§ Mr. DevlinTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what measures of performance are employed by his Department to ensure value for money.
§ Mr. Lennox-BoydThe Foreign and Commonwealth Office diplomatic wing uses a variety of performance measures, which vary according to the function or activity involved, to ensure value for money. Specific value for money targets for the last two financial years have been notified to Parliament in evidence on the annual public expenditure White Paper. Some of the most significant of these measures will continue to be published annually in the departmental report, which replaced the public expenditure White Paper.
In the aid programme, value for money is ensured through the application of the Overseas Development Administration's aid effectiveness procedures which are set out in the annual departmental report.