(103)	DSIT 100%
	of which Humanitarian Assistance	3,439	350	1,005	–	–
	Percentage of Total Net Bilateral ODA	0.04%	0.02%	0.01%	–	0.00%
Caribbean, regional (Note 3)	UK Net Bilateral ODA	28,084	18,155	16,343	35,518	38,877	FCDO 100%
	of which Humanitarian Assistance	212	73	363	1,158	12,750
	Percentage of Total Net Bilateral ODA	0.27%	0.19%	0.23%	0.37%	0.39%
Central America, regional	UK Net Bilateral ODA	2,835	855	487	76	780	UKISF 95%, FCDO 5%
	of which Humanitarian Assistance	–	–	–	–	–
	Percentage of Total Net Bilateral ODA	0.03%	0.01%	0.01%	0.00%	0.01%
Europe, regional	UK Net Bilateral ODA	74,880	65,661	57,286	63,210	35,076	UKISF 79%, FCDO 18%, Other 3%
	of which Humanitarian Assistance	5,878	975	–	–	–
	Percentage of Total Net Bilateral ODA	0.72%	0.69%	0.79%	0.66%	0.35%
Melanesia, regional	UK Net Bilateral ODA	1,078	4,688	860	516	78	FCDO 80%, DSIT 20%
	of which Humanitarian Assistance	–	–	–	–	–
	Percentage of Total Net Bilateral ODA	0.01%	0.05%	0.01%	0.01%	0.00%
Oceania, regional	UK Net Bilateral ODA	5,838	9,242	4,256	7,175	5,254	FCDO 86%, UKISF 14%
	of which Humanitarian Assistance	–	–	–	–	–
	Percentage of Total Net Bilateral ODA	0.06%	0.10%	0.06%	0.07%	0.05%
South America, regional	UK Net Bilateral ODA	17,958	10,624	16,291	23,957	13,195	FCDO 31%, DHSC 18%, Other 51%
	of which Humanitarian Assistance	–	(47.17)%	–	–	–
	Percentage of Total Net Bilateral ODA	0.17%	0.11%	0.23%	0.25%	0.13%
Total Africa	UK Net Bilateral ODA	2,977,046	2,606,742	1,721,731	1,221,008	1,222,902	FCDO 86%, UKISF 5%, Other 9%
	Percentage of Total Net Bilateral ODA	28.62%	27.35%	23.80%	12.67%	12.22%
	Percentage of Gross National Income	0.13%	0.13%	0.08%	0.05%	0.05%
Total Asia	UK Net Bilateral ODA	2,468,096	1,323,934	1,323,934	1,050,398	863,992	FCDO 82%, UKISF 11%, Other 7%
	Percentage of Total Net Bilateral ODA	23.72%	13.89%	18.30%	10.90%	8.64%
	Percentage of Gross National Income	0.11%	0.06%	0.06%	0.04%	0.04%
Rest of the World	UK Net Bilateral ODA	447,523	457,211	359,359	649,385	558,618	FCDO 65%, UKISF 17%, Other 18%
	Percentage of Total Net Bilateral ODA	4.30%	4.80%	4.97%	6.74%	5.58%
	Percentage of Gross National Income	0.02%	0.02%	0.02%	0.03%	0.02%
Unspecified Region	UK Net Bilateral ODA	4,510,673	4,493,776	3,828,885	6,718,886	7,358,419	HO 40%, FCDO 29%, Other 31%
	Percentage of Total Net Bilateral ODA	43.36%	47.15%	52.93%	69.70%	73.56%
	Percentage of Gross National Income	0.20%	0.22%	0.17%	0.27%	0.25%
Total UK Net Bilateral ODA	UK Net Bilateral ODA	10,403,338	9,531,563	7,233,908	9,639,677	10,003,931	FCDO 43%, HO 30%, Other 27%
	Percentage of Total Net Bilateral ODA	100.00%	100.00%	100.00%	100.00%	100.00%
	Percentage of Gross National Income	0.47%	0.46%	0.32%	0.38%	0.38%
Low Income Countries	UK Net Bilateral ODA	2,802,333	2,389,750	1,424,993	1,240,705	1,105,241	FCDO 92%, UKISF 4%, Other 4%
	Percentage of Total Net Bilateral ODA	26.94%	25.07%	19.70%	12.87%	11.05%
	Percentage of Gross National Income	0.13%	0.12%	0.06%	0.05%	0.05%
Total UK Net Multilateral ODA	UK Net Multilateral ODA	4,772,317	4,945,381	4,188,720	3,146,008	5,340,042	FCDO 98%, UKISF 1%, Other 1%
	Percentage of Gross National Income	0.21%	0.24%	0.18%	0.13%	0.20%

Note 1: ODA can be negative due to returns from ODA eligible investments or from projects and programmes. This can result in percentage shares being more than 100%.

Note 2: Figures may not sum to totals due to rounding.

Note 3: The DAC replaced ‘West Indies, regional’ with the ‘Caribbean, regional’ in 2021.

Table B.3: Largest spending department of UK net ODA by recipient country (Note 1, Note 2)

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office is the majority spending department in the following countries:

