FCDO and disability-inclusive development

International Development Committee Closed Inquiry
Opened: 12 Jul 2023 Closed: 23 May 2024 Parliament page
Report and Government response published This inquiry considered consider the adequacy and effectiveness of the FCDO’s disability and inclusion rights strategy, launched in February 2022, including the consequences for disability-inclusive programmes of the decision to cut aid spending from 0.7% to 0.5% of GNI. Stakeholders noted that Organisations of Persons … Read more
8 Recommendations
9 Conclusions
1 Report
2 Oral sessions
2 Events
Activity timeline 6 events
13 Jan
2025
Report published
4 Apr
2024
Report published
23 Jan
2024
Oral evidence
23 Jan
2024
Formal meeting (oral evidence session) · The Grimond Room, Portcullis House
17 Oct
2023
Oral evidence
17 Oct
2023
Formal meeting (oral evidence session) · The Wilson Room, Portcullis House
Oral evidence sessions 2 sessions
23 Jan 2024
View on parliament.uk
FCDO and disability-inclusive development; UK Small Island Developing States Strategy
Rt Hon Andrew Mitchell · Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office
17 Oct 2023
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FCDO and disability-inclusive development
Anna Landre · Disaster Strategies Iryna Tekuchova · Fight for Right Kevin Sudi · CBM Ms Lauren Watters · Able Child Africa Ophia Bwanali · Leonard Cheshire Zimbabwe Sunday Isiyaku · Sightsavers
Title HC No. Published Items Response
Third Report - FCDO and disability-inclusive development HC 107 4 Apr 2024 17 Responded
Recommendations & Conclusions
17 results
1 Conclusion Deferred
Third Report - FCDO and disability…
FCDO knew ODA cuts would significantly harm people with disabilities despite global leadership.
Globally, the UK has been at the forefront of advancing disability inclusion across development programmes. However, as equality impact assessments published in recent years confirm, the FCDO knew that Official Development Assistance cuts would significantly harm people with disabilities. (Paragraph … Read more
Government Response
The FCDO's response focuses on the disability strategy's delivery plan, stating that the updated plan will be published following the completion of a strategy review process currently underway. This does not directly address the committee's observation that FCDO knew ODA cuts would significantly harm people with disabilities.
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2 Conclusion Accepted
Third Report - FCDO and disability…
Major shortcomings apparent in application of FCDO's Disability Inclusion and Rights Strategy.
The Disability Inclusion and Rights Strategy provides an excellent framework for improving the disability-inclusivity of the FCDO’s development portfolio. However, major shortcomings have become apparent in the application of the strategy, which are set out in later chapters of this … Read more
Government Response
The FCDO committed to explicitly referencing the definition in any future iterations of the strategy and delivery plan.
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3 Recommendation Accepted in Part
Third Report - FCDO and disability…
Publish the delivery plan alongside the Department's report response and subsequent iterations.
The Department should publish the delivery plan alongside its response to this Report, with all subsequent iterations published on completion.
Government Response
The government partially agrees, committing to publish the updated delivery plan after the ongoing strategy review process is completed, rather than alongside its current response.
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4 Recommendation Accepted
Third Report - FCDO and disability…
Include UN Convention definition of disability in future delivery plan and Strategy updates.
The Department should include in future iterations of the delivery plan, and any update to the Disability Inclusion and Rights Strategy, the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities definition of disability, to ensure that stakeholders are … Read more
Government Response
The government agrees and commits to explicitly referencing the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities definition of disability in all future iterations of its strategy and delivery plan.
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5 Conclusion Accepted
Third Report - FCDO and disability…
Disability inclusion not sufficiently integrated into FCDO policy-making procedures and departmental strategies.
Despite Government commitments, disability inclusion has not been sufficiently integrated into the FCDO’s policy-making procedures: the Disability Inclusion and Rights Strategy receives little to no mention across other departmental strategies, suggesting that disability inclusion is not at the forefront of … Read more
Government Response
The FCDO stated that its current value for money approach already prioritizes equity, including people with disabilities. It committed to updating its equity and value for money guide and sharing it across its network, with an additional update to be provided by April 2025.
