Source · Select Committees · International Development Committee

Recommendation 2

2 Rejected

Multilateral development review urgently needed for understanding ODA commitments and performance.

Conclusion
A multilateral development review is urgently needed to underpin the change in proportion of ODA spent through this channel. The Government needs a clear understanding of its current commitments and the performance of multilateral organisations it supports. (Conclusion, Paragraph 12)
Government Response Summary
The Government disagrees that a multilateral development review is required to evaluate the performance of multilateral organisations.
Government Response Rejected
HM Government Rejected
Disagree. 1. The Government is increasing the share of FCDO ODA going to multilateral institutions. This investment will be targetedstrategically to the most effective multilateral organisations in the areas partners consistently say matter most – humanitarian, health, climate & nature and economic development. This means we are increasing the FCDO’s contribution to World Bank IDA, which leverages £4 for every £1 that the UK provides. We are also protecting the FCDO’s allocations to Gavi, the Global Fund, and the African Development Bank. 2. The FCDO published the majority of its multilateral ODA programme allocations on 19 March. These allocations apply to fiscal years 2026–27, 2028–29, and 2029–30. As part of the Spending Review, the FCDO evaluates how well the multilateral portfolio aligns with UK objectives and reviews the performance and value for money of multilateral programmes. These considerations have informed the multi-year ODA programme allocations. 3. All FCDO ODA spend is in line with the Organisation for Economic Co- operation and Development (OECD) Development Assistance Committee (DAC) rules and Poverty reduction remains the foundation of our ODA spending, including through multilaterals. 4. FCDO does not agree that a multilateral development review is required to sufficiently evaluate the performance of the multilateral organisations that the UK provides funding to. 5. The FCDO’s funding to multilateral development organisations is scrutinised regularly in line with the Programme Operating Framework (PrOF). This specifies the rules which must be applied when delivering the FCDO’s policy and programmes. These include reviewing performance against objectives and alignment to UK priorities and conducting Central Assurance Assessments of each multilateral organisation that is given core funding. 6. As well as these internal tools, the Government uses external, independent assessments to evaluate the effectiveness of multilateral organisations. This includes those published by the Multilateral Organisation Performance