Correspondence

OGP UK Co-chair Ministerial Letter of Candidature

Published 25 March 2026

Chris Elmore MP,
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State
for Foreign, Commonwealth and
Development
King Charles Street
London
SW1A 2AH
Email: fcdo.correspondence@fcdo.gov.uk

Óscar López Águeda
Minister for Digital Transformation & Public Function
Government of Spain

Cielo Magno
National Coordinator
Bantay Kita

30 September 2025

Dear Óscar and Cielo, OGP Lead Co-Chairs

On behalf of the UK Government, I am writing to submit the UK’s candidacy to co-chair the Open Government Partnership (OGP) from October 2025 to September 2028, serving as lead government co-chair from October 2026 to September 2027, during OGP’s 15th year.

Partnerships to safeguard democratic resilience, protect civic space and promote accountable and inclusive government

Our vision as co-chair of OGP is to strengthen partnerships, promote mutual exchange and forge alliances with governments and civil society that will raise governance standards and improve outcomes for people across the globe. The UK retains its longstanding commitment to the principles of the OGP – open, accountable and inclusive government – as central to tackling the big challenges of our time, including around climate change, economic growth, conflict and security. In an era when democratic institutions and processes are under threat, civil society organisations and independent media are harassed and restrained, and corruption and illicit finance continue to generate harms in our societies, the partnerships of the OGP are needed more than ever. Domestic and international actions are increasingly interconnected. Addressing threats to our societies and economies must be rooted in local, national and international action and partnerships.

We will develop our co-chair agenda in coalition with both domestic and international partners, inside and outside government, continuing to build partnerships of value to our members which meet the challenges of our time. This will include investing in both long-term endeavours to strengthen open government internationally, while exploring the most fruitful ways to build momentum for priority agendas through key moments during our co-chair year.

UK domestic and international commitments to open government

The UK has a long history of developing, committing to and implementing the principles of open government. This can be traced back to our Open Government White Paper in 1993, followed by The Seven Principles of Public Life in 1995, the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and subsequent access to information legislation, culminating in the introduction of the Open Government License in 2010.

The UK was a founding member of OGP in 2011, a co-chair in 2012-2013, hosted the OGP Global Summit in 2013, and has developed six UK National Action Plans for Open Government in partnership with the UK Open Government Civil Society Network (UK OGN). A leading example of how the UK has used its NAP for long-term engagement with civil society has been the development of our approach to open contracting which led to the implementation of the Procurement Act 2023. Alongside this, the UK was an early champion of open data through the G8 and subsequent international Open Data Charter. More recently the UK has launched the Civil Society Covenant to begin a new chapter in the relationship between government and civil society. The UK has recently published the Public Office (Accountability) Bill, known as the Hillsborough Law, to introduce a new legal duty of candour on public servants.

The UK has been an active member of the OGP Steering Committee since 2021, shaping the OGP Strategy 2023-2028 including membership of the Programmatic Delivery Subcommittee and Accountability Review Task Force, and co-chairing of the Action Framework Task Force. Through this latter body, we are working to ensure OGP’s framework for action is sufficiently flexible to meet the needs of the diverse membership of OGP.

The UK also works through the OGP on thematic areas, such as the former Beneficial Ownership Leadership Group, the Open Algorithms Network, collaboration on the UN Convention on Anti-Corruption, and shortly via the Europe-focused Participation Action Group. The UK has particularly valued our collaboration with the OGP in tackling corruption and illicit finance, including through the former Beneficial Ownership Leadership Group and in support of civil society participation in the UN Convention Against Corruption. The UK government looks forward to working with the OGP over the next year as we prepare to host an international summit on illicit finance. We are also committed to catalysing the benefits from AI and digital technologies to help drive a new era in government innovation, efficiency, openness and transparency both in the UK and internationally, whilst recognising and safeguarding against the challenges.

In addition to our regular financial membership contributions to OGP, the UK has contributed £16.6 million in Official Development Assistance since 2012, most recently through a £3.5m grant supporting OGP partners to deliver vital digital governance reforms and harness the benefits of technology for all.

Beyond the work of the UK Government itself, we would like to note the invaluable work of the Devolved Governments for Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales, as well as the local governments of Glasgow City Council and Greater Manchester Combined Authority, for their commitment and progress in advancing various elements of open government. The example set by these governments - and many others not directly involved with OGP - add to the overall strength of the UK’s efforts in pursuing effective transparency, accountability and public participation across all levels of government.

If successful, the UK would become the incoming co-chair from October 2025 to September 2026 during Brazil’s term as lead government co-chair, and be the outgoing government co-chair from October 2027 to September 2028 supporting our successor. As part of the troika of government and civil society co-chairs, we would work in concert with our leadership counterparts throughout our tenure. Becoming co-chair would extend our tenure on the OGP Steering Committee up to the end of September 2028.

I would like to thank you for considering the UK’s candidacy and I look forward to working to further build trust through open government.

Yours ever,

Chris Elmore MP

Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs