Boris Johnson has said Abercrombie House will become an “essential part” of the governments’ new Foreign Commonwealth Development Office.
And the Prime Minister this week promised that no jobs would be lost at the East Kilbride office of the Department for International Development (DfID).
He was responding to a letter seeking assurances over the future of jobs in the town from Conservative MSP, Graham Simpson.
Mr Simpson said he believed the merger offered “an opportunity to expand what is done at Abercrombie House” and told the News that the PM agrees with him.
Last month Mr Johnson announced a merger between the DfID and Foreign Office (FCO) to create the new Foreign Commonwealth Development Office.
And he this week said East Kilbride was integral to the development of that office.
Writing to Mr Simpson, he said: “Please let me assure you that there are absolutely no plans to close DfID’s office in Scotland and there will be no complulsory redundancies.
“Our fantastic staff in East Kilbride play a critical role in ensuring UK aid delivers results for the world’s poorest and represents value for money for taxpayers.
“We will continue to invest in and support the excellent work taking place in East Kilbride and I look forward to this office becoming an essential part of the new department.”
Almost 1000 (948) people are employed at the DfID in East Kilbride.
