Recommendations & Conclusions
15 items
1
Conclusion
7th Report – Assessing Value, Ensuring …
Rejected
DFID was a global leader in its approach to value for money (VfM), and the Committee are pleased to hear that some of the core foundations of DFID’s framework have transferred into the FCDO. However, it is concerning that there is very little publicly available information on the FCDO’s current …
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DFID was a global leader in its approach to value for money (VfM), and the Committee are pleased to hear that some of the core foundations of DFID’s framework have transferred into the FCDO. However, it is concerning that there is very little publicly available information on the FCDO’s current understanding of, and approach to, VfM. There is also limited public guidance available for FCDO staff and operating partners on the FCDO’s approach to VfM, and how to address VfM issues. This is particularly alarming in respect to ensuring that the principle of equity, achieving which often requires more resource- or time-intensive interventions, is assessed appropriately. (Conclusion, Paragraph 17)
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Government response AI summary
The government disagrees with the concern, stating that its Programme Operating Framework (PrOF) and internal PrOF Guides already provide rules and guidance on Value for Money (VfM). It plans to update existing guidance, share good examples, and roll out VfM training for staff instead of …
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Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office
2
Conclusion
7th Report – Assessing Value, Ensuring …
Rejected
The FCDO must publish a clear strategy and framework regarding its approach to VfM, as had previously been done by DFID and other Government departments. This should include: a. A clear definition of VfM; b. The FCDO’s core VfM principles; c. How the FCDO assesses VfM against its core principles; …
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The FCDO must publish a clear strategy and framework regarding its approach to VfM, as had previously been done by DFID and other Government departments. This should include: a. A clear definition of VfM; b. The FCDO’s core VfM principles; c. How the FCDO assesses VfM against its core principles; d. Governance, accountability and evaluation measures; and e. Examples of how VfM issues can and should be considered in different contexts, including when working with partners. (Recommendation, Paragraph 18)
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Government response AI summary
The government rejects the recommendation to publish a new, clear Value for Money (VfM) strategy and framework. It asserts that existing documents like the Programme Operating Framework (PrOF) and PrOF Guides already cover these aspects, and it will focus on updating this existing guidance.
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Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office
8
Conclusion
7th Report – Assessing Value, Ensuring …
Rejected
The UK’s planned reduction of ODA spend from 0.5% to 0.3% of gross national income will have devastating consequences across the world. The Committee recognises that increased defence spending is needed and is to be welcomed. However, to do this at the expense of the world’s most vulnerable undermines not …
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The UK’s planned reduction of ODA spend from 0.5% to 0.3% of gross national income will have devastating consequences across the world. The Committee recognises that increased defence spending is needed and is to be welcomed. However, to do this at the expense of the world’s most vulnerable undermines not only the UK’s soft power, but also its national security. (Conclusion, Paragraph 36)
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Government response AI summary
The government disagrees with the conclusion, reiterating its commitment to returning to 0.7% ODA when fiscal circumstances allow, based on OBR forecasts, and notes these conditions are not met within this Parliament.
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Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office
9
Conclusion
7th Report – Assessing Value, Ensuring …
Rejected
Guaranteed, long-term funding for programmes is essential for ensuring that VfM is achieved, and that the impact of FCDO work continues to be felt long after the end of a programme. In the last five years, the UK has significantly cut its aid budget twice—damaging not just its international reputation …
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Guaranteed, long-term funding for programmes is essential for ensuring that VfM is achieved, and that the impact of FCDO work continues to be felt long after the end of a programme. In the last five years, the UK has significantly cut its aid budget twice—damaging not just its international reputation and standing, but also those most in dire need of assistance. (Conclusion, Paragraph 37) 45
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Government response AI summary
The government disagrees with the conclusion, reiterating its commitment to returning to 0.7% ODA when fiscal circumstances allow, based on OBR forecasts, and notes these conditions are not met within this Parliament.
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Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office
10
Recommendation
7th Report – Assessing Value, Ensuring …
Rejected
The Government must make every effort to return to spending 0.5% of GNI on ODA at a minimum, as soon as possible. The Government should produce a clear schedule for rebuilding aid from the interim level of 0.3%, with defined milestones in each Spending Review to provide certainty to the …
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The Government must make every effort to return to spending 0.5% of GNI on ODA at a minimum, as soon as possible. The Government should produce a clear schedule for rebuilding aid from the interim level of 0.3%, with defined milestones in each Spending Review to provide certainty to the FCDO and partner countries and organisations. (Recommendation, Paragraph 38)
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Government response AI summary
The government explicitly rejects the recommendation to return to 0.5% ODA, stating its commitment is to 0.7% when fiscal circumstances allow, and notes these conditions are not expected to be met within this Parliament.