Country	FCDO Net ODA Spend in 2023 £ thousand	Total UK Net ODA Spend in 2023 (£ thousand)	Percentage of Total ODA by dept (£ thousand)
Afghanistan	108,615	114,924	FCDO 95%, UKISF 5%
Africa, regional	155,578	176,738	FCDO 88%, DHSC 7%, Other 5%
Algeria	562	553	FCDO 102%
Angola	109	186	FCDO 59%, DSIT 41%
Argentina	653	654	FCDO 100%
Armenia	4,735	5,555	FCDO 85%, UKISF 15%
Asia, regional	44,093	64,183	FCDO 69%, BBC World Service 14%, Other 17%
Bangladesh	57,429	57,894	FCDO 99%, DSIT 1%
Belarus	193	193	FCDO 100%
Belize	60	60	FCDO 100%
Bosnia and Herzegovina	2,843	2,995	FCDO 95%, UKISF 5%
Botswana	300	308	FCDO 97%, UKISF 3%
Burundi	19	19	FCDO 100%
Cambodia	635	728	FCDO 87%, HM Revenue and Customs 13%
Cameroon	2,069	2,059	FCDO 100%
Cape Verde	30	30	FCDO 100%
Caribbean, regional	38,882	38,877	FCDO 100%
Central African Republic	6,828	6,828	FCDO 100%
Chad	2,910	2,910	FCDO 100%
China (People’s Republic of)	6,178	7,177	FCDO 86%, DSIT 14%
Cote d’Ivoire	3,573	3,731	FCDO 96%, DSIT 4%
Cuba	451	451	FCDO 100%
Democratic Republic of the Congo	40,180	40,175	FCDO 100%
Dominica	192	192	FCDO 100%
Eastern Africa, regional	12,385	26,319	FCDO 47%, DHSC 24%, Other 29%
Egypt	9,172	10,505	FCDO 87%, UKISF 12%, Other 1%
Equatorial Guinea	21	21	FCDO 100%
Eritrea	874	874	FCDO 100%
Eswatini	133	133	FCDO 100%
Ethiopia	171,310	173,398	FCDO 99%, UKISF 1%
Far East Asia, regional	1,211	1,710	FCDO 71%, DHSC 23%, Other 6%
Georgia	3,391	5,045	FCDO 67%, UKISF 32%, Other 1%
Ghana	12,273	13,909	FCDO 88%, UKISF 6%, Other 6%
Guinea	34	34	FCDO 100%
Haiti	24	24	FCDO 100%
India	19,235	25,526	FCDO 75%, DSIT 21%, Other 4%
Indonesia	9,104	16,264	FCDO 56%, DSIT 26%, Other 18%
Iran	134	134	FCDO 100%
Jamaica	3,225	3,449	FCDO 94%, UKISF 6%
Jordan	23,595	27,956	FCDO 84%, UKISF 13%, Other 3%
Kazakhstan	1,478	1,478	FCDO 100%
Kenya	42,690	48,355	FCDO 88%, DSIT 4%, Other 8%
Kosovo	1,364	711	FCDO 192%
Kyrgyz Republic	1,413	1,412	FCDO 100%
Lao People’s Democratic Republic	109	109	FCDO 100%
Lesotho	48	75	FCDO 64%, DSIT 36%
Liberia	1,447	2,365	FCDO 61%, DHSC 39%
Malawi	26,418	32,203	FCDO 82%, SG 10%, Other 8%
Malaysia	2,385	3,610	FCDO 66%, DSIT 18%, Other 16%
Mauritania	6	6	FCDO 100%
Mauritius	673	915	FCDO 74%, UKISF 26%
Melanesia, regional	63	78	FCDO 80%, DSIT 20%
Mexico	4,073	4,359	FCDO 93%, DSIT 7%
Middle East, regional	30,103	36,884	FCDO 82%, BBC World Service 14%, Other 4%
Moldova	14,957	15,871	FCDO 94%, UKISF 6%
Montserrat	33,993	35,542	FCDO 96%, UKISF 4%
Morocco	1,712	2,100	FCDO 82%, UKISF 19%, Other (1)%
Mozambique	30,883	30,990	FCDO 100%
Myanmar	24,102	28,162	FCDO 86%, UKISF 15%, Other (1)%
Nepal	36,128	38,354	FCDO 94%, DSIT 4%, Other 2%
Nicaragua	100	100	FCDO 100%
Nigeria	82,090	99,745	FCDO 82%, UKISF 14%, Other 4%
Oceania, regional	4,539	5,254	FCDO 86%, UKISF 14%
Pakistan	58,828	68,696	FCDO 86%, UKISF 9%, Other 5%
Paraguay	(2)	(2)	FCDO 100%
Peru	774	773	FCDO 100%
Polynesia, regional	14	14	FCDO 100%
Rwanda	15,597	18,259	FCDO 85%, SG 7%, Other 8%
Sao Tome & Principe	15	15	FCDO 100%
Senegal	925	1,304	FCDO 71%, DHSC 34%, Other (5)%
Serbia	1,973	2,023	FCDO 98%, UKISF 2%
Sierra Leone	31,237	32,876	FCDO 95%, DHSC 5%
Somalia	88,369	97,559	FCDO 91%, UKISF 9%
South Africa	7,273	14,514	FCDO 50%, DSIT 31%, Other 19%
South America, regional	4,083	13,195	FCDO 31%, DHSC 18%, Other 51%
South Asia, regional	15,205	22,375	FCDO 68%, DSIT 16%, Other 16%
South Sudan	57,903	57,743	FCDO 100%
South of Sahara, regional	32,012	55,403	FCDO 58%, DHSC 21%, Other 21%
Southern Africa, regional	1,931	3,391	FCDO 57%, DHSC 32%, Other 11%
St. Helena	43,924	45,806	FCDO 96%, UKISF 4%
Sudan	50,930	51,355	FCDO 99%, SG 0%, Other 1%
Syrian Arab Republic	91,708	109,490	FCDO 84%, UKISF 15%, Other 1%
Tajikistan	347	347	FCDO 100%
Tanzania	28,078	29,786	FCDO 94%, DSIT 5%, Other 1%
Thailand	2,800	3,332	FCDO 84%, DSIT 14%, Other 2%
Timor-Leste	70	70	FCDO 100%
Tonga	53	53	FCDO 100%
Turkey	33,961	36,871	FCDO 92%, UKISF 8%
Turkmenistan	158	158	FCDO 100%
Uganda	23,008	30,041	FCDO 77%, DSIT 22%, Other 1%
Ukraine	193,102	249,967	FCDO 77%, UKISF 17%, Other 6%
Uzbekistan	1,410	1,460	FCDO 97%, UKISF 3%
Venezuela	596	914	FCDO 65%, UKISF 35%
Vietnam	3,918	7,724	FCDO 51%, DSIT 24%, Other 25%
West Bank & Gaza Strip	34,868	42,234	FCDO 83%, UKISF 16%, Other 1%
Yemen	96,166	100,510	FCDO 96%, UKISF 4%
Zambia	18,311	20,187	FCDO 91%, SG 8%, Other 1%
Zimbabwe	38,066	38,335	FCDO 99%, DSIT 0%, Other 1%

The UK Integrated Security Fund is the majority spending department in the following countries:

