Question to the Department for International Development:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what measures are in place to test the effectiveness of aid spending through the UK Official Development Assistance budget.

UK ODA is scrutinised by the Independent Commission for Aid Impact (ICAI), which focuses on the delivery of value for money and maximising the impact and effectiveness of UK aid. ICAI reports directly to Parliament through the International Development Committee (IDC) ensuring both independence and accountability of the ODA. The National Audit Office also scrutinises departmental spending including the effectiveness of ODA spending.

As part of DFID’s programme approval process, an accredited Evaluation Advisor reviews the evaluation plan for the ongoing effectiveness of the programme. DFID reviews all programmes annually, providing an assessment of performance, ongoing relevance, value for money, lessons learned, and any remedial action required. Individual government departments are responsible for design, evaluation and governance of their Overseas Development Assistance (ODA) budget. However, DFID makes available some relevant evaluation tools to support other departments.