§ Mr. Ben ChapmanTo ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment she has made of the proportion of the aid programme that is best distributed by her Department direct and the proportion best distributed by other agencies and organisations. [51652]
§ Mr. FoulkesThe Department for International Development (DFID) disburses the development assistance budget through a number of channels, including multilateral organisations, civil society organisations and the Commonwealth Development Corporation, in addition 713W to its own programmes in developing countries. As the new White Paper indicates, the primary objective of our development assistance programme—eliminating world poverty—requires building a range of partnerships for development, covering a wide range of interventions, which will vary from country to country. For example, in many countries, it will be helpful to work with the private sector to strengthen development; we are therefore building new partnerships with business.