Question to the Department for International Development:

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what representations her Department has made to the EU on fraud in relation to EU overseas development assistance in the last five years.

Following the 2016 Multilateral Development Review, it was found that EuropeAid has systems and policies in place to tackle fraud and corruption. Since its publication, DFID officials have met with the European Commission and OLAF to discuss best practice, with a focus on staff awareness of their responsibilities in identifying and raising fraud and corruption concerns.

DFID’s dedicated specialist Counter Fraud Section (CFS) is focused on stamping out fraud before it occurs. CFS work in partnership with a number of International agencies including OLAF (European Anti-fraud Office), through an established information sharing agreement. This is used to share intelligence on activities that could impact on overseas development assistance.