Could Government Department Merger Impact The Defence Budget?

The Chair of the Defence Committee has raised concerns that a merger of the Department for International Development (DfID) with the Foreign Office (FCO) could impact the defence budget.

Former defence minister Tobias Ellwood MP has told Forces News questions must be asked whether the defence budget will be affected by the move.

The merging of the departments was announced in the House of Commons by the Prime Minister on Wednesday following months of speculation.

Boris Johnson said the move was "maximum value" for taxpayers and will "unite our aid with our diplomacy and bring them together in our international effort".

Mr Ellwood, who is a former British Army officer, questioned the Prime Minister in the Commons whether there would be "no real-terms cut" to the defence budget amid current economic uncertainty.

"The military’s always concerned that when we go into any form of recession or downturn, that it’s the defence, the department of defence, the Ministry of Defence that’s actually affected the worst," Mr Ellwood said.

However, he also admitted DfID has had a "chequered history" and as it stands, the Government has to "wait for a crisis to happen before you spend the money".

The Conservatives vowed to increase funding for the Armed Forces in the party's manifesto released in November.

The party also said it will not cut the military "in any form".

Labour leader Sir Keir Stammer called the merge of the two departments "tactics of pure distraction". 

While Chair of the International Development Committee, Labour MP Sarah Champion, warned the two departments offer two very different services.

"Aid and foreign policy are very different. One is humanitarian, one is political," she said.

"DfID is the department with oversight, and our report of last week shows it is the most effective and transparent at delivering aid, and FCO has been criticised in this regard."

DfID has a £15 million budget which will now fall under Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab. 

Cover image: PA.