Per the government announcement, The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) publishes every 3 months details of permanent secretaries’ external meetings and senior officials’ business expenses and hospitality. This data is also on data.gov.uk: Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office: senior officials’ business expenses and hospitality. The most recent release, covering the period April to June 2026, details £1.2 million spent across 183 meetings and events undertaken by FCDO senior officials. The statement does not address the specific breakdown of this expenditure by region or diplomatic objective.
Context
The FCDO’s regular publication of this data, initiated in 2018, serves as a measure of transparency regarding the operational costs of its senior officials’ engagements. The release follows a similar report published in September 2023. This quarterly release, as outlined in the existing policy, provides a snapshot of expenditure on hospitality and business expenses incurred by FCDO permanent secretaries and senior officials during the specified period. The statement does not mention any changes to the reporting methodology.
What to Watch
Should the visit yield further insights into the FCDO’s engagement strategy, the ministry will continue to publish this data every three months. The next release is scheduled for December 2026. The statement does not address any potential changes to the reporting criteria that may be implemented in future releases. The data is available for public scrutiny on data.gov.uk.
