REACTION: Oxfam response to Public Accounts Committee report on ‘The effectiveness of Official Development Assistance expenditure’

“We share MPs’ concerns – the increasing proportion of the aid budget spent outside of the Department for International Development (DFID) risks undermining the impact of UK aid in tackling global poverty.

“With the Prime Minister today announcing the formation of two new cross-government aid funds, to focus on climate change research and biodiversity, this report is a timely reminder that these funds should only be managed by departments that can deliver the highest levels of transparency, accountability and impact on poverty.

“The primary purpose of British aid is – and should continue to be – to fight poverty. It is therefore also vital that, as the department with the best track record in both tackling poverty and being accountable for how money is spent, DFID has a greater role in overseeing aid spent by other departments to ensure it is helping the world’s poorest people.”