Appendix 1: Letter from Andrew Mitchell,
Secretary of State, Department for International Development
It was a pleasure to meet with the Committee on 15
July and set out the priorities and challenges for the Department.
I am conscious the Government's response to the Committee's
report of 11 March "DFID's Performance in 2008-09 and the
2009 White Paper" was delayed by the election and is still
outstanding.
The Committee's recommendations and comments have
been noted and considered by officials. Most of the recommendations
relate to the Public Service Agreements and Departmental Strategic
Objectives covered in DFID's 2008-09 Annual Report, and policies
from the 2009 White Paper, 'Eliminating World Poverty: Building
Our Common Future'. As these are no longer statements of Government
policy, it does not seem appropriate to provide a point reply.
The recommendations in paragraphs 24 and 29, however,
relate to ongoing DFID anti-fraud and procurement systems. Responses
to these points are provided in the attached note [see Appendix
2]. My Ministerial colleagues and I are taking a careful look
at these systems to ensure they are as strong as possible.
I look forward to meeting with the Committee in due
course, to update you on our progress against the objective I
set out during the Session earlier this month.
27 July 2010
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