Recommendation 5

HM Government Accepted

Disagree 7. The Government is putting modern development partnerships at the heart of its new approach, reflecting the needs of the UK’s partners. Through our refreshed approach to partnerships, the FCDO will respond to the needs of our partners and be better placed to showcase the whole of the UK’s offer and support, and to work towards an end of reliance on aid. The UK will also continue to use our influence to push the big international institutions to solve global issues. 8. The Government regularly draws on the UK’s global soft power assets— including its leading soft power sectors, the British Council, BBC World Service, cultural cooperation agreements and major international platforms such as Expo 2025 Osaka—to promote UK values and strengthen trusted partnerships. This supports wider diplomatic and development engagement. 9. All UK ODA spending, including for multilaterals, is reported in the Statistics on International Development publication on a calendar year basis. The FCDO publishes up-to-date ODA programme information on Development Tracker on GOV.UK. The FCDO continues to evolve this site in response to user feedback. The FCDO also continues to encourage all implementing partners, including multilaterals, to publish to the International Aid Transparency Initiative (IATI) standard. This transparency ensures that the UK public and ODA recipients are informed about how FCDO ODA is spent. 10. The FCDO’s planned ODA programme allocations for the next three years were published on 19 March, including most of the allocations to multilateral organisations. 11. The Government is already shifting how it communicates to the UK public to better demonstrate the impact, value for money and mutual benefit of international development, focussing on issues that matter to the UK public: health, jobs and security. 12. As part of the Government’s communication approach, the FCDO is highlighting the UK’s contribution to multilateral organisations – the work that these organisations do and the multiplying effect and impact our contribution will have. For example, to promote our pledge to Gavi, we demonstrated how the investment would protect up to 500 million children and save up to 8 million more lives while also supporting UK science and British jobs. As co-host of the Global Fund’s Eighth Replenishment Summit, our communication activity highlighted how UK investment is helping save up to 1.3 million lives and strengthening shared health security – supporting partners to tackle AIDS, TB and malaria and build stronger health systems while protecting British people and the NHS. To promote our renewed support for the World Bank’s International Development Association Fund, our communications highlighted how investment will benefit 1.9 billion people and multiply every pound fourfold. A strategic investment that World Bank President Ajay Banga amplified further by stating how this multiplier effect strengthens global economic stability while also creating future economic opportunities for the UK. 13. The FCDO also partnered with Anoushka Sinha, the world’s youngest World Bank advisor and Forbes 30 Under 30 honouree, to highlight our partnership with the World Bank to younger audiences. 14. The Government incorporates collaboration with multilateral partners as part of our overarching proactive communication plan to highlight and promote the modern approach to development both to the UK public and international audiences.