The Foreign Office is set to shrink by up to a quarter as ministers look to slim down the Civil Service, the department’s top mandarin has told MPs.
Sir Olly Robbins, permanent under-secretary at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), told the Commons Foreign Affairs Committee on Tuesday that his department was expecting to lose “15-25%” of staff by 2029.
The department, which employs around 17,000 people, faces real-terms cuts in its budget over the coming years following last month’s spending review.
Sir Olly, who took over as permanent under-secretary in January, told MPs: “What I have said to the department is that’s only achievable if we get significantly smaller.”
He revealed that the process had already started, with 500 people expected to take voluntary redundancy this year.
But challenged over whether this would harm the FCDO’s ability to do its job in the context of increasing global instability, he said: “Although the overall staffing numbers will be falling, the UK’s presence and impact in the world will not be seriously affected.”
Job cuts are expected to come at all levels, including the most senior, with Sir Olly saying the number of London-based directors-general had already been reduced from nine to seven.
The reduction is also likely to see a greater proportion of Foreign Office staff based overseas, but Sir Olly was unable to provide precise figures, saying that he would have “a sense of that balance by Christmas”.
He also suggested that the Government would be unlikely to close overseas posts, even if they shrank.
The FCDO is not alone in facing job cuts as the Government attempts to reduce the size of the Civil Service and create a more “agile” state.
Ministers have not set a target for the overall size of the Civil Service, but in March the Chancellor announced £150 million to fund “exit schemes”, while the Cabinet Office is set to reduce in size by around a third.
But trade unions have criticised the cuts, warning that a focus on reducing costs rather than delivering reform could have unintended consequences.
International development campaign group Bond said it was “deeply concerned” by Sir Olly’s comments.
Bond’s director of policy and advocacy, Gideon Rabinowitz, said: “After the previous round of UK aid cuts and the rushed DFID-FCO (Department for International Development-Foreign and Commonwealth Office) merger, capacity and expertise have already been severely undermined.
“Further reductions will narrow development expertise within the FCDO and damage the UK’s credibility as a trusted global development partner at a time when global challenges demand urgent attention.”
