Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Sugg on 30 October (HL9430), what mechanisms they have put in place to assess the effectiveness of their financial contribution to the work of the Access to COVID-19 Tools Accelerator.

The Access to COVID-19 Tools (ACT) Accelerator is a coalition of partners, including the World Health Organisation (WHO), the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the Wellcome Trust, the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, Unitaid, the Global Fund, the Foundation for Innovative New Diagnostics (FIND), and others. The UK is a founding member of the ACT-Accelerator, and provides strategic guidance through representation on the ACT-Accelerator Facilitation Council.

The UK funds leading organisations that are committed to delivering the ACT-Accelerator's objectives. The breakdown of these financial contributions is outlined in the Written Answer HL9851. FCDO funding agreements with these partners set out objectives for UK funding, and are subject to rigorous programme management procedures, including routine financial and results reporting, audits, and annual reviews. The UK is an active participant in governance boards and committees for multi-donor funded organisations, including Gavi and CEPI, and works with other donors to set objectives, monitor performance, and ensure strong financial management and reporting.