Asked by: Lord Stoddart of Swindon (Independent Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the savings that would be made if UK aid spending were based on the world average percentage spend for overseas aid.
Answered by Lord Bates
DFID does not make such estimates. However, data on the different percentages of Official Development Assistance of Gross National Income is published openly by the OECD, and is available with this link http://www.oecd.org/dac/financing-sustainable-development/development-finance-data/ODA-2016-detailed-summary.pdf. The UK Government is committed to spending 0.7% of Gross National Income on Aid as set out in the International Development (Official Development Assistance Target) Act 2015.
Asked by: Lord Stoddart of Swindon (Independent Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what amount they expect to spend on overseas aid, including UK aid administered by the EU, between 2018 and 2025.
Answered by Lord Bates
The UK Government has committed to spending 0.7% of Gross National Income (GNI) on Official Development Assistance (ODA). The budget to achieve this is calculated using forecasts from the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) (latest published in the EFO in November 2017). These numbers are indicative and will be updated in future budgets to reflect the most up to date OBR forecasts.
Asked by: Lord Stoddart of Swindon (Independent Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what was the total amount spent on overseas aid, including UK aid administered by the EU, between 2010 and 2017.
Answered by Lord Bates
The total amount of UK Official Development Assistance (ODA) between 2010 and 2016, including UK aid administered by the EU is shown in the table below. Preliminary ODA spend figures for 2017 will be available in the spring in Statistics on International Development.
Table: Total UK ODA and UK ODA through the EU, 2010 to 2016
Year | Total UK ODA, £ billion |
| |
| |
2010 | 8.5 |
2011 | 8.6 |
2012 | 8.8 |
2013 | 11.4 |
2014 | 11.7 |
2015 | 12.1 |
2016 | 13.4 |
Source: Statistics on International Development
Asked by: Lord Stoddart of Swindon (Independent Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of the European Parliament's report that 50 per cent of the EU £23 billion aid budget has been delayed or not used, and whether they plan to take steps to terminate the policy of delivering part of the UK overseas aid budget through the EU.
Answered by Baroness Verma
The report concerned was compiled by an individual Member of the European Parliament and was not an analysis representing the views of the European Parliament as a whole. It was based on a reading of reports by EU offices in non-EU countries, intended to identify potential problems at an early stage, so that things can be put right in time. In the event that it is proven that money has been wasted, we expect the EU and its audit institutions to take swift and decisive action to recoup funds and to carry out a thorough review of all its programmes to provide a clear set of actions to stop this happening again.
Asked by: Lord Stoddart of Swindon (Independent Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Statement by Baroness Verma on 10 December 2015 (HLWS370) concerning plans to tackle violence against women and girls overseas, whether the plans will be financed through the overseas aid budget or by separate financial provisions, and what measures will be put in place to ensure that the finance provided is used exclusively to assist the victims of violence.
Answered by Baroness Verma
The UK Government is proud of the leadership role that it is taking to tackle violence against women and girls at home and overseas, including domestic violence, sexual violence, FGM and child, early and forced marriage. Plans outlined in the Written Ministerial Statement to address violence against women and girls overseas are financed through the overseas aid budget. This covers a range of interventions, all of which are necessary, to eliminate violence against women and girls. It includes the essential activities providing support to survivors of violence; programming to actively prevent violence; research to test and understand what works to stop violence in different contexts, and efforts to strengthen the international system to deliver results at scale.
Asked by: Lord Stoddart of Swindon (Independent Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the financial aid commitments made by them to foreign countries at the Paris Climate Summit will be met from the overseas aid budget, or from which other sources; and what safeguards will be put in place to ensure that the funds provided are used exclusively for the purpose intended.
Answered by Baroness Verma
The Government will provide £5.8 billion over the next five years to support developing countries using the UK’s International Climate Fund (ICF), which is channeled through DFID, the Department of Energy & Climate Change, and the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs. All ICF support is Official Development Assistance (ODA). The UK is proud to be a 0.7% donor and is promoting climate smart development across the aid portfolio.
We have rigorous programme design processes and robust monitoring and evaluation arrangements for ODA spending, including the ICF. We also use independently reviewed methodologies and key performance indicators to track impact and the value for money of ICF interventions. The Independent Commission on Aid Impact gave the ICF a positive assessment in December 2014, saying it was well on the way to achieving its ambitious objectives.
Asked by: Lord Stoddart of Swindon (Independent Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what was the value of United Kingdom overseas aid administered by the European Union in 2013; and what they expect the figure to be in 2014.
Answered by Baroness Northover
In 2013, the UK share of official development assistance funded from the EU budget was £813 million. UK’s contribution to the European Development Fund (EDF), a Member States voluntary fund not financed from the EU budget but also administered by the Commission, was £407 million. Estimates for the UK share of official development assistance funded from the EU budget in 2014 will be published in April 2015 as part of the provisional ODA:GNI statistics publication for 2014. The UK’s contribution to the EDF in 2014 is currently estimated to be £328 million.
Asked by: Lord Stoddart of Swindon (Independent Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the total cost of contributions paid by the United Kingdom to European Union programmes falling outside the European Union budget in the years 2010–13 inclusive; what is the estimated total for 2014; and how those contributions are financed.
Answered by Baroness Northover
The UK has contributed £1,587 million to the European Development Fund 2010-2013 inclusive. The estimated total for 2014 is £326 million, subject to exchange rates. The contributions are financed from the DFID budget.
Asked by: Lord Stoddart of Swindon (Independent Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the latest figure of the annual average percentage of gross domestic product paid by contributing countries in official development assistance; and what would be the cost to the United Kingdom if it used that average in assessing its own aid programme.
Answered by Baroness Northover
Overseas Development Assistance (ODA) is reported by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development’s Development Assistance Committee (OECD DAC) through its donor states as a proportion of Gross National Income (GNI). DFID calculates ODA disbursements to measure its stated goal of achieving 0.7% during 2013 and in order that international comparisons can be made with other DAC donor states.
The average ODA to GNI ratio for 2013 for all DAC donor states is 0.397%. The UK GNI for 2013 (using the ESA95 unadjusted for (Eurostat) reservations methodology) was £1,622,166m. If the average percentage were applied, the UK contribution would be £6,437m.