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42-585: The ICTD was founded in 2010. It is funded by the UK's Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation , and the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (Norad). The ICTD fosters a network of social science researchers from developing countries to engage with taxation issues by funding research, delivering research courses and workshops, and collaborating with

84-661: A range of partners including various African tax administrations and ministries of finance. It disseminates its research evidence to policymakers through publications, communications, and conferences in Africa. Through its work, the ICTD aims to contribute to advancing sustainable development by reducing inequality, fostering inclusive growth, and enhancing governance. The ICTD's research aims to generate knowledge to make tax systems in lower-income countries, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa , more efficient, fair and transparent. To this end,

126-531: A report by management consultant group Collinson Grant was made public by Andrew Mackinlay . The report severely criticised the FCO's management structure, noting: The Foreign Office commissioned the report to highlight areas which would help it achieve its pledge to reduce spending by £87 million over three years. In response to the report being made public, the Foreign Office stated it had already implemented

168-482: A review of the FCO's strategic priorities. One of the key messages of these discussions was the conclusion that the existing framework of ten international strategic priorities, dating from 2003, was no longer appropriate. Although the framework had been useful in helping the FCO plan its work and allocate its resources, there was agreement that it needed a new framework to drive its work forward. The new strategic framework consists of three core elements: In August 2005,

210-428: A view to creating jobs in an area subject to long-term industrial decline . In 1997, the department was separated again from the Foreign Office, when a Labour government returned under Tony Blair. Labour also reduced the amount of aid tied to purchasing British goods and services, which had often led to aid being spent ineffectually. In September 2020, the department and the Foreign Office were yet again merged to form

252-660: Is responsible for representing and promoting British interests worldwide. The head of the FCDO is the secretary of state for foreign, Commonwealth and development affairs , commonly abbreviated to "foreign secretary". This is regarded as one of the four most prestigious positions in the Cabinet – the Great Offices of State – alongside those of Prime Minister , Chancellor of the Exchequer and Home Secretary . David Lammy

294-727: Is the ministry of foreign affairs and a ministerial department of the Government of the United Kingdom . The office was created on 2 September 2020 through the merger of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) and the Department for International Development (DFID). The FCO was itself created in 1968 by the merger of the Foreign Office (FO) and the Commonwealth Office . The department in its various forms

336-477: Is to support efforts to achieve a two-state solution . Funding a particular project for a limited period of time does not mean that we endorse every single action or public comment made by an NGO or by its employees." In September 2012, the FCO and the Canadian Department of Foreign Affairs signed a Memorandum of Understanding on diplomatic cooperation, which promotes the co-location of embassies,

378-648: The Colonial Office , from 1966 to 1968 by the Commonwealth Office , from 1968 to 2020 by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office , and since 2020 by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (this did not include protectorates , which fell under the purview of the Foreign Office , or to British India , which had been administered by the East India Company until 1858, and thereafter by

420-775: The First World War , the Arab Bureau was set up within the British Foreign Office as a section of the Cairo Intelligence Department . During the early Cold War an important department was the Information Research Department (IRD) which was used to create propaganda against socialist and anti-colonial movements. The Foreign Office hired its first woman diplomat, Monica Milne , in 1946. The FCO

462-580: The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office by Boris Johnson's Conservative government. The DFID or ODA's role has been under: As of 2008, along with the Nordic countries , the DFID generally avoided setting up its own programmes, in order to avoid creating unnecessary bureaucracy. To achieve this, the DFID distributed most of its money to governments and other international organisations that had already developed suitable programmes, and let them distribute

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504-535: The India Office ). This arrangement has been subject to criticism in the UK and in the overseas territories. For example, the chief minister of Anguilla , Victor Banks , said: "We are not foreign; neither are we members of the Commonwealth , so we should have a different interface with the UK that is based on mutual respect". There have been numerous suggestions on ways to improve the relationship between

546-857: The November 2021 shadow cabinet reshuffle . When it was the Overseas Development Administration, a scandal erupted concerning the department's funding of a hydroelectric dam on the Pergau River in Malaysia, near the Thai border. Building work had begun in 1991 with money from the British foreign aid budget. Concurrently, the Malaysian government bought around £1 billion worth of arms from British dealers, and thus became

588-402: The 19th century, it was not infrequent for the Foreign Office to approach The Times newspaper and ask for continental intelligence, which was often superior to that conveyed by official sources. Examples of journalists who specialized in foreign affairs and were well connected to politicians included: Henry Southern , Valentine Chirol , Harold Nicolson, and Robert Bruce Lockhart . During

630-639: The Colonial Office in 1925. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office held responsibility for international development issues between 1970 and 1974, and again between 1979 and 1997. The National Archives website contains a government timeline to show the departments responsible for foreign affairs from 1945. From 1997, international development became the responsibility of the separate Department for International Development . When David Miliband took over as Foreign Secretary in June 2007, he set in hand