Country	UKISF Net ODA Spend in 2023 £ thousand	Total UK Net ODA Spend in 2023 £ thousand	Percentage of Total ODA by dept £ thousand
Albania	3,901	4,633	UKISF 84%, FCDO 16%
Azerbaijan	1,089	2,213	UKISF 49%, FCDO 49%, Other 2%
Central America, regional	740	780	UKISF 95%, FCDO 5%
Central Asia, regional	1,994	2,035	UKISF 98%, DSIT 1%, Other 1%
Colombia	2,993	6,519	UKISF 46%, FCDO 40%, Other 14%
Ecuador	323	480	UKISF 67%, DSIT 33%
Europe, regional	27,541	35,076	UKISF 79%, FCDO 18%, Other 3%
Fiji	100	99	UKISF 101%
Guinea-Bissau	60	60	UKISF 100%
Iraq	12,175	22,478	UKISF 54%, FCDO 46%
Lebanon	14,220	24,525	UKISF 58%, FCDO 40%, Other 2%
Libya	4,161	8,236	UKISF 51%, FCDO 46%, Other 3%
Maldives	1,414	1,414	UKISF 100%
Mali	5,426	9,278	UKISF 58%, FCDO 36%, Other 6%
Montenegro	953	953	UKISF 100%
Niger	277	342	UKISF 81%, FCDO 19%
North Macedonia	2,577	3,714	UKISF 69%, FCDO 31%
Panama	198	223	UKISF 89%, FCDO 11%
Papua New Guinea	822	890	UKISF 92%, FCDO 8%
Philippines	2,696	7,094	UKISF 38%, FCDO 21%, Other 41%
Solomon Islands	572	572	UKISF 100%
Sri Lanka	4,741	7,702	UKISF 62%, FCDO 37%, Other 1%
Tunisia	2,438	3,542	UKISF 69%, FCDO 30%, Other 1%
Vanuatu	402	402	UKISF 100%
Western Africa, regional	3,603	5,388	UKISF 67%, DHSC 24%, Other 9%

The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero is the majority spending department in the following countries:

Country	DESNZ Net ODA Spend in 2023 (£ thousand)	Total UK Net ODA Spend in 2023 £ thousand	Percentage of Total ODA by dept £ thousand
America, regional	19,745	27,503	DESNZ 72%, FCDO 24%, Other 4%
Brazil	54,050	62,388	DESNZ 87%, FCDO 6%, Other 7%

Note 1: Net ODA is calculated as amounts extended minus amounts received. For some countries, the amount returned to a Department was more than the amount that was extended in that year, meaning that Net ODA was negative. Therefore, some Departments’ Net ODA spend is greater than total UK Net ODA for a particular country, leading to a percentage greater than 100%.

Note 2: Figures may not add up to 100% due to rounding.

Table B.4: UK Gross Bilateral ODA by Sector

Sector Description	2019 £ thousand	2020 £ thousand	2021 £ thousand	2022 £ thousand	2023 £ thousand
Social Infrastructure & Services:
Education	796,800	548,655	459,751	357,948	344,721
Health	1,028,970	1,296,410	794,400	752,453	523,961
Population policies/programmes and reproductive health	433,877	304,903	199,977	221,717	249,117
Water supply and sanitation	177,522	111,094	78,997	51,183	38,646
Government & Civil Society	1,322,996	1,048,725	799,320	765,297	667,180
Other social infrastructure and services	248,824	259,458	153,867	97,334	129,877
Economic Infrastructure & Services:
Transport and storage	70,547	69,331	52,410	69,755	27,742
Communications	5,909	46,698	32,395	29,145	22,813
Energy	386,051	215,317	358,845	307,659	249,094
Banking and financial services	823,275	565,964	452,090	266,038	89,783
Business and other services	87,116	45,569	38,816	12,145	42,042
Production sectors:
Agriculture, forestry and fishing	372,144	271,529	197,476	196,909	301,073
Industry, mining and construction	442,299	334,226	244,234	113,245	143,790
Trade policies and regulations	90,799	75,609	60,782	22,408	29,652
Tourism	845	1,095	499	130	3
Multi sector/cross cutting:
General environmental protection	344,219	248,847	223,074	341,677	348,321
Other multisector	731,095	611,974	387,688	316,303	297,241
Non Sector Allocable:
General budget support	–	–	–	–	57,262
Developmental food aid/food security assistance	71,013	65,324	19,282	61,729	62,427
Action relating to debt	–	194,386	–	147	–
Humanitarian Assistance	1,539,587	1,531,078	746,865	1,112,386	884,429
Administrative costs of donors	761,210	786,535	741,256	678,348	705,424
Support to non-governmental organisations (Note 1)	324,967	305,506	208,502	202,842	222,156
Refugees in Donor Countries	477,390	627,815	1,052,240	3,690,427	4,273,431
Non Sector Allocable (Note 2)	39,768	86,823	42,019	90,619	46,051
Total UK Gross Bilateral ODA	10,577,223	9,652,871	7,344,785	9,757,844	9,756,233

Note 1: This category is limited to spend with NGOs where there are crosscutting activities in a programme or no sectors to allocate (e.g. unearmarked contributions).

Note 2: Excludes spend through NGOs.

Table B.5: Imputed UK share of Multilateral Net ODA by country, 2019-2023 (Note 1)

