Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what (a) metrics and (b) assessments he uses to determine whether official development assistance programmes constitute value for money.

Value for money is embedded into all our Official Development Assistance (ODA) programming. We use a mix of quantitative data and qualitative information to assess value for money and inform decision-making throughout the programme lifecycle. The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office uses experts, technical advisors, programme managers, and procurement professionals with experience of working in low-income environments and knowledge of global research of what works.

The Foreign Secretary led a cross-Departmental ODA review as part of the Spending Review. This ensures that all UK ODA spend, across a range of government departments, is strategically coherent and provides the best value for money for the British taxpayer.