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6 Conclusion Acknowledged
Third Report - FCDO and disability…
ODA spending on disability inclusion falls short, lacking measurable targets like gender equality.
ODA spending on disability inclusion, as measured by the OECD-DAC markers, falls short of our expectations. Whereas efforts to improve gender equality across the Department’s development programmes are assessed against measurable spending targets, disability inclusion does not receive the same … Read more
Government Response
The FCDO's response is a vague commitment to explore further advocacy, policy, and programme work related to de-institutionalisation and children's social care reform globally, without directly addressing the committee's concerns about ODA spending targets and OECD-DAC markers for disability inclusion.
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7 Conclusion Deferred
Third Report - FCDO and disability…
Introduce Department-wide targets on disability inclusion by March 2025, reporting progress by September.
The FCDO must introduce Department-wide targets on disability inclusion, as measured by the OECD-DAC markers, by March 2025, reporting progress to this Committee by September 2025. (Paragraph 38) Data collection
Government Response
The FCDO's response focuses on the importance of engaging Organisations of People with Disabilities (OPDs) and has published guidance for staff, stating it will consider additional commitments as part of an upcoming delivery plan review. This does not address the recommendation to introduce department-wide targets on disability inclusion measured by OECD-DAC markers by March 2025.
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8 Conclusion Deferred
Third Report - FCDO and disability…
FCDO has failed to implement its commitments on disaggregated disability data collection.
The FCDO acknowledges the importance of disaggregated data collection, and has in the past made repeated commitments to disaggregate data by disability. However, as acknowledged by the Second Permanent Under-Secretary at the FCDO, Nick Dyer, this has not been undertaken. … Read more
Government Response
The government's response addresses a recommendation for the FCDO to lead government efforts on disability inclusion in humanitarian and climate change policies, acknowledging its importance but stating the scope is beyond the Disability Inclusion Team's capacity. This response completely avoids the actual conclusion about the FCDO's failure to undertake committed disaggregated data collection by disability.
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9 Recommendation Accepted
Third Report - FCDO and disability…
Include specific, measurable disability data disaggregation policies in the DIRS delivery plan.
We recommend that the FCDO includes specific, measurable data disaggregation policies, guided by the UNCRPD definition of disability, in the upcoming iteration of the Disability Inclusion and Rights Strategy delivery plan, which it should then share with stakeholders and delivery … Read more
Government Response
The government agrees and is developing a new Inclusive Data Charter Action Plan (IDCAP) to meet commitments to disaggregate data by disability, sex, age, and geography in development programs. The current delivery plan already includes explicit references to disaggregated data.
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10 Conclusion Acknowledged
Third Report - FCDO and disability…
FCDO's current programming fails to adequately safeguard people with disabilities from exploitation.
People with disabilities are significantly more at risk of sexual exploitation, as well as other forms of exploitation, highlighting the importance of their appropriate safeguarding. However, we are not convinced that the FCDO is doing all it can to properly … Read more
Government Response
The government states that equity and safeguarding considerations are an integral part of delivering good value for money in the FCDO and intends to update the equity and value for money guide and share across its network, providing an update by April 2025.
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11 Recommendation Accepted in Part
Third Report - FCDO and disability…
Ensure FCDO programming does not perpetuate the negative impacts of mass institutionalisation.
We have heard worrying indications that mass institutionalising of people with disabilities can have negative impacts. The FCDO should consider this in its programming, and to ensure that none of its programming perpetuates the negative impact of mass institutionalisation. Read more
Government Response
The government partially agrees, recognizing the harm of institutionalisation and reaffirming its commitment to de-institutionalisation in its Disability Inclusion and Rights strategy. The FCDO will consult on related actions for future delivery plans and explore further advocacy and programme work to support de-institutionalisation globally.
