The TaxPayers' Alliance submitted to the international development committee inquiry on effectiveness of UK AID on 4th May 2020.
Executive summary
- More government departments using the aid budget has eroded accountability. The secretary of state for international development should have to approve all aid projects to ensure taxpayers can hold someone responsible for waste in the budget.
- High turnover of ministers at the Department for International Development has curtailed the department’s ability to direct aid spending on a strategic level. Cooperation with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office should be further increased to mitigate the effects of this in the future.
- Increasingly, other government departments have used the aid budget to cover their day-to-day spending commitments. This raises the question of whether the 0.7 per cent target is inappropriately sapping other departments of necessary funding.
- In times of significant economic disruption, the UK aid budget should be diverted towards domestic spending priorities. This is lawful under the International Development Act 2015.
- The UK spends significantly more than most major aid donors, and is the only one with a dedicated department.