The International Development Committee is to inquire into the
definition and administration of the UK’s Official Development
Assistance.
By 2020, the Government expects almost one third of UK ODA
including via cross-government funds, to be spent by departments
other than DFID – an increase of more than ten percent.
While the UK is committed to spending 0.7% of Gross National
Income on ODA, the Conservative Party’s 2017 election manifesto
pledged to seek to redefine ODA or change UK law to allow “a
better definition of development spending.”
Recently, there was widespread concern that British Overseas
Territories, impacted by severe hurricanes in the Caribbean,
could not define disaster relief as ODA and count it against the
0.7% target. In evidence to the Committee in October, the
Secretary of State reported she had proposed a number of changes
to the rules defining ODA, to the OECD.
Given that the UK is committed to spending 0.7% of GNI on ODA,
the inquiry will consider:
- · the definition:
what should count as UK aid?
- · the
administration: who should be responsible, and accountable, for
spending UK aid?
Terms of reference:
The International Development Committee invites written
submissions on all aspects of these topics, and is particularly
interested in the following:
The UK’s proposed changes to OECD/DAC rules on
ODA
- · Is the
Government right to seek changes to the OECD’s definition of
Official Development Assistance (ODA)?
- · What is your
response to the Secretary of State’s evidence to us
on the areas where the UK is seeking changes:
o small island states
o climate change
o resilience issues
o transparency
o gender equality, and
o peacekeeping?
- · What is your
response to the decisions of the OECD’s Development Assistance
Committee reported in the Secretary of State’s Written
Statement (1 November, HCSW211):
o establishment of processes for previous
recipients of ODA to:
a. re-admit them onto the ODA-eligible list if
their per capita GNI falls low enough
b. enable them to receive short-term ODA support
in the event of catastrophic humanitarian crises even where their
per capita GNI would normally rule them out
o changes that increase the amount of the
UK’s contribution to UN peacekeeping that may be counted as ODA,
and
o changes that allow 85% of the UK’s
contribution to the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank to be
counted as ODA?
- · Should
humanitarian assistance/disaster
relief always count as ODA, even if the
recipient country/territory is High Income?
- · Should
donors be allowed to direct ODA to poverty-stricken regions
and communities within high
income countries?
- · If the UK is
unsuccessful in persuading the OECD to redefine ODA, what should
the Government do?
- · Do you think
changing the law to allow the UK to use its own definition of
development spending when accounting for performance against its
0.7% per cent target is justifiable?
- · What are the
prospects for other members of the OECD/DAC agreeing with the
UK’s proposals for rule changes?
- · What
mechanisms do other OECD/DAC members have for encouraging their
own compliance with, or progress towards, the 0.7% target? Does
any other DAC member have a domestic statutory requirement to
meet this target?
- · How
effective is the ODA spent by DFID compared with that spent by
other Departments?
- · How
effective is the ODA spent by cross-government funds?
- · How
well-targeted can other government departments’ (OGDs), or
cross-government, ODA be towards in terms of the principal aims
of the UK Aid Strategy?
- · What level
of oversight and/or influence should DFID have over ODA spend by
other Departments?
- · Should DFID
be solely responsible, and accountable, for all UK ODA spending?
- · How
effective is the current system of scrutiny of ODA spent by
departments other than DFID, including by the Independent
Commission for Aid Impact?
The administration of ODA by departments other than DFID
The deadline for written submissions is Friday 15 December 2017.
The Committee values diversity and seeks to ensure this where
possible. We encourage members of under-represented groups to
submit written evidence.
The Committee considers requests for reasonable adjustments to
its usual arrangements for taking evidence and publishing
material, to enhance access. Please contact indcom@parliament.uk or
telephone 0207 219 1223.
Written evidence submitted should:
- · Have a one
page summary at the front
- · Be no longer
than 3000 words in length
Evidence can be submitted via the Committee’s
portal here
