Second Special Report
The International Development Committee published its Eleventh Report of Session 2024–26, UK Aid and Development Assistance in a Fracturing World: Strengthening Resilience and Cooperation (HC 1835), on 28 April 2026. The Government Response was received on 30 June 2026 and is appended below.
Appendix: Government Response
Introduction
1. The Government is grateful to the International Development Committee for its report on the future of UK aid and development assistance, including the policy paper that was provided in Appendix 1.
2. As set out in the Government response to the interim report, during the Global Partnerships Conference on 19–20 May 2026, and in Ministers’ correspondence with the Committee Chair, the Government remains firmly committed to international development.
3. The Foreign Secretary set out how the FCDO will prioritise (Official Development Assistance) ODA over the next three years, reflecting our modernised approach, in Statements to the House on 19 March and in a Written Ministerial Statement and this paper on 30 June.
4. This government response has three parts. First, a response to the four parts of Recommendation 1. Second, an articulation of the UK’s modern development strategy (at Annex 1) which responds to Recommendations 1 and 2 and follows on from the communications that supported the announcement of Multi-Year ODA Allocations on 19 March 2026. And third, responses to specific themes raised in the Committee’s policy paper, in response to Recommendation 2.
Part 1: Responses to Recommendation 1
Recommendation 1 (para 25) In its response to this report, we request the Government provides more detail on its approach in areas where this is sorely lacking and clarify its own policy position. This will serve to reassure Parliament, the sector, and the public that the policy announcements made to date are part of a coherent approach to ODA programming and work as part of a clear theory of change. Specifically, the Government must:
a. Outline the evidence base for the “four essential shifts” and how this will be used to evaluate their success. A clear qualitative and quantitative description of what success looks like is required and over what time scale. It should also include a model for how development partnerships are envisaged to operate with clearly defined roles for FCDO missions, external stakeholders and departmental support.
Government response: Partially agree
5. The FCDO has designed the “four essential shifts” to respond to a changing global context, characterised by a volatile global economy and a more fragmented and politically contested development landscape. They respond to what partners are saying they want: genuine partnership, not the paternalism of the past. The shifts draw on a well-established body of international development evidence, including by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Development Assistance Committee, UN, ICAI and a wide range of academics and think tanks, such as ODI and Professor Stefan Dercon (Oxford) as well UK operational experience. The evidence emphasises that development results are strongest where programmes are aligned with country priorities, strengthen national systems, and support the development of effective, accountable institutions over time.
6. Measurement of the four shifts is an important part of ongoing discussions about how FCDO measures its delivery of international policy, including development outcomes. Not only will we measure the development outcomes we are achieving, but we will also focus on how we have achieved them to inform and improve internal decision making through these four shifts. This will include our modern approach to partnerships and application of partnership principles of mutual respect, accountability, interest and learning.
7. The FCDO’s improved Country Business Planning (CBP) process operates over a three-year time period (FY 2026/27 to FY 2028/29) and will support our understanding of how the four shifts are embedded into delivery planning across the wider organisation, including through regular reporting by Posts and HQ units throughout this three-year period. The FCDO is changing its approach to programme design and approval to take a more holistic portfolio approach. This is enabling us to use all our levers—programmes, diplomacy, and partnerships—together to deliver Ministers’ and partners’ priorities. These approaches will be reviewed regularly to ensure consistent delivery.
8. The FCDO is working to improve measurement of outcomes and impact as part of the FCDO2030 transformation. As part of this we will measure how the four shifts are embedded into development work across the FCDO. The Government recognises that measuring impact of the modern development approach and the four shifts which underpin it will be complex and will require robust qualitative assessments along with quantitative metrics. Monitoring and evaluation approaches will align with our partnership principles and, where possible, will work with partners’ existing systems.
9. Our modern approach to partnership gives Posts the flexibility to choose key partners in country from across the whole of society and choose the most appropriate partnership model or typology with the partner. Under this approach, partnership models will vary between partnerships and contexts. Our Departmental Strategic Plan will set out further details of what we will measure regarding our partnerships.
10. To support progress on shared global challenges we need long-term, resilient partnerships with a wider range of countries. This requires a reset in how we work with the Global South. We have produced guidance for FCDO Posts overseas that outlines principles for a modern partnership approach.
11. Taken together, the four shifts central to our modern approach to development represent extensive and wide-ranging changes to the FCDO’s delivery and culture. These will take time to embed and will require iterations and continued learning if we are to achieve the ambition we set out. We are continuing to develop this approach, learning from partners around the world, and from the feedback from stakeholders – including ICAI’s review of the UK’s approach to partnerships.
b. Provide a description of its approach to engaging with multilaterals with an evidence base for the choices of which organisations and mechanisms it will invest in, prioritising institutions with a proven track record of delivery. This should be accompanied by a measurable and time-bound plan for reform and a detailed approach for how alignment with UK priorities will be achieved.
