Question to the Department for International Development:

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, pursuant to the Answer of 13 December 2017 to Question 118369 on Palestinians: overseas aid, what the robust verification system that validates that funds are used for the intended purposes is; and whether that system includes the payment of those funds into an account used only to pay the salaries of health and education public servants on the pre-approved EU list.

The Palestinian Authority payroll is checked by independent auditors, and UK payments made to all eligible beneficiaries are traced through the verification process. The EU Palestinian-European Socio-Economic Management Assistance Mechanism (PEGASE) uses a dedicated sub-account within the PA’s Single Treasury Account for the purpose of contributing to public servant salaries. The UK has a further sub-account to only pay the salaries of West Bank health and education public servants; an independent auditor is able to confirm that funds from this sub-account reach the intended beneficiaries.