Select committee: International Development Committee
Recommendation 21
Ninth Report - Investment for development: The UK’s strategy towards Development Finance Institutions
Published 15 Sep 2023
Paragraph 115
Addressed to Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office
International Development Committee Investment for development: The UK’s strategy towards Development Finance Institutions All items in this report Report on parliament.uk ↗ Inquiry on parliament.uk ↗
Recommendation (the committee's words)
BII needs to work towards greater transparency of its investment data. As BII has stewardship over taxpayers’ money, there is greater responsibility to ensure propriety over its investments by annually publishing performance data. We welcome BII’s steps towards improving its transparency by creating a new role for a Transparency and Disclosures Officer. We note however that there is scope for considerable improvement in BII becoming a more transparent institution.
From: International Development Committee, Ninth Report - Investment for development: The UK’s strategy towards Development Finance Institutions (HC 884), paragraph 115, 15 September 2023
Government response
The government responded to the whole report on 7 December 2023 (deadline 15 November 2023).
Summary written by Accountability Index from the government's response. It is not the government's own words.The Government states that it "accepts or partially accepts all recommendations" on British International Investment (BII) and will work with BII to implement relevant reforms, including in negotiations for the 2027 to 2031 strategy.
- On governance, it "partially accepts" Recommendation 1 but "does not agree" that a government official taking a non-voting seat on BII's Board would enhance governance, citing risks such as "blurring lines of responsibility".
- On the British Investment Partnerships strategy (Recommendation 6), it accepts, but notes that consultation "will take time" and says it "does feel able to commit to publishing by summer 2024".
- On targets for BII, it says it is "not appropriate" to introduce multiple additional SMART targets in this strategy period, but the FCDO "will also review its SMART targets for BII as part of the next strategy period from 2027".
- On auditing and annual impact assessments, it believes a full rolling audit "would be disproportionate" but says Ministers "will review in 2024 whether additional spot checks" by external experts "are required".