Question to the Department for International Development:

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, pursuant to the Answer of 10 September 2018 to Question 170891, what steps she plans to take to assess whether the measures announced by the Prime Minister to increase the impact and effectiveness of UK aid across Africa deliver against expectations in the short and medium-term.

The impact and effectiveness of the development measures announced by the Prime Minister on her recent visit to Africa will be assessed in the same way as all UK aid, using robust and well established procedures. UK development assistance is rigorously scrutinised to ensure it is used for its intended purpose, including by DFID’s Internal Audit Department, the National Audit Office and the Independent Commission for Aid Impact. DFID implements a robust monitoring and evaluation system to ensure that UK aid reaches the intended beneficiaries and achieves the best development outcomes, with a strong focus on ensuring value for money for the UK taxpayer. Programme evaluations are conducted in line with the UK Government evaluation guidelines to help improve effectiveness and to serve an accountability function. There are strong controls in place to monitor spending, including mapping the flow of funds to beneficiaries and regular audits of programme spending. The Secretary of State for International Development has set a challenge that we ensure aid money is not just spent well, but cannot be spent better.