Question to the Department for International Development:

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps her Department has taken to monitor the (a) use and (b) spending of UK aid in the Palestinian Territories.

DFID implements a robust monitoring and evaluation system to ensure that UK aid reaches the intended beneficiaries and achieves the best development outcomes, with a strong focus on ensuring value for money for the UK taxpayer. In the Occupied Palestinian Territories this includes setting clearly defined expectations with delivery partners and conducting regular field visits to monitor the impact of interventions. We also conduct annual programme reviews to take stock of results. We have strong controls in place to monitor spending, including mapping the flow of funds to beneficiaries, regular audits of programme spending and where required, tight earmarking of funds. DFID has a zero-tolerance approach to fraud and has robust controls against diversion of aid to terrorist groups.