Minister: Don’t waste aid on office staff ... let’s spend cash ourselves
AID minister Penny Mordaunt has drawn up plans for the UK to take more control of how we help countries around the world.
The International Development Secretary has demanded a major overhaul so less of the UK’s £14.1billion aid budget is handed out through staff at international agencies.
She wants to use the cash to fund specific projects chosen by Britain with more oversight to make sure money is not wasted.
The proposal is part of this year’s comprehensive spending review, which will set the course of Government budgets for the next few years. Around a third (37 per cent) of the aid budget is currently spent as contributions to multilateral organisations, such as the International Monetary Fund, World Bank and European Commission.
Miss Mordaunt believes that by spending a larger share of the money on programmes UK officials have picked they will have better control of how it is used – making sure it is focused on this country’s priorities. The shake-up will also allow Britain to take credit for its generosity by putting the UK Aid logo on items it has paid for, such as food packages.
International agencies that want to maintain funding will need to do more to demonstrate they are providing good value for money, with the extension of a ‘payment by results’ system.
The Department for International Development has criticised its multilateral partners for ‘too much inefficiency, especially in back-office functions’. It warned in a 2016 review: ‘We are clear that organisations tasked with assisting some of the world’s most vulnerable people must bear down on their own costs.
‘This includes stricter control of daily allowances and travel expenses but also the pay levels of senior staff and boards.’ It singled out Unesco – the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation – the Commonwealth Secretariat and the Caribbean Development Bank for criticism, while health-focused organisations including the Global Fund to Fight Aids, Tuberculosis and Malaria and Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance drew praise.
The review found that the multilateral system as a whole was ‘falling short of its considerable potential’ because agencies were not working together, particularly those run by the United Nations, which were accused of in-fighting.
Britain’s foreign aid budget increased by £682million to a record £14.1billion in 2017. Some £5.3billion was spent through multilateral organisations, up by £570million on the year before.
The International Development Association received £1.3billion, the European Commission £1.4billion and the IMF Poverty Reduction and Growth Trust £726million. Under controversial targets brought in by then prime minister David Cameron, the UK is committed to spending 0.7 per cent of national income overseas every year.
A total of £67.7billion has been spent on foreign aid since the goal was first met in 2013 – £2,300 per household. Miss Mordaunt has admitted the 0.7 per cent target is ‘unsustainable’ in its current form.
Last year the Mail revealed that £589,772 of the aid budget had been lavished on a Royal Palace in London used as offices by the Commonwealth Secretariat.
‘Focused on Britain’s priorities’