Overseas Financial Aid (Hansard, 4 July 2002)

§ John Barrett
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what action her Department is taking to ensure that overseas financial aid is used for development purposes. [65735]

§ Clare Short
My Department continuously reviews and assesses mechanisms for the delivery of, and accounting for, UK development funds in order to minimise the risks of misuse.
Financial aid to developing countries through direct Budget support is provided after a thorough evaluation of public financial management and accountability systems against specific benchmarks, and risks have been assessed in a systematic way.
DFID set out the arrangements in detail in a guidance note for staff in March 2002, "Managing Fiduciary Risk When Providing Direct Budget Support". A copy is being placed in the Library.
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§ John Barrett
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what evidence her Department has collated over the last 12 months that overseas financial aid has not been used for development purposes. [65731]

§ Clare Short
My Department has no such evidence.