Government response: Partially agree
12. The FCDO’s approach to multilateral allocation choices was grounded in a proportionate assessment of the portfolio. Ministers were provided with detailed advice on options and trade-offs across the portfolio, enabling informed decisions on the balance of spend. The FCDO considered a range of factors, including evidence of delivery, impact and value for money, the strategic importance of institutions within the global architecture, and alignment with the UK’s reform priorities. Decisions drew on evidence including but not limited to FCDO monitoring of its multilateral programmes, Imputed Multilateral Share statistics, external independent evaluations of organisations such as assessments by the Multilateral Organisation Performance Assessment Network (MOPAN), and strategic judgement from policy teams with the greatest expertise on individual multilateral organisations.
13. The FCDO has identified a set of priority reforms across four key thematic areas, Health, Humanitarian, Global Financial System and Climate. The FCDO has outlined key results and a monitoring framework as part of the FCDO’s Climate and Development Priority. These reform areas are integrated into Posts’ Country and Business Planning to ensure we leverage the full global network. We are also supporting existing reform initiatives, including UN 80, the Humanitarian Reset initiated by Tom Fletcher Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator and the World Health Organisation’s transformation of the Global Health Architecture.
c. Set out an account of the risk and impact assessment exercises, beyond the Equalities Risk Assessment, that the Department has undertaken around the reductions and reprioritising of ODA. This should include details of the measures taken to mitigate risks, including: discussions with other ODA-delivering countries; communication with bilateral development partners; and intentional efforts to ensure the UK’s multilateral contributions fill the gaps left by the reprioritising of bilateral ODA.
Government response: Partially agree
14. The FCDO undertook a detailed cross-network exercise in summer 2025, asking all Directorates and Posts to assess the expected impacts of indicative ODA allocations, including delivery, partner, and beneficiary risks, to inform prioritisation decisions. This informed advice to Ministers. In addition, the Department applies established programme-level risk and impact processes through the Programme Operating Framework, which sets mandatory rules and a full programme cycle requiring teams to assess, monitor and manage risks, apply due diligence, and take evidence-based, proportionate decisions, with clear accountability and audit trails; this enables portfolios to be reprioritised based on context, risks, and expected impact.
15. FCDO investments will be targeted strategically towards the most effective multilateral organisations, and we will continue to use our influence to drive reform and greater multilateral action in fragile and conflict affected states. We will also continue to work with partners towards a global system that is fit for the future – more streamlined, smarter financed, and more representative of the countries it serves.
16. The FCDO holds the multilaterals that we fund to a high standard, in accordance with the Programme Operating Framework. This is how we measure whether multilaterals are delivering the impact we expect them to. The UK considers statistics like Imputed Multilateral Shares to understand the geographic distribution of its multilateral contributions, and factors those into bilateral decision making.
17. As part of the UK’s modern approach to development, the FCDO engages closely with traditional and emerging donor countries to share information and expertise, identify shared interests and coordinate efforts for greater impact. Within the last year FCDO has held strategic development dialogues with a wider range of partners, including Germany, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, Canada, and France, and contributed to a new G7 approach to development partnerships agreed under France’s 2026 Presidency. FCDO Posts engage routinely in discussions with host governments on these issues.
d. Present a clear strategy for how the Government will engage with civil society in the UK around development challenges. Specifically, how the Government will work to ensure the energy and resources of diaspora groups and UK-based NGOs complement its own priorities for the spending of ODA.
Government response: Partially agree
18. Here, the FCDO is responding to Recommendation 1.d, and to relevant paragraphs in Appendix 1 of the Committee’s report. The FCDO’s approach to civil society has evolved in response to shifting geopolitical, economic and funding realities, with a stronger emphasis on local ownership, sustainability, credibility and responsiveness. This has been signalled via the Minister for Development’s call for a shift in the UK’s development approach from international intervention to local leadership. We recognise that we will need to do more to communicate our intended approach to engagement with the Civil Society sector, in order to enable better coordination with them on its implementation. Our approach will continue to be informed by regular, structured engagement, including ministerial dialogue facilitated by Bond and sustained consultation with Global South partners.
19. Embedding the principles of the Civil Society Covenant in our domestic and international partnerships means recognising and valuing the independence of civil society, including its role in providing constructive challenge to support effective governance and inclusive development. It is therefore not a policy objective to “ensure the energy and resources of diaspora groups and UK-based NGOs complement [the Government’s] own priorities”; rather, we seek to work in partnership where objectives align, incentivising positive transformation while respecting the importance of independent perspectives.
