Christian Aid, Oxfam and Action Aid have criticised the government after it rejected calls by MPs to give the Department for International Development more oversight of aid spending.
Earlier this year the International Development Committee published a report into Official Development Assistance funding and one of the key recommendations was that DfID should have more oversight of how other departments are allocating this money.
The UK is committed to spending 0.7 per cent of gross national income on aid. While DfID is the primary channel, around 13 per cent is delivered by other departments, such as the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.
MPs recommended that any department delivering aid be accountable to DfID because there were examples of other departments spending money without adequate oversight, but the government has rejected this suggestion.
Christine Allen, director of policy and advocacy at Christian Aid, said: “It is disturbing that ministers appear not to recognise this as a problem – they seem worryingly complacent.”
“For the sake of people living in poverty, as well as for UK taxpayers, the government should reassert that the Department for International Development must have oversight of all aid spending across government, to ensure a strong focus on poverty and effectiveness.”
Stuart Eke, deputy director for advocacy at ActionAid UK, called for more clarity, and said: “UK aid must be transparent and accountable, both to have an impact and to ensure public trust. We hope the Department for International Development will now work closely with other departments to increase aid transparency and effectiveness across government.”
Katy Chakrabortty, Oxfam GB's head of advocacy, said: "It is disappointing that the government fails to make basic transparency standards and a real focus on poverty reduction a condition for departments besides DFID to manage more aid, potentially undermining Penny Mordaunt's pledge to ensure that 'UK aid cannot be better spent'.
"The prime minister has recently spoken proudly about the value of UK aid to the world's poorest people. We have a global reputation to protect. The coming budget should be used to make sure the vast majority of aid is spent by departments best able to uphold that reputation."
Claire Godfrey, head of policy and campaigns at the umbrella body Bond, said: “It’s disappointing that the government has buried its head in the sand in response to such explicit criticisms of aid spent by departments other than DfID.”
|
Related articles