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12 Recommendation Accepted
Third Report - FCDO and disability…
Review FCDO value for money approach to safeguard people with disabilities in programmes.
The FCDO should review its approach to securing value for money in development programmes, to ensure that these considerations do not impact on the ability of programmes to effectively safeguard people with disabilities, reporting progress to the Committee within one … Read more
Government Response
The government agrees, stating that their value for money policy is consistent with safeguarding people with disabilities and already prioritizes equity. They intend to update and share the equity and value for money guide across their network and will provide a progress update by April 2025.
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13 Recommendation Accepted in Part
Third Report - FCDO and disability…
Set out FCDO steps and metrics for ending mass institutionalisation of children with disabilities.
In its response to this Report, the FCDO should set out what steps it has taken to end the mass institutionalising of children with disabilities, as well as sharing with the Committee the metrics by which the Department measures its … Read more
Government Response
The government partially agrees, acknowledging the issue and committing to consult on actions for future delivery plans to improve monitoring and evaluation, and to explore further work on de-institutionalisation. However, they note a lack of current robust data makes setting performance metrics challenging.
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14 Conclusion Accepted
Third Report - FCDO and disability…
FCDO is failing to adequately engage with Organisations of Persons with Disabilities (OPDs).
The FCDO is not adequately fulfilling its commitment to the “Nothing about us without us” campaign for engagement with Organisations of Persons with Disabilities (OPDs), which risks undermining support and buy-in for its development programmes from people with disabilities and … Read more
Government Response
The government agrees with the conclusion, stating it has published internal and external guidance for staff to engage more meaningfully with Organisations of Persons with Disabilities (OPDs) and its current strategy delivery plan includes key actions to improve consultation and capacity building. They will also consider additional commitments in an upcoming review.
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15 Recommendation Accepted
Third Report - FCDO and disability…
Amend DIRS delivery plan to ensure consultation with Organisations of Persons with Disabilities (OPDs).
The next iteration of the DIRS delivery plan should be amended to ensure that Organisations of Persons with Disabilities are consulted on any policies that may affect them. (Paragraph 68) Humanitarian response and climate change
Government Response
The government agrees that Organisations of Persons with Disabilities (OPDs) should be actively involved in FCDO's disability inclusion work. They confirm the current strategy delivery plan includes actions for improving consultation with OPDs, and they will consider additional commitments in the upcoming delivery plan review.
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16 Conclusion Accepted in Part
Third Report - FCDO and disability…
Disability-inclusive programming is insufficiently mandated across FCDO crisis response policy documents.
Despite the increasing importance of climate change adaption, as well as the constant threat of conflict, disability-inclusive programming is not sufficiently mandated across FCDO policy documents, risking persons with disabilities being overlooked at times of crisis. (Paragraph 83) 30 FCDO … Read more
Government Response
The government partially agrees, acknowledging the importance of disability inclusion in humanitarian and climate change policies. The FCDO Disability Inclusion and Rights strategy already recognizes this, and inclusive climate action will be upgraded as part of a strategy review, alongside ongoing work to build capability and mainstream equality across the organisation.
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17 Recommendation Accepted in Part
Third Report - FCDO and disability…
Lead review of humanitarian and climate policies for stronger disability inclusion commitments.
Led by its Gender & Equalities Department and Disability Inclusion Team, the FCDO should lead Government efforts to review all humanitarian response and climate change adaption policies, ensuring that each includes stronger commitments on ensuring that disability inclusion is properly … Read more
Government Response
The government partially agrees, stating that while they accept the importance of disability inclusion in humanitarian and climate policies, the recommended cross-governmental leadership role goes beyond the capacity of the FCDO's Disability Inclusion Team. They detail ongoing internal efforts to build capability and mainstream disability inclusion, and will upgrade inclusive climate action within their own strategy review.
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Government Response AI assessment · 17 of 8 classified
Accepted 7
Accepted in Part 5
Acknowledged 2
Deferred 3
Total 8 recs + 9 conclusions