20. Direct policy dialogue between civil society and FCDO Posts is essential for understanding local contexts, particularly in fragile states and those in which civic space is under attack. In practice, we will now place greater emphasis on our Embassies and High Commissions leading engagement with local actors, ensuring partnerships are informed by deep contextual understanding and are more direct and equitable. This will be supported by strengthened central guidance, including Programme Operating Framework Rules and Guidance, and by Communities of Expertise that draw on UK capability across and beyond government.
21. In co-hosting the Global Partnerships Conference, the UK collaborated extensively with local organisations and civic leaders across the programme. This resulted in plenary sessions exploring the “Shifting the Power” theme, civil society-led spotlight sessions and a dedicated Youth Group, ensuring locally-rooted voices were meaningfully represented.
22. While we recognise the need for stronger coordination on locally led development, we do not consider a single strategy the most effective approach at this stage. Instead, we are focused on driving practical, system wide behavioural change with partners, including through our endorsement of the OECD DAC Call to Action on Locally Led Development.
23. Design of the FCDO’s £39.5m ‘Partnering with Civil Society’ Programme, announced at the Conference, was informed by an extensive process of civil society engagement with actors across the globe, led by the West African Civil Society Institute and the Bond network. The programme will aim to strengthen the resilience of local civil society through a whole system approach—investing in networks to lead, coordinate and collaborate, reducing reliance on external funding over time, and incentivising INGOs to work in ways that build local organisations’ resilience.
Part 2: Annex 1: The UK’s Modern Development Approach
International development remains a central part of our foreign policy. It reflects both our values and our national interest. A fundamental part of our moral purpose is to stand up against global disease and hunger and to support those trapped in crises caused by conflict or climate change. We also know that preventing conflict, instability and crisis, displacement and migration, supporting growth and building global partnerships are all the right things to do. But they are also directly in the UK national interest: instabilities and crises across the world have a direct impact on the UK.
The world has changed dramatically in the last three decades. Crises in one corner of our more interconnected world affect us all. The UK public – and our partners around the world – need a new approach to international development. A clear, effective and modern development policy is urgent: to reconnect with our international partners, to drive reform of the multilateral system and to promote local leadership.
We are modernising our approach and sharpening our focus on priorities that align with partner needs, UK public interest, and where we can drive real change. We are making four fundamental shifts, donor to investor, service delivery to system support, grants to expertise and international interventions to local leadership, that change the way the UK does development. Our development objectives are focused on impact, using the full breadth of the UK’s strengths to drive sustainable growth and progress more than ODA alone ever could.
As part of our new approach, we remain committed to advancing the rights, safety and opportunities of women and girls worldwide and recognise that women’s and girls’ rights are essential to global stability, prosperity and sustainable development.
The context and why we are changing
Significant progress has been made on international development this century. But the world has changed, and so must we. 1 in 10 of the world’s population are living in extreme poverty, unable to access basic health, education, water and sanitation and facing devastating and disproportionate climate impacts. Too many countries are stuck in a vicious cycle of debt, paying more in interest than on fundamental health and education.
The data suggests the world has passed “peak aid” and large financial transactions from the global north to the global south are declining. Power is shifting in the global development system as the roles of traditional and emerging partners change, and private and philanthropic partners step up. Nearly half the world’s extreme poor live in fragile states and conflict affected states. Wars that rage unresolved do not just cause untold harm to civilians; they radiate instability, undermine the security of neighbouring states, and lead migrants to embark on dangerous journeys.
Our modern approach to development
To adapt to the shifting context, we are making four essential shifts that will change the way the UK delivers development outcomes. This reset brings existing reforms together into a single, coherent approach across our network. These shifts are inextricably linked, and are not mutually exclusive.
1. Donor to Investor: We are moving away from being seen as a ‘giver’ of aid and positioning the UK as an investment partner. We are taking the perspective of an investor – agile, focused on high returns – and working with partners to unlock growth across all sectors, jobs, and trade through innovative finance and private sector investment. This is about moving beyond aid and maximising the potential of a ‘whole-of-UK offer’ to help countries build long-term, self-sustaining economies.
Investment into emerging markets and developing economies (EMDEs) remains far below what is needed to support growth, resilience, and sustainable development, despite deep global pools of capital. As part of this shift, we are working to tackle barriers to investment in developing economies through the EMDE Investor Taskforce, which brings leading UK institutional investors together, alongside government.
The FCDO’s Community of Expertise for finance facilitates peer-to-peer engagement between EMDE financial services stakeholders in 26 countries and UK public, private and academic institutions, such as the Bank of England, to build the capacity of key market regulators and authorities.
2. Service Delivery to System Support: This shift focuses on helping countries strengthen their own systems, so they can mobilise domestic resources, and deliver essential services—such as education, health, and economic services—ultimately enabling them to thrive without foreign aid. There will be exceptions (i.e. humanitarian crises) where governments are unable or unwilling to deliver services, and direct external support is needed.