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Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office
12
Conclusion
7th Report – Assessing Value, Ensuring …
Rejected
The Committee notes the continuing badging of high levels of Government spending on refugee costs within the UK as ODA with dismay. Whilst the Spending Review commits to ending the use of asylum hotels in this Parliament, the level of the UK’s in-country support for the poorest people in the …
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The Committee notes the continuing badging of high levels of Government spending on refugee costs within the UK as ODA with dismay. Whilst the Spending Review commits to ending the use of asylum hotels in this Parliament, the level of the UK’s in-country support for the poorest people in the world should not be dependent on the success of domestic immigration policy. (Conclusion, Paragraph 45)
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Government response AI summary
The government disagrees, stating the FCDO's ODA budget is no longer automatically exposed to in-donor refugee costs and that measures are being taken to reduce asylum costs to ensure more ODA can be spent on overseas development.
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Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office
13
Conclusion
7th Report – Assessing Value, Ensuring …
Rejected
Whilst the Committee recognises that in-donor refugee spend is allowable under DAC rules, in a world of rapidly decreasing aid budgets it is not in the spirit of what ODA should be used for, which per the OECD is spending that promotes and specifically targets the economic development and welfare …
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Whilst the Committee recognises that in-donor refugee spend is allowable under DAC rules, in a world of rapidly decreasing aid budgets it is not in the spirit of what ODA should be used for, which per the OECD is spending that promotes and specifically targets the economic development and welfare of developing countries. Excessive spend on hotel costs is not an effective use of development budgets. (Conclusion, Paragraph 46)
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Government response AI summary
The government disagrees, stating that the FCDO's ODA budget is no longer automatically exposed to in-donor refugee costs and measures are being taken to reduce these costs, thereby allowing more ODA for overseas development.
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Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office
14
Recommendation
7th Report – Assessing Value, Ensuring …
Rejected
The Government should consider that Home Office in-donor refugee costs should be capped at a fixed percentage of total ODA spend to protect a rapidly diminishing envelope of funding. This should include formal review points if projections breach 80% of the agreed caps. (Recommendation, Paragraph 47)
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The Government should consider that Home Office in-donor refugee costs should be capped at a fixed percentage of total ODA spend to protect a rapidly diminishing envelope of funding. This should include formal review points if projections breach 80% of the agreed caps. (Recommendation, Paragraph 47)
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Government response AI summary
The government explicitly rejects the recommendation for a cap on Home Office in-donor refugee costs, stating the FCDO's ODA budget is no longer automatically exposed and measures are in place to reduce asylum costs.
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Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office
15
Conclusion
7th Report – Assessing Value, Ensuring …
Rejected
The FCDO must make formal representation to HM Treasury that any unspent ODA allocated to other Government departments is channelled back through the FCDO to continue its vital humanitarian and development work, and to ensure that overall ODA spending does not fall even further to below 0.3%. This representation must …
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The FCDO must make formal representation to HM Treasury that any unspent ODA allocated to other Government departments is channelled back through the FCDO to continue its vital humanitarian and development work, and to ensure that overall ODA spending does not fall even further to below 0.3%. This representation must not be on a case-by-case basis, but requesting a commitment that all unspent ODA in future will be reallocated back to the FCDO. (Recommendation, Paragraph 48)
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Government response AI summary
The government rejects the recommendation, explaining that ODA Department Expenditure Limit totals will no longer be adjusted for GNI fluctuations, meaning the FCDO's budget is no longer automatically exposed to other department's spending, thus providing greater predictability.
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Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office
16
Conclusion
7th Report – Assessing Value, Ensuring …
Rejected
VfM approaches differ between Government departments, including in relation to ODA spend. The Minister’s announcement that the FCDO have been granted a greater leadership position in the way that ODA is spent across Whitehall is an opportunity for the FCDO to exert its leadership on all departments spending ODA and …
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VfM approaches differ between Government departments, including in relation to ODA spend. The Minister’s announcement that the FCDO have been granted a greater leadership position in the way that ODA is spent across Whitehall is an opportunity for the FCDO to exert its leadership on all departments spending ODA and ensure that maximum VfM is being achieved across all aid spending. (Conclusion, Paragraph 49) 46
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Government response AI summary
The government disagrees with the premise that the FCDO should exert leadership over other departments' ODA spend, stating that individual departmental Secretaries of State remain accountable, and the Minister for Development already provides cross-government oversight.
