5 Not Addressed

Employment cycle schemes which are designed to prevent perpetrators of sexual exploitation and abuse from...

Recommendation
Employment cycle schemes which are designed to prevent perpetrators of sexual exploitation and abuse from being re-hired in the aid sector will only work if perpetrators are reported and robust investigations undertaken. Therefore, improving reporting and investigations should be prioritised. The FCDO should support initiatives to increase investigations capacity in the aid sector and work with its partners to ensure that the employment cycle schemes incorporate checks and balances to ensure they are just and fair to survivors and aid workers.
Government Response Summary
The government's response focuses entirely on Non-Disclosure Agreements (NDAs), agreeing they must not be misused and exploring clearer language in funding templates, without directly addressing the recommendation to prioritise improving reporting and investigation capacity or ensuring fair employment cycle schemes.
Paragraph Reference
30
Government Response
Not Addressed
HM Government Not Addressed
We agree that NDAs must not be misused to silence individuals who raise legitimate concerns. We do not think that asking organisations as part of due diligence to report the number of NDAs they have signed is the most effective way of emphasising that point. NDAs are legitimate tools of business and counting their prevalence will not give us any information about improper use or whistleblowing. We are actively exploring adding language to our funding templates, Supply Partner Code of Conduct and Due Diligence process to make our expectations of partners even clearer and ensure programme teams and central compliance teams actively monitor the appropriate use of NDAs and manage the risk of abuse. So overall we partially agree with the recommendation. 4 Seventh Special Report of Session 2019–21
Source
Committee International Development Committee
Inquiry Sexual exploitation and abuse in the aid sector: next steps
Report Seventh Report - Progress on tackling the sexual exploitation and abuse of aid beneficiaries 14 Jan 2021 HC 605
View on Parliament website
Addressee Bodies
Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office
Timeline
Recommendation age 5.5 yrs
Report published 14 Jan 2021