§ Hugh BayleyTo ask the Minister of State for International Development whether the OECD Development Assistance Committee has produced 389W practical guidance on how to (a) reduce the costs for recipients of aid and (b) promote their ownership of it; whether an action plan to implement this has been issued; whether other G7 members have responded to the DAC guidance; and how these statements will be monitored. [113619]
§ Hilary BennThe OECD Development Assistance Committee has published a reference document entitled "Harmonising Donor Practices for Effective Aid Delivery". This includes a set of good practice papers intended to change donors' operational procedures in order to reduce the costs of aid to partner countries. The Department for International Development published in February 2003 an "Action plan to promote harmonisation" setting out what DFID will do to improve the effectiveness of its development assistance in line with the good practices set out in the DAC document. An assessment of performance against this Plan will be produced by the second quarter of 2004. To date Canada, France, Japan and the US have produced statements of action on harmonisation, other countries are expected to do so. Progress on implementing the good practice papers will be reviewed at the DAC Senior Level Meeting at the end of 2004.