Question to the Department for International Development:

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, whether other government departments are required to provide evidence to her Department that official development assistance disbursed by that department tackling global challenges is in the national interest.

The UK Aid Strategy set out how the government’s aid budget will be restructured to ensure that it is spent on tackling the great global challenges from the root cause of migration and disease to the threat of terrorism and climate change, all of which impact the world’s poor and directly threaten Britain’s interests. The UK Aid Strategy sets out spending and reporting requirements.

All departments spending ODA will be required to put in place a clear plan to ensure that their programme design, quality assurance, approval, contracting and procurement, monitoring, reporting and evaluation processes represent international best practice. All UK ODA is administered with the promotion of the economic development and welfare of developing countries as its main objective, in line with the internationally agreed rules on ODA.

ODA-spending departments and funds must provide accurate and timely information on their ODA spending to DFID to meet OECD reporting requirements.