Speech in Westminster Hall - Mon 19 Oct 2015
Immigration
"The hon. Gentleman may not be aware of the report, “Community Cohesion and Migration”—in fact, I suggest he reads it—that the Communities and Local Government Committee produced. It is the pace of immigration that concerns a lot of communities. Controlled immigration, as the hon. Member for Birmingham, Selly Oak (Steve …..."Anne Main - View Speech
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Speech in Westminster Hall - Mon 19 Oct 2015
Immigration
"My hon. Friend fought an election in 2008, so he will be only too aware that a campaign slogan was “British jobs for British workers”. It was very unhelpful, given the difficulty of getting productivity from some of our workers, which he has just described...."Anne Main - View Speech
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Speech in Commons Chamber - Wed 09 Sep 2015
Humanitarian Crisis in the Mediterranean and Europe
"My concern is that if we are to speak with authority and ensure that the support these families need is delivered, the process needs to be ongoing. We need sustainable, ongoing community support for people who are traumatised, who need language skills and who need school places. That is vital …..."Anne Main - View Speech
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Written Question
Monday 29th June 2015
Asked by:
Anne Main (Conservative - St Albans)
Question
to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how much her Department spent on the Independent Commission for Aid Impact (ICAI) in the last year; how often the ICAI audits the projects of her Department; and under what criteria such audits are carried out.
Answered by Desmond Swayne
The Independent Commission for Aid Impact (ICAI) does not audit DFID projects, this is the responsibility of DFID’s Internal Audit Department. Instead ICAI produces detailed studies covering the impact of any UK Overseas Development Assistance (ODA). The criteria for selecting studies is entirely ICAI’s concern as an independent body. They develop plans based on their criteria including coverage, materiality, interest and risk and also after public consultation. Priorities are agreed with the International Development Committee (IDC).
In 2014/15 ICAI’s expenditure was £3.4m. Since May 2011 ICAI has published 46 reports.
Written Question
Monday 29th June 2015
Asked by:
Anne Main (Conservative - St Albans)
Question
to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what effect the auditing of her Department's projects by the Independent Commission for Aid Impact has had on the performance of her Department's projects.
Answered by Desmond Swayne
The Independent Commission for Aid Impact (ICAI) does not audit DFID projects. Instead ICAI produces detailed studies covering the impact of any UK Overseas Development Assistance (ODA). DFID takes the work of ICAI very seriously. The specific impact of ICAI’s work varies from report to report but as ICAI noted in their Follow-up report published in June 2015 “Country offices and teams within DFID centrally have both in their approach and in the actions taken, shown in most cases a serious intent to address the issues we have raised”.
Written Question
Monday 29th June 2015
Asked by:
Anne Main (Conservative - St Albans)
Question
to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how the reports, evidence and recommendations of the Independent Commission for Aid Impact are scrutinised within her Department.
Answered by Desmond Swayne
DFID takes the work of Independent Commission on Aid Impact (ICAI) very seriously. Each study and follow up activity is overseen by a senior civil servant in DFID. ICAI reports are communicated to all relevant staff and published on DFID’s intranet. The Department then publishes a response, agreed by Ministers, to every ICAI recommendation setting out specific actions it will take. The Department also publishes an annual update on progress against previous recommendations online.
As ICAI noted in their follow-up report published in June 2015, “Country offices and teams within DFID centrally have both in their approach and in the actions taken, shown in most cases a serious intent to address the issues we have raised”.
Speech in Commons Chamber - Mon 03 Nov 2014
International Development (Official Development Assistance Target) Bill (Money)
"I am sorry if I sound unhelpful but I have gone through every report in the independent audit and there are things that will concern the public, such as the review of the trade development work in southern Africa where we have discovered a payment to the Government of Zimbabwe …..."Anne Main - View Speech
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Speech in Commons Chamber - Mon 03 Nov 2014
International Development (Official Development Assistance Target) Bill (Money)
"I hope that the hon. Gentleman will accept the words of the previous Minister of State, my right hon. Friend the Member for Rutland and Melton (Sir Alan Duncan), who said:
“it would be fruitless for us to invest in aid to relieve the plight of the poor in the …..."Anne Main - View Speech
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Speech in Commons Chamber - Mon 03 Nov 2014
International Development (Official Development Assistance Target) Bill (Money)
"The hon. Gentleman mentioned Africa. One of the commissioners of the Independent Commission for Aid Impact, Diana Good, who oversaw its work there, said:
“We had a number of grave concerns, from the £67 million unused money and misreporting to excessive expenses, against the background of a programme which was …..."Anne Main - View Speech
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Speech in Commons Chamber - Mon 03 Nov 2014
International Development (Official Development Assistance Target) Bill (Money)
"I will be brief because I know that there are other colleagues who wish to speak. We would be doing a disservice to the House and to members of the public if we did not point out that there are some serious concerns about the way that aid is used. …..."Anne Main - View Speech
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