Country	2019 £ thousand	2020 £ thousand	2021 £ thousand	2022 £ thousand	2023 £ thousand
North Africa
Algeria	5,960	7,601	3,335	2,788	3,145
Egypt	12,200	13,673	27,208	10,658	7,072
Libya	11,868	5,975	5,645	3,329	4,089
Morocco	18,524	43,406	24,036	7,371	10,716
Tunisia	19,520	28,371	17,935	14,323	7,667
North of Sahara, regional	4,027	12,790	5,280	1,148	972
Sub-Saharan Africa
Angola	18,027	8,309	15,064	6,599	8,289
Benin	28,629	36,468	20,531	18,933	45,584
Botswana	2,655	1,837	11,685	3,478	3,441
Burkina Faso	66,255	60,412	44,598	32,241	67,148
Burundi	34,564	25,185	24,580	21,149	24,347
Cabo Verde	8,877	6,224	5,347	2,901	6,743
Cameroon	54,317	39,975	37,656	30,337	46,524
Central African Republic	42,675	36,630	25,365	27,307	40,498
Chad	34,589	41,760	26,145	20,267	38,980
Comoros	5,876	4,894	3,640	3,917	7,777
Congo	10,079	7,803	13,961	13,388	14,703
Côte d’Ivoire	44,242	52,469	42,589	27,550	92,976
Democratic Republic of the Congo	144,461	141,873	140,131	98,785	215,867
Djibouti	14,834	9,162	6,849	6,571	8,244
Equatorial Guinea	504	533	1,162	569	654
Eritrea	5,926	4,138	1,894	3,947	8,789
Eswatini	4,225	3,531	4,477	3,263	7,203
Ethiopia	175,621	179,702	82,159	66,784	218,677
Gabon	951	1,200	1,728	1,397	1,173
Gambia	17,480	13,365	11,405	10,646	22,142
Ghana	36,791	86,546	33,899	31,534	85,712
Guinea	34,340	27,445	23,968	18,573	28,805
Guinea-Bissau	9,629	7,510	7,956	13,775	18,798
Kenya	121,968	127,846	91,434	59,195	129,431
Lesotho	12,091	9,893	8,783	6,346	10,583
Liberia	24,344	23,819	23,990	13,069	24,592
Madagascar	35,374	42,558	31,655	23,790	68,587
Malawi	63,831	51,436	42,957	37,567	87,760
Mali	83,650	53,157	33,922	34,779	52,188
Mauritania	20,587	22,076	16,281	7,701	20,277
Mauritius	3,429	1,570	2,048	2,773	1,458
Mozambique	75,296	85,880	60,535	61,483	157,860
Namibia	5,369	3,999	3,287	3,989	4,626
Niger	79,787	66,500	54,284	40,194	39,329
Nigeria	154,223	120,433	105,130	91,006	227,429
Rwanda	51,440	55,564	45,376	19,545	83,083
Saint Helena	15	794	123	303	–
Sao Tome and Principe	2,961	5,411	3,152	2,772	5,911
Senegal	49,936	41,645	26,286	20,286	57,656
Seychelles	–	–	–	–	–
Sierra Leone	31,724	32,598	29,373	17,715	32,260
Somalia	63,010	64,209	63,208	24,402	55,861
South Africa	13,506	19,808	21,234	15,910	68,718
South Sudan	52,354	32,452	40,712	34,939	34,780
Sudan	51,363	56,287	167,887	32,323	32,712
Tanzania	88,133	78,751	107,036	63,887	174,610
Togo	24,888	22,924	12,283	19,198	41,048
Uganda	85,414	97,118	85,062	57,210	104,283
Zambia	39,194	30,610	31,440	33,074	62,394
Zimbabwe	43,299	48,652	30,831	22,152	42,103
Africa, regional	96,146	121,005	139,810	133,835	89,493
Eastern Africa, regional	532	10,391	8,048	7,971	17,809
Middle Africa, regional	–	245	1,244	437	297
South of Sahara, regional	241,231	85,614	126,709	66,125	16,600
Southern Africa, regional	–	478	121	1,002	520
Western Africa, regional	2,862	2,664	6,783	6,288	24,072
Middle East
Iran	4,501	3,846	3,458	1,731	1,867
Iraq	24,576	24,301	15,305	4,324	6,936
Jordan	28,284	46,010	18,621	10,435	10,886
Lebanon	26,408	24,519	14,291	14,241	16,987
Syrian Arab Republic	48,534	34,401	34,886	21,697	17,436
West Bank and Gaza Strip	57,220	51,869	20,344	18,921	24,371
Yemen	74,385	33,167	35,461	23,878	64,126
Middle East, regional	12,036	7,972	11,147	10,106	18,286
South and Central Asia
Afghanistan	80,099	87,456	55,201	21,708	31,322
Armenia	4,778	15,715	4,945	2,651	4,549
Azerbaijan	2,836	3,413	2,614	2,211	2,250
Bangladesh	126,528	124,127	71,770	41,003	195,800
Bhutan	4,732	6,379	3,181	4,448	7,996
Georgia	11,070	47,331	9,867	4,813	5,660
India	83,136	69,504	44,264	61,180	84,587
Kazakhstan	2,155	1,893	1,272	3,477	4,392
Kyrgyzstan	8,689	12,580	10,758	5,754	21,788
Maldives	1,871	2,898	7,958	2,172	4,003
Myanmar	39,596	53,563	23,851	10,325	20,282
Nepal	67,454	51,851	40,299	13,988	32,951
Pakistan	85,018	116,209	78,566	37,352	229,650
Sri Lanka	9,769	31,317	12,642	3,889	48,647
Tajikistan	10,625	18,555	11,809	8,157	27,647
Turkmenistan	954	1,315	7,940	652	949
Uzbekistan	16,969	30,377	22,224	14,584	53,398
Central Asia, regional	5,989	3,213	4,102	5,522	3,746
Southern and Central Asia, regional	419	3	261	463	222
Southern Asia, regional	4,153	2,456	12,222	4,611	11,431
Far East Asia
Cambodia	17,360	18,796	12,203	11,282	45,893
China (People’s Republic of)	4,380	5,655	5,386	4,803	4,917
Democratic People’s Republic of Korea	6,169	4,130	395	408	922
Indonesia	13,892	62,627	19,892	21,589	47,047
Lao People’s Democratic Republic	53,434	8,003	10,839	3,477	21,952
Malaysia	1,141	1,485	1,228	1,702	1,086
Mongolia	3,726	22,326	18,224	2,907	8,694
Philippines	12,519	10,056	8,593	8,141	23,118
Thailand	3,086	7,200	7,770	3,751	15,865
Timor-Leste	4,703	4,005	11,588	3,171	3,314
Viet Nam	40,664	58,368	30,479	16,976	33,428
Asia, regional	6,706	9,410	7,208	4,985	26,208
Far East Asia, regional	13,234	14,902	20,157	9,566	21,024
Latin America and the Caribbean
Antigua and Barbuda	1,161	15,438	98	–	–
Belize	1,292	1,635	7,340	1,553	1,455
Costa Rica	942	25,781	1,061	1,166	1,166
Cuba	4,177	20,931	25,538	3,106	5,180
Dominica	3,720	2,507	2,322	1,573	3,263
Dominican Republic	8,040	3,255	4,513	3,126	1,715
El Salvador	5,628	3,350	1,949	2,330	2,579
Grenada	750	2,214	1,864	620	3,142
Guatemala	7,093	20,252	5,109	4,624	5,014
Haiti	26,946	24,757	24,034	13,071	30,186
Honduras	9,438	18,508	9,417	4,341	12,868
Jamaica	4,153	2,957	2,984	3,343	1,728
Mexico	2,510	2,175	4,948	1,418	2,233
Montserrat	973	439	401	260	1
Nicaragua	8,207	22,413	7,294	5,786	9,087
Panama	827	1,535	740	1,197	1,610
Saint Lucia	1,298	3,289	4,314	573	2,554
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	3,340	2,797	4,373	1,667	2,557
Caribbean & Central America, regional	12,210	4,533	4,528	1,988	570
Caribbean, regional	13,984	4,710	7,092	6,726	3,546
Central America, regional	227	886	1,612	1,411	1,092
South America
Argentina	1,183	38,487	1,386	2,811	2,285
Bolivia	8,760	7,252	4,219	3,842	11,364
Brazil	3,766	18,290	2,804	2,907	13,379
Chile	–	–	–	–	–
Colombia	14,736	24,635	6,652	19,154	22,468
Ecuador	5,518	4,829	2,609	17,411	14,379
Guyana	1,818	1,934	2,673	918	5,280
Paraguay	3,150	3,732	2,784	1,567	2,788
Peru	4,587	4,432	3,507	5,730	6,846
Suriname	1,130	1,186	818	2,709	2,280
Uruguay	–	–	–	–	–
Venezuela	11,465	6,331	4,127	2,517	9,653
America, regional	8,731	13,683	12,753	12,506	16,667
South America, regional	5,153	3,767	36,344	54,418	49,956
Europe
Albania	8,468	9,776	9,024	6,470	6,527
Belarus	3,579	4,603	2,238	2,444	3,141
Bosnia and Herzegovina	10,924	15,034	7,463	4,660	7,518
Kosovo	16,847	26,684	10,648	6,851	9,115
Moldova	13,169	20,274	15,917	9,630	11,181
Montenegro	4,778	8,895	3,915	1,851	2,454
North Macedonia	6,015	16,530	7,382	5,219	6,423
Serbia	20,240	22,409	15,908	9,225	12,972
States Ex-Yugoslavia, regional	119	560	1,061	384	–
Türkiye	113,186	94,244	104,936	46,888	35,994
Ukraine	35,622	129,660	19,831	55,944	42,534
Europe, regional	60,082	49,335	34,078	32,251	20,532
Pacific Countries
Cook Islands	170	–	–	–	–
Fiji	3,009	5,447	7,560	3,749	1,290
Kiribati	985	636	408	1,075	1,815
Marshall Islands	1,115	521	981	1,448	2,392
Micronesia	925	732	4,422	381	1,333
Nauru	190	59	65	3,445	2,612
Niue	105	171	282	117	96
Palau	184	596	353	123	129
Papua New Guinea	17,154	17,008	19,679	7,881	12,510
Samoa	5,445	2,606	738	1,310	3,243
Solomon Islands	3,961	2,721	2,024	1,959	9,123
Tokelau	16	8	15	4	1
Tonga	1,395	3,444	2,739	1,158	1,410
Tuvalu	551	801	1,464	420	1,485
Vanuatu	2,820	2,360	2,479	10,626	10,295
Wallis and Futuna	239	837	158	284	21
Melanesia, regional	43	156	31	–	64
Micronesia, regional	–	–	2,088	–	30
Oceania, regional	11,340	25,906	12,890	6,315	3,450
Unspecified Country/Region
Developing countries, unspecified	325,734	309,310	487,869	356,584	375,909
Country Unallocated (Note 2)	407,597	402,776	383,397	469,097	484,855
Total Multilateral Net ODA	4,772,317	4,945,394	4,188,720	3,146,008	5,340,042
of which: Low Income Countries (Note 3)	1,534,770	1,424,989	1,205,388	830,454	2,160,210
proportion of country-specific total	43%	37%	42%	43%	48%

