International Development Minister Andrew Mitchell hailed the launch of refurbishment work at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office’s joint HQ in East Kilbride.
He visited the construction site at FCDO’s Abercrombie House base to get an update on how the project will facilitate the movement of 500 roles by the end of 2025 as part of the UK Government’s levelling-up agenda.
Over 800 FCDO staff based in Scotland are at the heart of shaping and delivering UK foreign policy as a force for good around the world on issues such as climate change, Ukraine and human rights.
Mr Mitchell told Lanarkshire Live : "The start of this exciting refurbishment work further underlines the FCDO’s commitment to Abercrombie House as our joint HQ.
“We are proud to already have over 800 staff working in Scotland and this ambitious project will enable us to redeploy a further 500 jobs to East Kilbride as part of the UK Government’s levelling-up agenda.
“This work will ensure that all FCDO roles can be performed from Scotland, further enhancing the career opportunities for our Abercrombie House staff.
“This is part of the UK Government’s wider plan to shift 22,000 roles outside of London, so that our Civil Service is more representative of communities across of whole of the UK.”
The Abercrombie House improvement works is being led by FCDO’s Estates, Security and Network Department (ESDN) and the Government Property Agency (GPA).
Tenders for the refurb work will be issued in early 2023 with the aim for the improvements to be completed by the end of 2023.
Mr Mitchell also visited Glasgow charity SCIAF for update on how its using UK aid to improve lives of people in Cambodia, South Sudan and Democratic Republic of Congo.
He added: "Whether it’s hearing about SCIAF’s work improving the lives of tens of thousands of people with support of UK aid or speaking to Abercrombie House staff tackling issues such as climate change, global health, education, and gender equality, Scotland is at the heart of delivering UK foreign policy as a force for good in the world.
“I am proud that the UK Government continues to use its influence as a leading player on the world stage to drive the agenda on issues that unite people from every corner of our country.”
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