Billions In UK Overseas Aid 'Is Not Checked

Billions of pounds from UK taxpayers is being paid out in international aid with almost no checks being made on how it is spent, according to MPs.

In a critical report, the International Development Committee called on ministers to keep a closer eye on how organisations distribute the cash.

It revealed only two visits were made in 2011 to countries where the UK does not have its own aid programme.

And it attacked the level of work done to compare the value for money of giving aid directly via bilateral agreements with sending it through third parties.

Figures show some 60% of Department for International Development's (DFID) budget was spent via international aid organisations in 2012.

Of that, 39% was core funding which can be used however the organisation decides. The other 21% is earmarked for specific projects.

This compares with bilateral agreements between Britain and another country, where the UK retains complete control.

The Government monitors such arrangements through multilateral aid reviews (MARs), which look at 39 organisations that receive British money.

But committee chair Sir Malcolm Bruce said in 35 of those cases, a comparative value-for-money study had not been completed.

He said: "It is in everybody's interests for the Government to make informed decisions about aid spending.

"When the UK provides funding to an international organisation, we need to have some assurance that this is better value for money than the alternative.

"Comparing international organisations' work with our own bilateral aid programmes is imperative."

Sir Malcolm added: "In countries where the UK has no bilateral aid programmes of its own, monitoring multilateral organisations is a key challenge for the Government.

"For a number of multilateral organisations, the UK has a seat on the board, which obviously provides us with some oversight.

"Nevertheless, we feel strongly that for the next MAR, the team should undertake more visits to countries in which the UK has no bilateral programmes."

A DFID spokesman said: "The multilateral aid review process, introduced by this Government, provides a rigorous assessment of the value for money of multilateral agencies and is a model that has been adopted internationally.

"We remain determined to get better value for money and more effective aid from multilateral agencies."

The coalition has ring-fenced overseas aid from its spending cuts despite critics insisting this is wrong in a time of domestic austerity.