Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking to improve access to ODA for local organisations based in-country as part of his plans to improve his Department’s delivery of aid.

The FCDO is committed to ensuring that both local and UK-based civil society organisations are paid the true cost of work on behalf of the FCDO. This includes paying our fair share of overhead costs and we have recently revised our Humanitarian Funding Guidelines to ensure all partners pass on a fair portion of overhead costs to local organisations. This effectively means FCDO is increasing its financial commitment to local organisations allowing them to play a decisive role in humanitarian response.

Our 10-year partnership with Comic Relief focusses on building the capacity and sustainability of locally-led NGOs in Ghana, Zambia and Malawi. Local organisations based in country are also eligible for funding for project activities through UK Aid Direct.