This is serious... Commons WILL act

THE Mail on Sunday today reports on evidence submitted in June to the International Development Committee, which I chair. We take very seriously our duty to ensure that British taxpayers’ money is well spent and that the Government delivers value for money.

Earlier this year, concerns were raised about the use of contractors by the Department for International Development, including by this newspaper. We looked into this by asking if contractors deliver value for taxpayers’ money, and looking at how well DFID manages relationships with contractors.

We asked for written evidence. This was followed by a public session of the committee, during which we heard from critics and representatives of major contractors used by DFID.

Today’s allegations are serious and concerning. We did receive written and oral evidence from Adam Smith International. It is sometimes the case that Select Committees will discuss evidence submitted to them that may lead to the submission being revised or updated before it is published.

I will be taking the allegations made in today’s Mail on Sunday to the full International Development Committee and recommending we investigate them fully.

This week Secretary of State Priti Patel published long-awaited reviews of UK aid and development. We take evidence from her later this month. In the New Year we will publish our final report on how DFID allocates its resources.