Pre-appointment hearing: Chief Commissioner of Independent Commission for Aid Impact
Closed
What the inquiry looked at
“On Tuesday 9 December the International Development Committee took evidence from Dr Alison Evans, to assess her suitability for the role of Chief Commissioner of the Independent Commission for Aid Impact (ICAI). ICAI is the independent body responsible for the scrutiny of UK aid. It focuses on maximising the impact and effectiveness of the UK aid budget for intended beneficiaries, the delivery of value for money for the UK taxpayer and minimising corruption and waste. The session provides an opportunity to test the Government’s preferred candidate’s independence and expertise, how she will resolve any potential conflicts of interest and how she intends to undertake the job, including her accountability to the Committee. The Committee welcomed the appointment of Dr Alison Evans as Chief Commissioner of ICAI. Further information Sub-Committee on ICAI Independent Commission for Aid Impact”
The committee's words, from the inquiry page on parliament.uk ↗.
What it found
The Chief Commissioner of ICAI has a crucial role in scrutinising aid spending by the UK Government, reporting to Parliament through this Committee. We are pleased to endorse the appointment of Dr Alison Evans to this post, but we recommend that at least one of the existing Commissioners be reappointed for a further term to ensure continuity, and that one of the Commissioners be an audit professional.
The selection process used resulted in an unranked list of four candidates deemed “appointable” being presented to the Secretary of State for consideration. This puts too much power in the hands of the Secretary of State for an independent scrutiny post and threatens to undermine the candidate in the eyes of the public who may assume that the candidate most sympathetic to DFID was chosen. We recommend that panels for ICAI Commissioner appointments should be invited to rank candidates or otherwise advise the Secretary of State as they see fit. In the longer term, we recommend the Committee be able to choose the Chief Commissioner from the list of candidates.
4 Appointment of the Chief Commissioner of the Independent Commission for Aid Impact (ICAI)
What the government said
No government response is linked to this report.
How the inquiry ran
Each dot is a dated item listed on this page, from the inquiry's opening on 27 October 2014 to its close on 11 December 2014.
- Oral evidence 9 Dec 2014
- Report 11 Dec 2014
What it recommended
The committee's recommendations are not listed here yet. Read them in 7th Report - Appointment of the Chief Commissioner of the Independent Commission for Aid Impact ↗ on parliament.uk.
Evidence
Oral evidence sessions 1
- 9 Dec 2014No witnesses recordedparliament.uk ↗