| Synopsis: |
This report raises concerns about the Government's capacity to monitor multilateral organisations in countries where the Government has no bilateral aid programmes of its own. During the Government's first Multilateral Aid Review (MAR) in 2011, the staff conducting the review only visited two of these countries; for the next MAR, the report recommends that more of these visits be conducted. The MPs also argue that the Government should compare multilateral organisations with the value for money of the UK's own bilateral aid programmes. Following the first MAR in 2011, the Government drew up funding plans for 39 international organisations: such funding accounted for 42% of the entire budget of the UK's aid agency, the Department for International Development (DFID), in 2012. Yet for 35 organisations out of 39, the Government failed to draw any comparisons with the value for money of the UK's own, bilateral aid programmes, making it difficult to know whether bilateral aid or multilateral aid represented better value for money. The MPs recommend that these comparisons be an 'integral part' of the next MAR.In addition, the MPs recommend that the Government conduct regular reviews of its own, bilateral aid programmes. The MPs also say that the Government's methodology for assessing international organisations leaves room for improvement. They argue that the first MAR failed to adequately distinguish between the different mandates of the international organisations being assessed. In addition, the report recommends that the next MAR specifically assess multilaterals' commitment to tackling violence against women and girls. |