Note 1: It is not possible to track directly the destination or purpose of UK funding to the general core budgets of the multilateral organisations, where the multilaterals have general control over the use of the funding. However, a good indication of where UK funding goes is provided by OECD DAC data where the multilaterals report aid spend by country and sector. These estimates have been calculated on the basis of the UK’s share of the multilaterals’ reported aid spending to the OECD.

Note 2: UK core contributions to multilaterals that did not report disbursement or commitment data to the OECD DAC.

Note 3: Countries are defined as ‘Low Income’ based on the World Banks GNI per capita classification used for the corresponding ODA reporting year. The classification is used by the OECD DAC to define the list of receiving countries under the ODA rules.

Annex C: Regulatory Reporting

Core Tables (unaudited)

The common core tables and annual accounts have both been prepared on a Clear Line of Sight basis since 2011 to 2012. The expectation is that there should be consistency between these two sources of data. The common core tables below reflect total departmental budgets including the core FCDO, bodies sponsored by the FCDO and expenditure on the integrated security fund.

In the FCDO Main Estimate 2021 to 2022, the former FCO and DFID estimate rows were merged. The data below is presented in the format of the 2021 to 2022 estimate structure. From 2022 to 2023 estimate row D, Strategic priorities and other programme spending, were replaced with three estimate rows entitled: Regional bilateral programmes; Core multilateral programmes; and Centrally managed programmes.

More information is available in the Main Estimates Memorandum 2022 to 2023. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/foreign-commonwealth-development-office-main-estimates-memorandum-2022-to-2023

It is not possible to link the data presented in the core tables to our core priorities as the FCDO is not structured in this way. Our resources, both people and projects, often support multiple priorities particularly overseas, therefore data is not captured in this way.

Plans for 2024 to 2025, as set out below, represent notional spending plans, excluding planned ODA reductions as a result of moving from 0.5% to 0.3% GNI spend on ODA, and remain subject to change.

See the Financial Review for trend analysis. See footnotes for further details. Annex C is unaudited.

Table 1. Public Spending

	2020 to 2021 Outturn (£000)	2021 to 2022 Outturn (£000)	2022 to 2023 Outturn (£000)	2023 to 2024 Outturn (£000)	2024 to 2025 Outturn (£000)	2025 to 2026 Plans (£000)
Resource DEL
Section A: Operating Costs, frontline diplomacy and overseas network	1,446,249	1,494,995	1,595,687	1,777,085	1,132,312	1,414,778
Section B: Funding for NDPBs within Departmental Group (Net)	34,424	39,051	41,383	39,607	43,493	44,000
Section C: British Council	148,700	190,500	164,709	176,606	166,075	163,100
Section D: Strategic priorities and other programme spending (Note 1)	6,333,649	4,190,539	–	–	–	–
Section G: International subscriptions, scholarships and BBC World Service	329,536	319,072	336,954	359,929	386,195	435,825
Section H: UK Integrated Security Fund (Note 2)	886,302	680,811	664,640	719,677	727,875	723,107
Section F: Prosperity Fund (Note 3)	213,060	–	–	–	–	–
Section D: Regional bilateral programmes	–	–	1,732,174	1,580,882	3,315,299	4,149,002
Section E: Core multilateral programmes	–	–	1,747,696	2,493,442	1,803,013	1,054,818
Section F: Centrally managed programmes	–	–	613,075	428,984	750,463	512,977
Non-Voted
Section I: European Union Attributed Aid	522,000	684,224	532,000	432,000	281,735	177,000
	9,913,920	7,599,192	7,428,318	8,008,212	8,606,460	8,674,607
Resource AME
Voted
Section J: Other central programme and technical costs	617,378	(123,836)	485,362	202,607	349,280	538,736
Total Resource AME	617,378	(123,836)	485,362	202,607	349,280	538,736
Total Resource	10,531,298	7,475,356	7,913,680	8,210,819	8,955,740	9,213,343

Note 1: In the Resource DEL table above the Integrated Activity Fund (IAF) is included in Strategic priorities and other programme spending.

