Question to the Leader of the House:

To ask the Leader of the House, if he will bring forward proposals for a cross-departmental Select Committee similar to the Independent Commission for Aid Impact to ensure (a) high standards of scrutiny across all Departments spending aid money and (b) Government accountability to the British taxpayer.

We remain committed to full transparency in our aid spending and there will continue to be parliamentary and independent scrutiny of the aid budget. The form this takes following the merger of the Department for International Development and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office will be set out in due course. In reference to a cross departmental Select Committee, I refer the Hon. member to my previous response to the Member for Brighton, Kemptown on a similar subject (59864).