Select Committee · International Development Committee

Effectiveness of UK AID

Status: Closed Opened: 9 Mar 2020 Closed: 2 Oct 2020 12 recommendations 4 conclusions 2 reports

Interim and final Report's published The International Development Committee launched an inquiry into the role of UK aid and the work of the Department for International Development (DFID). The inquiry was aimed at the fundamentals of what UK aid is spent on and who spends it. During this inquiry, the Government merged the FCO and … Show more

Clear

Reports

2 reports
Title HC No. Published Items Response
Fourth Report - Effectiveness of UK aid: potential impact o… HC 596 16 Jul 2020 16 Responded
Second Report - Effectiveness of UK aid: interim findings HC 215 9 Jun 2020 0

Recommendations & Conclusions

2 items
3 Recommendation Fourth Report - Effectiveness of UK aid… Not Addressed

In the light of developments since the publication of this Committee’s interim findings on the...

In the light of developments since the publication of this Committee’s interim findings on the effectiveness of UK aid, we restate the recommendation we made in that report about significant reorganisations of UK aid: that the Government should present a statement to Parliament setting out an evidence-led rationale for any … Read more

Government response AI summary
The government justifies the merger by citing efficiency and influence, noting that long-term cost savings may occur but are not the primary goal, and that work has begun to monitor short-term additional costs. It does not commit to presenting a formal, quantified statement to Parliament …
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Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office
4 Conclusion Fourth Report - Effectiveness of UK aid… Not Addressed

While there has been a trend in recent years for some OECD donor countries to...

While there has been a trend in recent years for some OECD donor countries to merge their development and foreign policy administrative bodies, all the other most substantial donor countries - the United States, Germany, France and Japan - typically adopt governance models where there is a clear separation between … Read more

Government response AI summary
The government justifies its decision to merge DFID and FCO, stating it will enhance aid by aligning development and foreign policy and is considering international evidence from other mergers, without directly addressing the committee's observation about other substantial donor countries typically separating policy and implementation.
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Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office

Oral evidence sessions

2 sessions
Date Witnesses
28 Apr 2020 Joelle Jenny · Cabinet Secretariat, Nick Dyer · Foreign Commonwealth & Development Office, Rt Hon Anne-Marie Trevelyan, Rt Hon James Cleverly View ↗
17 Mar 2020 Emma Mawdsley · University of Cambridge, Ian Mitchell · Centre for Global Development, James Rogers · Henry Jackson Society, Tamsyn Barton · Independent Commission for Aid Impact View ↗

Who gave evidence

8 witnesses
WitnessOrganisationSessions
Emma Mawdsley · Vice-Principal, Fellow, Newham College University of Cambridge 1
Ian Mitchell · Co-Director, Europe and Senior Policy Fellow Centre for Global Development 1
James Rogers · Directory of the Society's Global Britain Program… Henry Jackson Society 1
Joelle Jenny · Director of Joint Funds Unit Cabinet Secretariat 1
Nick Dyer · Second Permanent Under-Secretary Foreign Commonwealth & Development Office 1
Rt Hon Anne-Marie Trevelyan 1
Rt Hon James Cleverly 1
Tamsyn Barton · Chief Commissioner Independent Commission for Aid Impact 1

Correspondence

10 letters
DateDirectionTitle
22 Sep 2020 Correspondence from the Foreign Secretary to the Chair, concerning the creation…
10 Jul 2020 Correspondence from the Deputy National Security Adviser, 10 Downing Street to …
10 Jul 2020 Correspondence to the Prime Minister from the Chair's of the Defence, Foreign A…
10 Jul 2020 Correspondence from the Deputy National Security Adviser to the International D…
2 Jul 2020 To cttee Correspondence following Chair's letter from the Secretary of State for Interna…
2 Jul 2020 Correspondence from the Secretary of State for International Development and Fo…
2 Jul 2020 Correspondence from the Chair to the Secretary of State for International Devel…
19 May 2020 Correspondence from the Director, Joint Funds Unit, relating to follow-up on th…
19 May 2020 Correspondence from the Secretary of State, relating to follow-up to the Effect…
26 Mar 2020 Correspondence from the Prime Minister, second reply, concerning the Integrated…