William Wragg – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

The below Parliamentary question was asked by William Wragg on 2016-03-24.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps she is taking ensure that UK overseas aid is spent effectively and transparently.

Mr Desmond Swayne

As set out in the aid strategy, UK aid: tackling global challenges in the national interest, the government will ensure that every penny of money spent delivers value for taxpayers, and projects that do not will be cancelled. Departments follow good financial management principles set out in HM Treasury guidance in ‘Managing Public Money’ for all their expenditure. In addition, ODA spend is subject to scrutiny by the Independent Commission for Aid Impact. The UK Aid Strategy also commits all departments to achieving greater levels of transparency in aid spend.

DFID has robust internal processes such as strong ministerial oversight, mandatory reviews on all programmes, detailed management information for use at all levels of the organisation including on project performance and quality. Other departments will have their own arrangements and DFID will continue to share good practice advice with them.