§ Mr. CatonTo ask the Minister of State, Department for International Development what plans the Department has to facilitate the development of mutually beneficial partnerships between donors and non-governmental organisations working to assist people in developing nations. [125817]
§ Hilary BennDFID has significant involvement with a wide range of NGOs and other civil society organisations. In 2001–02, we entered into funding partnerships with over 130 UK based NGOs providing financial support of over £190 million. These partnerships involve working in a wide variety of ways, ranging from humanitarian assistance to Partnership Programme Agreements, which are strategic agreements that provide support for mutually agreed development objectives.
There are regular meetings with British Overseas NGOs for Development (BOND), the umbrella membership organisation representing UK NGOs active in international development, and individual NGOs to discuss issues of policy and procedures.
DFID officials are active participants at the EC Member States Working Group on NGO co-financing, that is considering how best to build mutually beneficial partnerships with NGOs. We also maintain relations with other donors, both centrally and through our various offices in the developing world.