Question to the Department for International Development:

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of the report of the European Parliament Budgetary Control Committee on EU external aid and development programmes.

The report concerned is based on internal Commission reports from EU delegations in non-EU countries, many of which are fragile or conflict-affected. These reports identify potential problems during implementation, so that things can be put right in time. We have not seen the actual reports, as these are internal Commission management documents. The report highlights the implementation challenges and the steps taken by the Commission to manage these risks, including the withholding of funds where fraud is thought to be to an issue. If it is proven that money has been wasted we expect the EU and its audit institutions to take swift and decisive action to recoup funds and to carry out a thorough review of all its programmes to provide a clear set of actions to stop this happening again.