FCDO Minister Has “No Idea” What Her Own Multi-Million Pound Spending Announcements Are – Guido Fawkes

FCDO Minister Has “No Idea” What Her Own Multi-Million Pound Spending Announcements Are

Jenny Chapman, Dodds’ replacement as development minister, was up against MPs this week at the International Development Committee. Apart from saying the UK wasn’t a “global charity” anymore internationally she raged against FCDO spending and its communication:

“It’s not just a minister’s job this is everybody’s job…. we still are putting out press releases which are headed by X million pounds for X project. The public has no idea – I have no idea – whether that pound sign is next to something that’s a big number a small number, more than last time less than last time – don’t know what that project is. We’re talking to ourselves far too often when we ought to be talking about people and stories… we’ve got to when we say make the case it’s about yes identify where the need is.”

A principled stance on spending announcements there as the FCDO prepares to cut its Official Development Assistance budget from 0.5% to 0.3%. Does Chappers realise what she herself has been doing in the last few months, though?

• In March FCDO issues a press release with Chapman announcing £10 million to support Myanmar. It had a quote from her promising the reader that: “This £10 million package will bolster [Myanmar’s] efforts.”
• In January Chapman welcomed £60 million funding for creative industries by saying: “The UK’s soft power is one of our greatest national assets. It is a celebration of the best of British, and a key driver of UK growth. Working with the GREAT campaign, this Council will celebrate and maximise our best assets to support the growth of the UK economy and the range of our international priorities.”
• In December she praised a £25 million commitment to developing countries that the government made at COP29, along with £45 million for the Global Biodiversity Framework Fund, and the government’s £239 million deforestation commitment.
• In November, she announced £5 million to tackle child marriage globally.
• In October 2024, Chapman hailed a £15 million UK-Jamaica Violence Prevention Programme.

A case of pots and kettles here as Chapman admits to signing off on hundreds of millions of taxpayer funds without any idea what the spending projects are. And attacks civil servants for her own announcements…