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Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office
17
Conclusion
7th Report – Assessing Value, Ensuring …
Rejected
Achieving VfM for every pound of ODA is now more vital than ever, and it is essential that one consistent framework is applied across all aid spending. Given that the FCDO is the largest administrator of ODA, its published framework, in line with our recommendation in Chapter 1, should be …
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Achieving VfM for every pound of ODA is now more vital than ever, and it is essential that one consistent framework is applied across all aid spending. Given that the FCDO is the largest administrator of ODA, its published framework, in line with our recommendation in Chapter 1, should be used, with the Second Permanent Under-Secretary of the FCDO having formal oversight over the VfM of ODA spending across all departments. (Recommendation, Paragraph 50) The FCDO’s engagement with partners
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Government response AI summary
The government disagrees with applying one consistent VfM framework across all aid spending and formal oversight by the FCDO's Second Permanent Under-Secretary, stating that departmental Secretaries of State are individually accountable for their department's spending.
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Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office
28
Conclusion
7th Report – Assessing Value, Ensuring …
Rejected
We are concerned about the potential loss of expertise within the FCDO as a result of engagement with private contractors, particularly where contracts have been ongoing for many years, where in-house expertise could have instead been used. (Conclusion, Paragraph 90)
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We are concerned about the potential loss of expertise within the FCDO as a result of engagement with private contractors, particularly where contracts have been ongoing for many years, where in-house expertise could have instead been used. (Conclusion, Paragraph 90)
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Government response AI summary
The government disagrees with the committee's concern, stating that existing robust governance, performance reviews, and contract management processes already provide sufficient oversight and accountability, thereby preventing loss of expertise.
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Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office
29
Conclusion
7th Report – Assessing Value, Ensuring …
Rejected
The FCDO should perform an audit of all individual private contractor engagement longer than 12 months or approaching renewal. This must assess whether extended tenures align with performance outcomes and original mandates, with findings with clear recommendations for terminations or formal renegotiations to be escalated to senior leadership. (Recommendation, Paragraph …
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The FCDO should perform an audit of all individual private contractor engagement longer than 12 months or approaching renewal. This must assess whether extended tenures align with performance outcomes and original mandates, with findings with clear recommendations for terminations or formal renegotiations to be escalated to senior leadership. (Recommendation, Paragraph 91) 48 Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning
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Government response AI summary
The government rejects the recommendation for an audit, stating that existing robust governance, performance reviews, and contract management processes already provide sufficient oversight and accountability, making additional audits unnecessary.
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Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office
35
Conclusion
7th Report – Assessing Value, Ensuring …
Rejected
As a global leader in promoting VfM across development spending, it is vital that the FCDO protects its MEL budget. MEL should not be optional; it is a core function that underpins effective, accountable and adaptive programming. Without appropriate and complete MEL in place, the VfM of FCDO programmes cannot …
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As a global leader in promoting VfM across development spending, it is vital that the FCDO protects its MEL budget. MEL should not be optional; it is a core function that underpins effective, accountable and adaptive programming. Without appropriate and complete MEL in place, the VfM of FCDO programmes cannot be adequately assessed. It is highly concerning that previous ODA reductions resulted in MEL being cut from programme budgets. (Conclusion, Paragraph 108) 49
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Government response AI summary
The government disagrees with the implied recommendation to protect MEL budgets or ringfence MEL spend. They state that ringfencing is inappropriate as FCDO needs flexibility to prioritise resources, though they remain committed to proportionate and strategic MEL and will make monitoring mandatory.
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Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office
36
Conclusion
7th Report – Assessing Value, Ensuring …
Rejected
It is essential that the FCDO ringfences MEL spend within programme budgets and protects these throughout the reduction of ODA to 0.3% of GNI. Further cuts to MEL threaten to undermine the very assessments that sustain the accountability and impact of all FCDO work. (Recommendation, Paragraph 109)
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It is essential that the FCDO ringfences MEL spend within programme budgets and protects these throughout the reduction of ODA to 0.3% of GNI. Further cuts to MEL threaten to undermine the very assessments that sustain the accountability and impact of all FCDO work. (Recommendation, Paragraph 109)
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Government response AI summary
The government rejects the recommendation to ringfence MEL spend within programme budgets, stating it is not appropriate in the current fiscal landscape as FCDO requires flexibility to prioritise resources. They remain committed to proportionate and strategic MEL.
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Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office