Note 2: The UK Integrated Security Fund was previously known as the Conflict, Stability and Security Fund and changed it’s name in 2023 to 2024.

Note 3: Plans for 2025 to 2026 are notional.

Note 4: 2022 to 2023 to 2024 to 2025 include budget for the Machinery of Government change from the Cabinet Office for responsibility for the UK-EU relationship. Outturn for 2020 to 2021 £4,484k and 2021 to 2022 £3,916k is not included in the figures above.

	2020 to 2021 Outturn (£000)	2021 to 2022 Outturn (£000)	2022 to 2023 Outturn (£000)	2023 to 2024 Outturn (£000)	2024 to 2025 Outturn (£000)	2025 to 2026 Plans (£000)
Capital DEL
Section A: Operating Costs, frontline diplomacy and overseas network	109,340	144,496	348,260	296,294	298,415	391,079
Section C: British Council	52,000	4,800	81,290	58,000	–	–
Section D: Strategic priorities and other programme spending (Note 1)	2,668,045	1,579,767	–	–	–	–
Section G: International subscriptions, scholarships and BBC World Service	–	–	379	1,173	–	–
Section H: Section H: UK Integrated Security Fund (Note 2)	37,000	20,570	5,140	564	185	–
Prosperity Fund	4,692	–	–	–	–	–
Section D: Regional bilateral programmes			151,744	164,086	578,814	548,650
Section E: Core multilateral programmes			1,006,458	2,440,853	792,343	1,507,000
Section F: Centrally managed programmes			558,364	488,015	981,221	992,000
	2,871,077	1,749,633	2,151,635	3,448,985	2,650,978	3,438,729
Capital AME
Voted
Section J: Other central programme and technical costs					598	1,000
Section K: BII	650,000	660,650	289,500	433,000	880,000	480,000
Total Capital AME	650,000	660,650	289,500	433,000	880,598	481,000
Total Capital	3,521,077	2,410,283	2,441,135	3,881,985	3,531,576	3,919,729

Note 1: In the Capital DEL table above the Integrated Activity Fund (IAF) is included in Strategic priorities and other programme spending.

Note 2: The UK Integrated Security Fund was previously known as the Conflict, Stability and Security Fund and changed it’s name in 2023 to 2024.

Note 3: Plans for 2025 to 2026 are notional.

Table 2. Administration Budget

	2020 to 2021 Outturn (£000)	2021 to 2022 Outturn (£000)	2022 to 2023 Outturn (£000)	2023 to 2024 Outturn (£000)	2024 to 2025 Outturn (£000)	2025 to 2026 Plans (£000)
Administration
Section A: Operating Costs, frontline diplomacy and overseas network (Note 4)	242,635	258,672	303,833	301,269	325,084	387,931
Section B: Funding for NDPBs within Departmental Group (Net)	800	662	1,240	–	–	–
	243,435	259,334	305,073	301,269	325,084	387,931

Note 4: 2022 to 2023 to 2024 to 2025 include budget for the Machinery of Government change from the Cabinet Office for responsibility for the UK-EU relationship. Outturn for 2020 to 2021 £4,484k and 2021 to 2022 £3,916k is not included in the figures above.

Annex D: Arm’s length bodies

Further information on Arm’s Length Bodies is included within the Governance Statement and Note 20. The following bodies are those within our accounting boundary for 2024 to 2025 that contribute to the departmental group. Annex D is unaudited.

Financial Information by ALB	ICAI	CSC	Wilton Park	GBCC	MACC	WFD
Total Grants from FCDO (£000)	2,151	28,224	1,900	350	4,100	8,500
Total Operating Income (£000)	–	–	7,425	1,450	242	11,229
Total Operating Expenditure (£000)	2,151	27,308	10,160	1,887	4,193	19,392
Total Net Operating Expenditure (£000)	–	916	(835)	(87)	149	337
Finance Income (£000)	–	–	60	10	0	52
Finance Expense (£000)	–	–	7	–	–	34
Net Expenditure for the year (£000)	–	916	(782)	(77)	149	355

Staffing Information by ALB	ICAI	CSC (Note 1)	Wilton Park	GBCC	MACC (Note 1)	WFD
No. of permanent staff	10	–	83	5	–	63
No. of other staff	3	–	3	3	–	1
Total number of staff	13	–	86	8	–	64
Permanent staff costs (£000)	761	–	5,116	403	–	4,453
Other staff costs (£000)	233	–	319	140	–	99
Total staff costs (£000)	994	–	5,435	543	–	4,552

Note 1: There are no staff employed in CSC and MACC. Day to day functions are carried out by external administrators.

1. WEF_Global_Risks_Report_2023.pdf (weforum.org). ↩

2. Direction from the GGC exemption panel in 2021 to 2022 has resulted in FCDO Services’ wider market work and British Council being included from 2021 to 2022 within the FCDO’s reported impacts, when they had previously been exempt. The environmental performance data for 2017 to 2018, 2021 to 2022, 2022 to 2023 , 2023 to 2024 and 2024 to 2025 reflects the new adjusted reporting scope. Performance data for 2018 to 2019, 2019 to 2020 and 2020 to 2021 reflects the FCDO’s scope based on the previous GGC framework and therefore do not include FCDO Services wider market or British Council. DEFRA has granted exemptions for Independent Commission for Aid Impact, Great Britain-China Centre, Marshall Aid Commemoration Commission and Westminster Foundation for Democracy for the Greening Government Commitments under de minimis criteria. ↩

3. tCO2e stands for tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent. The GGC’s definition for reporting requirements for CO2e is: “a universal unit of measurement used to indicate the global warming potential of a greenhouse gas, expressed in terms of global warming potential of one unit of carbon dioxide.” ↩

4. Financial values reported cover the FCDO’s central government estate only (King Charles Street, Lancaster House, Carlton Gardens, Hanslope Park and Abercrombie House). ↩

5. 18,514,050 kWh for electricity on standard grid tariff, 2,071,795 kWh on green renewable tariffs. ↩

6. Fugitive emission can be defined as the “release of pollutants into the free atmosphere after they have escaped an attempt to capture them with a hood, seal or any other means for ensuring the capture and retention of these pollutants”. The GGCs requires emissions from refrigeration and AC equipment to be reported. ↩

7. The number of domestic and international flights, distance travelled by domestic and international rail and flights and associated emissions and expenditure relate only to flights and train travel booked with the FCDO’s travel provider. Flights and train travel booked by other means are not readily identifiable. ↩