672-612: The Comptroller and Auditor General agreed would be valuable. The study found that the DFID had improved in its general scrutiny of progress in reducing poverty and of progress towards divisional goals, however noted that there was still clear scope for further improvement. In 2016, the DFID was taken to task with accusations of misappropriation of funding in the British Overseas Territory of Montserrat . Whistleblower Sean McLaughlin commenced legal action against

714-617: The DFID was to be merged with the Foreign Office to create the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office . The department was scrutinized by the International Development Committee . Following Labour's 2024 ascension to government, there has been speculation that DFID could be reestablished as a ministry of its own once more. However, since the General Election , the new Government has not yet committed to this. The final permanent secretary

756-576: The Department for International Development and its predecessors have been independent departments or part of the Foreign Office. After the election of a Conservative government in October 1970, the Ministry of Overseas Development was renamed the "Overseas Development Administration" (ODA) and incorporated into the Foreign Office. The ODA was overseen by a minister of state in the Foreign Office who

798-462: The Department of Trade and Industry arose in part because of the introduction of French mixed credit programmes, which had begun to offer French government support from aid funds for exports, including for projects in countries to which France had not previously given substantial aid. After the election of the Conservatives under Margaret Thatcher in 1979, the ministry was transferred back to

840-706: The FCDO are scrutinised by the Foreign Affairs Select Committee . According to the FCDO website, the department's key responsibilities (as of 2020) are as follows: In addition to the above responsibilities, the FCDO is responsible for the British Overseas Territories , which had previously been administered from 1782 to 1801 by the Home Office , from 1801 to 1854 by the War and Colonial Office , from 1854 to 1966 by

882-621: The Foreign Office, as a functional wing again named the Overseas Development Administration. The ODA continued to be represented in the cabinet by the Foreign Secretary while the Minister for Overseas Development, who had day-to-day responsibility for development matters, held the rank of minister of state within the Foreign Office. In the early 1980s, part of the agency's operations was relocated to East Kilbride in Scotland, with

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924-600: The ICTD conducts and provides grants for research on the following themes: In order to facilitate better research on tax issues, the ICTD created the Government Revenue Dataset, the most complete and accurate cross-country dataset on government revenue, which importantly separates natural resource revenue from other revenue streams. In early 2019, UNU-WIDER launched the GRD Explorer, a tool that allows users to quickly and easily access and visualise

966-553: The blessing of a same-sex marriage . In 2012, the Foreign Office was criticised by Gerald Steinberg of the Jerusalem-based research institute NGO Monitor , saying that the Foreign Office and the Department for International Development provided more than £500,000 in funding to Palestinian NGOs which he said "promote political attacks on Israel". In response, a spokesman for the Foreign Office said "we are very careful about who and what we fund. The objective of our funding

1008-1384: The data contained in the Government Revenue Dataset. ICTD has published and supported the publication of many working papers, policy briefs, journal articles, and books. They also publish 2-page brief summaries of their research, available in both English and French. The Local Government Revenue Initiative (LoGRI) is based at the Munk School of Global Affairs . LoGRI supports governments in raising local revenue more fairly and in ways that promote trust, transparency, and accountability. It does this by: The LoGRI team also engages with regional and international stakeholders on local financing issues, to share insights and shape policy. stimulates and encourages wider use of more effective property tax systems in Africa. Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office King Charles III [REDACTED] William, Prince of Wales [REDACTED] Charles III ( King-in-Council ) [REDACTED] Starmer ministry ( L ) Keir Starmer ( L ) Angela Rayner ( L ) ( King-in-Parliament ) [REDACTED] Charles III [REDACTED] [REDACTED] [REDACTED] The Lord Reed The Lord Hodge Andrew Bailey Monetary Policy Committee The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office ( FCDO )

1050-532: The department in the Eastern Caribbean Court, questioning the DFID fraud investigation process. In June 2020, Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced that the Department for International Development and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office would be brought together to form the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office from 1 September the same year, centralising oversight of Britain's foreign aid budget. The stated aim, according to Johnson,

1092-498: The department was "to promote sustainable development and eliminate world poverty". DFID was headed by the United Kingdom's Secretary of State for International Development . The position was last held by Anne-Marie Trevelyan , who assumed office on 13 February 2020 and served until the department was dissolved on 2 September 2020. In a 2010 report by the Development Assistance Committee , the department

1134-595: The department worked to support the United Nations ' eight Millennium Development Goalswith a 2015 deadline, namely to: The department had its origins in the "Ministry of Overseas Development" created during the Labour government of 1964–1970 , which combined the functions of the Department of Technical Cooperation and the overseas aid policy functions of the Foreign, Commonwealth Relations, and Colonial Offices and of other government departments. Over its history,

1176-402: The fact that this is a British organisation; it could be anything. The Americans have USAID , Canada has got CIDA ." The 2009 National Audit Office Performance Management review looked at how the DFID had restructured its performance management arrangements over the last six years. The report responded to a request from the DFID's Accounting Officer to re-visit the topic periodically, which

