Question to the Department for International Development:

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps he is taking to ensure the (a) transparency and (b) accountability of Official Development Assistance allocated to counter-narcotics programmes.

Transparency and accountability are important for all DFID aid programmes. DFID has been rated the highest performing bilateral donor and third overall in the 2018 global Aid Transparency Index. DFID’s transparency commitments ensure accountability to the UK taxpayer and the populations our programmes are supporting. Greater transparency also enhances the quality and accessibility of information on value for money of DFID’s programmes.

We promote transparency in the wider development sector through our work to support the International Aid Transparency Initiative (IATI) and by working with key delivery partners to help them publish data to IATI and link up to DFID’s data so that we can follow the delivery chain. We also encourage our programmes to build local accountability through engagement with programme beneficiaries.