8. International travel data relates to business work travel booked by staff who are based in the UK, booked with the FCDO’s travel provider. ↩

9. Financial values reported cover the FCDO’s central government estate only (King Charles Street, Lancaster House, Carlton Gardens, Hanslope Park and Abercrombie House). ↩

10. Financial values reported cover the FCDO’s central government estate only (King Charles Street, Lancaster House, Carlton Gardens, Hanslope Park and Abercrombie House). ↩

11. Overseas representatives (Laure Beaufils and Joanna Roper) attend on an alternating basis. ↩ ↩²

12. ‘Salary’ includes gross salary; overtime; reserved rights to London weighting or London allowances; recruitment and retention allowances; private offices allowances and any other allowance to the extent that it is subject to UK taxation. ↩ ↩²

13. The value of pension benefits accrued during the year are calculated as the real increase in pension multiplied by 20 plus the real increase in any lump sum less the contributions made by the individual; the real increases exclude increases due to inflation or any increase or decreases due to a transfer of pension rights. ↩ ↩²

14. The Rt Hon Lord Cameron full year equivalent salary was £104,363 for 2024 to 2025 and 2023 to 2024. ↩

15. The Rt Hon Andrew Mitchell full year equivalent salary was £31,680 for 2024 to 2025. ↩

16. The Rt Hon Anne-Marie Trevelyan full year equivalent salary was £31,680 for 2024 to 2025. ↩

17. This role became unpaid from 28th October 2022. ↩

18. Lord Benyon post was a joint role paid by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. ↩

19. David Rutley full year equivalent salary was £22,375 for 2024 to 2025. ↩

20. Nusrat Ghani full year equivalent salary was £31,680 for 2024 to 2025 and 2023 to 2024. This was not paid by the FCDO until 2024 to 2025. ↩

21. The Rt Hon David Lammy full year equivalent salary was £67,505 for 2024 to 2025. ↩

22. Stephen Doughty full year equivalent salary was £31,680 for 2024 to 2025. ↩

23. The Rt Hon Annelisse Dodds full year equivalent salary was £31,680 for 2024 to 2025. ↩

24. Catherine West full year equivalent salary was £22,375 for 2024 to 2025. ↩

25. Lord Collins of Highbury was paid by HM Treasury until 31 December 2024 and paid by the FCDO from 1 January 2025. Lord Collins of Highbury full year equivalent salary was £70,969 for 2024 to 2025. ↩

26. Baroness Chapman full year equivalent salary was £107,335 for 2024 to 2025. ↩

27. Hamish Falconer full year equivalent salary was £22,375 for 2024 to 2025. This was unpaid until 27 February 2025 and was paid by the FCDO from 28 February 2025. ↩

28. ‘Salary’ includes gross salary; overtime; reserved rights to London weighting or London allowances; recruitment and retention allowances; private offices allowances and any other allowance to the extent that it is subject to UK taxation. ↩ ↩²

29. Accrued pension benefits included in this table for any individual affected by the Public Service Pensions Remedy have been calculated based on their inclusion in the legacy scheme for the period between 1 April 2015 and 31 March 2022, following the McCloud judgment. The Public Service Pensions Remedy applies to individuals that were members, or eligible to be members, of a public service pension scheme on 31 March 2012 and were members of a public service pension scheme between 1 April 2015 and 31 March 2022. The basis for the calculation reflects the legal position that impacted members have been rolled back into the relevant legacy scheme for the remedy period and that this will apply unless the member actively exercises their entitlement on retirement to decide instead to receive benefits calculated under the terms of the Alpha scheme for the period from 1 April 2015 to 31 March 2022. ↩ ↩²

30. The value of MyCSP pension benefits accrued during the year are calculated as the real increase in pension multiplied by 20, plus the real increase in any lump sum less the contributions made by the individual; the real increases exclude increases due to inflation or any increase or decreases due to a transfer of pension rights. Some individuals have a Partnership pension scheme in addition to a MyCSP pension scheme. Where that is the case, pensions benefits have been added together. Partnership benefits are calculated as the total employer pension contributions for the individuals for the year. ↩ ↩²

31. Accrued MyCSP pension benefits for directors were not included in this table in the 2023 to 2024 Report due to an exceptional delay in the calculation of these figures following the application of the Public Service Pension Remedy: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/how-the-public-service-pension-remedy-affects-your-pension. The 2023 to 2024 Pension and Total Column have been restated to incorporate these figures. ↩ ↩²

32. Sir Philip Barton full year equivalent salary was £205k to 210k in 2024 to 2025. Sir Philip Barton had a Partnership pension in 2023 to 2024 and 2024 to 2025. Sir Philip Barton received a voluntary exit compensation payment of £262,185 under the terms of the Civil Service Compensation Scheme (CSCS) which is not included in the 2024 to 2025 total salary figure. ↩

33. Sir Oliver Robbins full year equivalent salary was £235k to 240k in 2024 to 2025. ↩

34. Jonathan Allen full year equivalent salary was £130k to 135k in 2023 to 2024. ↩

35. Mervyn Thomas had a Partnership pension in 2023 to 2024 and moved from the Partnership pension scheme to Alpha during 2024 to 2025. ↩

36. Peter Wilson full year equivalent salary was £145k to 150k in 2024 to 2025. ↩

37. Janine Lloyd-Jones full year equivalent salary was £115k to120k in 2023 to 2024. ↩

38. Colin Martin-Reynolds full year equivalent salary was £100k to 105k in 2023 to 2024. ↩

39. Harriet Mathews full year equivalent salary was £130k to 135k in 2023 to 2024 ↩

40. Christian Turner 2023 to 2024 salary includes values for leave trading, increases in salary and allowances and backpayment of allowances that should have been paid in 2022 to 2023. ↩

41. Adnan Khan full year equivalent salary was £120 to 125k in 2023 to 2024. ↩

42. Charlotte Watts is on secondment from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and is not on the FCDO payroll. ↩

43. Will Hines full year equivalent salary was £105k to 110k in 2024 to 2025 and £100 to 105k in 2023 to 2024. No pension figures have been disclosed for Will Hines as the data was unavailable at the date of publication. ↩

44. Joanna Roper full year equivalent salary was £100k to 105k in 2023 to 2024. ↩

45. Laure Beaufils full year equivalent salary was £100k to 105k in 2023 to 2024. ↩

46. Owen Jenkins full year equivalent salary was £115k to 120k in 2023 to 2024. Appointed substantively on 20/08/2024. Previously attending as interim DG. ↩

47. Kate White full year equivalent salary was £130k to 135k in 2023 to 2024 for her role as Interim Director General Economics, Science and Technology from November 2023 to January 2024. ↩

