UK aid will increasingly have to balance short term diplomatic needs and initiatives with long term development objectives. Ultimately, ensuring that UK aid interventions are high quality is crucial to maintaining the UK’s reputation as a top-level development provider, and we are concerned that the FCO’s performance in ICAI reviews suggests it is not yet reaching the performance level required. The Government should set a target for all FCDO programmes to achieve a minimum ICAI grading of ‘g...

UK aid will increasingly have to balance short term diplomatic needs and initiatives with long term development objectives. Ultimately, ensuring that UK aid interventions are high quality is crucial to maintaining the UK’s reputation as a top-level development provider, and we are concerned that the FCO’s performance in ICAI reviews suggests it is not yet reaching the performance level required. The Government should set a target for all FCDO programmes to achieve a minimum ICAI grading of ‘green/amber’ within the next year. Type: recommendation | Number: 9 | Paragraph: 76 | Response status: under_consideration Government response: The Government values scrutiny, which is a crucial aspect of holding Government to account for taxpayers’ money and improving the impact of Government spend and actions. ICAI operates independently of government, and the new department will seek to continue, and advance, the UK’s reputation for deli