1218-463: The joint provision of consular services, and common crisis response. The project has been criticised for further diminishing the UK's influence in Europe. In 2011, the then Foreign Secretary, William Hague , announced the government's intention to open a number of new diplomatic posts in order to enhance the UK's overseas network. As such, eight new embassies and six new consulates were opened around

1260-424: The money as efficiently as possible. In July 2009, the DFID rebranded all its aid programmes with the "UK aid" logo, to make clear the contributions were coming from the people of the United Kingdom. While the decision was met with some controversy among aid workers at the time, Commons International Development Select Committee Chairman Malcolm Bruce explained the rebranding, saying "the name DFID does not reflect

1302-573: The overseas territories and the UK. Suggestions have included setting up a dedicated department to handle relations with the overseas territories, and the absorption of the Overseas Territories Directorate (OTD) in the Cabinet Office , thus affording the overseas territories with better connections to the centre of government. The FCDO ministers are as follows, with cabinet ministers in bold: The Foreign Office

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1344-481: The powers of the minister for overseas development were formally transferred to the Foreign Secretary. In 1977, partly to shore up its difficult relations with UK business, the government introduced the Aid and Trade Provision. This enabled aid to be linked to nonconcessionary export credits, with both aid and export credits tied to procurement of British goods and services. Pressure for this provision from UK businesses and

1386-438: The report's recommendations. In 2009, Gordon Brown created the position of Chief Scientific Adviser (CSA) to the FCO. The first science adviser was David Clary . On 25 April 2010, the department apologised after The Sunday Telegraph obtained a "foolish" document calling for the upcoming September visit of Pope Benedict XVI to be marked by the launch of "Benedict-branded" condoms , the opening of an abortion clinic and

1428-585: The world. Department for International Development King Charles III [REDACTED] William, Prince of Wales [REDACTED] Charles III ( King-in-Council ) [REDACTED] Starmer ministry ( L ) Keir Starmer ( L ) Angela Rayner ( L ) ( King-in-Parliament ) [REDACTED] Charles III [REDACTED] [REDACTED] [REDACTED] The Lord Reed The Lord Hodge Andrew Bailey Monetary Policy Committee The Department for International Development ( DFID )

1470-642: Was Matthew Rycroft , who assumed office in January 2018. The main piece of legislation governing the department's work was the International Development Act 2002 , which came into force on 17 June 2002, replacing the Overseas Development and Co-operation Act 1980 . The Act made poverty reduction the focus of the department's work, and effectively outlawed tied aid . As well as responding to disasters and emergencies,

1512-593: Was a ministerial department of the Government of the United Kingdom , from 1997 to 2020. It was responsible for administering foreign aid internationally. The Department for International Development (DFID) was founded by the UK government in 1997. The department was established by the Labour government under Prime Minister Tony Blair. The structure of the DFID was authored by various Developmental Aid Experts including Chris Collins, Barnaby Edwards Machteld, Nicolas Brown and Timothy Montague Hamilton Douglas. The goal of

1554-523: Was accountable to the Foreign Secretary . Though it became a section of the Foreign Office, the ODA was relatively self-contained with its own minister, and the policies, procedures, and staff remained largely intact. When a Labour government was returned to office in 1974, it announced that there would once again be a separate "Ministry of Overseas Development" with its own minister. From June 1975

1596-450: Was appointed Foreign Secretary on 5th July 2024 following the 2024 general election . The FCDO is managed day-to-day by a civil servant , the permanent under-secretary of state for foreign affairs , who also acts as the Head of His Majesty's Diplomatic Service . Sir Philip Barton took office as permanent under-secretary on 2 September 2020. The expenditure, administration and policy of

1638-549: Was described as "an international development leader in times of global crisis". The UK aid logo is often used to publicly acknowledge DFID's development programmes are funded by UK taxpayers. The DFID's main programme areas of work were Education, Health, Social Services, Water Supply and Sanitation, Government and Civil Society, Economic Sector (including Infrastructure, Production Sectors and Developing Planning), Environment Protection, Research, and Humanitarian Assistance. In June 2020, Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced that

1680-687: Was formed in March 1782 by combining the Southern and Northern Departments of the Secretary of State, each of which covered both foreign and domestic affairs in their parts of the Kingdom. The two departments' foreign affairs responsibilities became the Foreign Office, whilst their domestic affairs responsibilities were assigned to the Home Office. The Home Office is technically the senior. During

1722-781: Was formed on 17 October 1968, from the merger of the short-lived Commonwealth Office and the Foreign Office . The Commonwealth Office had been created only in 1966, by the merger of the Commonwealth Relations Office and the Colonial Office , the Commonwealth Relations Office having been formed by the merger of the Dominions Office and the India Office in 1947—with the Dominions Office having been split from

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1764-504: Was to "unite our aid with our diplomacy and bring them together in our international effort". Three former British Prime Ministers ( David Cameron , Gordon Brown and Tony Blair ) criticised the plan. Johnson merged the two departments together in September 2020, forming the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office. In criticism of the merge, Opposition leader Keir Starmer kept the shadow department and its ministers in place until

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