§ Mr. RobathanTo ask the Secretary of State for International Development, pursuant to the Annual report of the Department for International Development, Cm 4610, para 4.22, relating to the part of DFID's budget spent through EC programmes, what procedures were used in accounting for this money by her Department. [121837]
§ Clare ShortThe UK contribution to the European Union Budget, including development spending, is paid from the Consolidated Fund to an EC account held in the UK. These payments are administered by the Treasury.
For our European Development Fund (EDF) payments, which are made quarterly, my Department is notified by the EDF of the required amount shortly before payment is required. It is made to DFID's euro account at the Bank of England. When the EDF need to call down these funds, they notify my Department, which writes to the Bank of England authorising transfer to the EDF account.
Audit of all EC expenditure, including development programmes, is carried out by the Court of Auditors. I have access to their report, which is also scrutinised by the National Audit Office.