48. Dame Deborah Bronnert full year equivalent salary was £150 to 155k in 2024 to 2025. ↩

49. Beverly Tew was appointed Lead Non-Executive Director on 15 April 2024. ↩

50. John Coffey departed from his role as Non-Executive Director on 30 April 2025. ↩

51. James Bilefield full year equivalent fee was £10k to 15k in 2024 to 2025. ↩

52. Accrued pension benefits included in this table for any individual affected by the Public Service Pensions Remedy have been calculated based on their inclusion in the legacy scheme for the period between 1 April 2015 and 31 March 2022, following the McCloud judgment. The Public Service Pensions Remedy applies to individuals that were members, or eligible to be members, of a public service pension scheme on 31 March 2012 and were members of a public service pension scheme between 1 April 2015 and 31 March 2022. The basis for the calculation reflects the legal position that impacted members have been rolled back into the relevant legacy scheme for the remedy period and that this will apply unless the member actively exercises their entitlement on retirement to decide instead to receive benefits calculated under the terms of the Alpha scheme for the period from 1 April 2015 to 31 March 2022. ↩

53. Remuneration reports show the CETVs of senior staff at the start and end of the reporting year, together with the real increase during that period. The real increase is the increase due to additional benefit accrual (i.e. as a result of salary changes and service) that is funded by the employer. It will be smaller than the difference between the start and end CETVs because it does not include any increase in the value of the pension due to inflation or due to the contributions paid by the employee or the value of any benefits transferred from another pension scheme. Nor does it include any increases (or decreases) because of any changes during the year in the actuarial factors used to calculate CETVs. ↩

54. CETV figures are calculated using the guidance on discount rates for calculating unfunded public service pension contribution rates that was extant at 31 March 2025. ↩

55. This post was unpaid. ↩

56. Lord Benyon post was a joint role paid by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. ↩

57. Figures presented in the remuneration report do not reflect the impact of taxation on the individual, for example from Annual Allowance and Lifetime Allowance ceilings. ↩

58. Remuneration reports show the CETVs of senior staff at the start and end of the reporting year, together with the real increase during that period. The real increase is the increase due to additional benefit accrual (ie as a result of salary changes and service) that is funded by the employer. It will be smaller than the difference between the start and end CETVs because it does not include any increase in the value of the pension due to inflation or due to the contributions paid by the employee or the value of any benefits transferred from another pension scheme. Nor does it include any increases (or decreases) because of any changes during the year in the actuarial factors used to calculate CETVs. ↩

59. Accrued pension benefits included in this table for any individual affected by the Public Service Pensions Remedy have been calculated based on their inclusion in the legacy scheme for the period between 1 April 2015 and 31 March 2022, following the McCloud judgment. The Public Service Pensions Remedy applies to individuals that were members, or eligible to be members, of a public service pension scheme on 31 March 2012 and were members of a public service pension scheme between 1 April 2015 and 31 March 2022. The basis for the calculation reflects the legal position that impacted members have been rolled back into the relevant legacy scheme for the remedy period and that this will apply unless the member actively exercises their entitlement on retirement to decide instead to receive benefits calculated under the terms of the Alpha scheme for the period from 1 April 2015 to 31 March 2022. ↩

60. Charlotte Watts is on secondment from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and is not on the FCDO payroll. ↩

61. The data was unavailable at the date of publication. ↩

62. LGBO – Lesbian, Gay, Bi-Sexual and Other ↩

63. Consultancy services are defined by the Cabinet Office and Financial Reporting Manual. ↩

64. The 2023 to 2024 Temporary Staff Costs figure has been restated from £34.9m to £52.5m due to an error in the 2023 to 2024 Annual Report and Accounts disclosure. ↩

65. GBCC – Great Britain China Centre, WFD – Westminster Foundation for Democracy WP – Wilton Park. ↩

66. This figure includes both on payroll and off-payroll engagements. ↩

67. Where the department has agreed early retirements, the additional costs are met by the department and not by the Civil Service pension scheme. Ill-health retirement costs are met by the pension scheme and not included in the table. ↩

68. Payments attributed to the Financial Year the exit occurred rather than payment occurred. ↩

69. Payments of standard contractual CILON/PILON excluded. Payments for Dismissal with compensation included. Payment of redundancy to Fixed Term Employees included. ↩

70. The figures in brackets have been restated due to an error in the 2023 to 2024 Annual Report and Accounts disclosure. ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷

71. The 2024 to 2025 Consular Premium & EDRF figure includes £2.6 million EDRF funding. The 2023 to 2024 Consular Premium & EDRF figure includes £15.6 million EDRF funding. ↩

72. Other grants includes financial aid that is made via joint programmes and pooled funding to a range of aid providers and other governments. This includes around £400 million of general programme contributions, £75 million of other financial aid to Governments and the remaining pooled/basket funding. ↩

73. A breakdown of audit fees paid to NAO can be found in the Accountability report. ↩ ↩²

74. Rentals under short term and low value leases were previously disclosed under their own header. They are now disclosed under the other costs header. ↩

75. Other non programme costs are a range of costs including payments for bank charges, storage costs and administrative costs. ↩

76. This includes the income from partner departments that use our overseas platform. Income from other government departments (OGDs) is not subject to impairment under IFRS 9. Billing is made via a standard contract for platform charges, residential accommodation and other central charges. OGDs are largely charged on a per capita basis. ↩

77. This includes income from partner countries to help fund the FCDO managed projects overseas. Income from other organisations is given to support overseas programmes carried out by the FCDO. Work supported by donor countries is scaled up and down as donations are received. ↩

78. Consular fees are grouped into three categories: legalisation fees, emergency travel documents (including emergency passports) and notarial and documentary services. This line only includes income from legalisation fees and emergency travel documents and emergency passports. Notarial and documentary services are classified as consolidated fund extra receipts and are disclosed separately below. Further information is provided in the Accountability Report under Consular Fees & Charges. ↩

79. Running costs receipts are recovered under Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs) and signed letters of agreement with partner organisations. These receipts include secondment recoveries, rent, selling to wider markets, sponsorship income and recovery of overseas platform costs from organisations outside of One HMG. ↩

80. This is notional income reflecting the release of discounting on loans. ↩

81. Income collected by the FCDO where it was acting as agent for the Consolidated Fund rather than as principal is excluded from Note 4. Details of the amount and balance held as agent at the year-end date are given in SOPS Note 4.2, which (as the amounts are so small) are included as SOPS 4.2 in lieu of a Trust Statement. ↩

82. Financing cost is the release of discounting on returnable grants. ↩ ↩²