Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether his Department is taking steps to improve the (a) transparency and (b) accountability of Official Development Assistance.

Aid Transparency remains a high priority for the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO). The FCDO was rated "Very Good" in the most recent Aid Transparency Index and was the leading foreign ministry on the Index.

We publish detailed data on all FCDO Official Development Assistance (ODA) projects and programmes monthly in line with the International Aid Transparency Initiative standard. We continually review the quality of published information. The FCDO is also funding an Aid Transparency Review of other UK government departments. This will make recommendations to improve the overall quality of information published on UK ODA.

All FCDO ODA projects and programmes are managed in line with the FCDO Programme Operating Framework. The Programme Operating Framework sets out accountability for ODA delivery including at project approval, annual review and project completion. Relevant documents are published as part of our transparency commitments. The Programme Operating Framework is formally reviewed every 6 months.