This is a transition from problem solving to enabling others to solve problems. Done well it supports exponential improvements in services, growth and accountability to communities, so that partners make the most of their own systems, in their own contexts.
Where possible and appropriate we are moving away from directly funding frontline services and instead focus on strengthening the systems behind those services – including policies, people, processes, resources and infrastructure. Where needed, this should include supporting systems to be responsive to shocks.
3. Grants to Expertise: Our approach is not just about the funding we provide, but about working alongside partners with deep technical and institutional expertise.
Our technical experts remain at the forefront of delivery, building bridges with their peers in partner countries to solve critical development challenges across a range of areas such as climate, migration, health and economic development. We are also drawing on expertise from across both the public and private sectors, including world-class universities, the City of London, and leading institutions in education, health, climate and tech sectors.
FCDO Communities of Expertise will act as a ‘one-stop shop’ for Posts and their partners to access UK thought leaders, research and peer-to-peer expertise partnerships.
The FCDO’s ‘Smart Technical Assistance’, launched in April 2025 provides guidance on how our approach should strengthen, rather than replace, the expertise and capability of local partners.
4. International Interventions to Local Leadership: This means giving local partners1 the agency and quality funding to design and deliver sustainable development approaches that meet local needs.
Where feasible, local government, local NGOs and civil society should be prioritised as responders in crisis contexts, working as locally as possible and internationally as necessary, and should be closely involved in both the design and delivery of responses. Supporting locally led development and a “whole of society” approach to partnerships with local actors is central to FCDO’s modern approach to development and leads to more effective and accountable responses.
We have improved how our Programme Operating Framework (PrOF) enables local leadership, including through a new PrOF principle entitled on “Locally led” which sets out our principles of partnership. We have simplified due diligence requirements for grants under £250k; and introduced due diligence passporting with Humanitarian Quality Assurance Initiative assessments.
Partnerships
Country-led modern partnerships sit at the heart of all of this and remain critical to how we engage with our partners. FCDO’s overseas network will have the flexibility and autonomy to deliver development interventions that our partners want and need.
Stakeholders increasingly expect more equal partnership with the UK. We need a systematic and coherent approach to build trust and credibility and to shift toward genuine, equitable partnership. This moves beyond short-term transactions, to foster long-term cooperation based on ideas of mutuality.
The ambition for partnership will vary by context and by partner and should take into consideration the political economy of partners. In fragile or conflict-affected states (FCAS), deep government-to-government partnerships may not be feasible. In some cases, it may be more appropriate to focus on partnerships with regional or local government, civil society, or other influential non-government actors. All contexts should seek to engage the whole of society where possible.
We will also continue to work closely with a range of philanthropic partners across shared priorities as part of a modern, partnerships-led approach to development. Philanthropies bring agility, innovation, and resources that complement and expand the work of governments and other development actors, alongside multilateral efforts.
Our spend
To fund a necessary increase in defence spending, the Government has taken the decision in the current fiscal circumstances to reduce our ODA budget. With less money, we must make choices and focus on greater impact: every pound must deliver for the UK taxpayer and the people we support. Our new approach to development utilises a whole of UK approach so we will use our convening power and diplomacy to maximise our impact in priority areas. Our spend will largely focus on:
1. Humanitarian – supporting those in most severe humanitarian need in conflict and disasters including by: preventing crises, ensuring greater resilience, and working through local systems and actors where it is effective to do so.
2. Health – getting behind country priorities to build resilient and sustainable health systems which deliver equitable health outcomes, harnesses human capital, and strengthen UK and global health security.
3. Climate and nature – promote green and resilient growth; support people to build resilience and adapt to climate impacts; and halt and reverse nature loss.
Underpinning all of this is our commitment to sustainable and inclusive long-term economic development.
The UK plans to spend approximately £1.4bn each year in the places with the highest humanitarian need over the next three years, in addition to our planned commitment to the UN and Red Cross for humanitarian work. That includes fully protecting funds for Ukraine, Palestine and Sudan – the worst humanitarian crisis of the twenty-first century.
Over the next three years, the UK will spend around £6bn of ODA as International Climate Finance (ICF). We will balance support between mitigation and adaptation and maintain a focus on nature. By using different instruments and levers, we will aim to deliver an additional £6.7bn of UK backed climate and nature positive investments and to mobilise billions more in private finance.
We are also committed to ensuring women and girls are central to development decisions. We have fully protected central programme spending on preventing violence against women and girls, women, peace and security, and preventing sexual violence in conflict. We are strengthening our approach to mainstreaming gender equality across the FCDO’s work and have raised our ambitions, committing that at least 90% of FCDO bilateral ODA programmes will contribute to gender equality by 2030.
We will be prioritising multilaterals in our budget, while driving reform of the global development architecture to strengthen its most important parts to help lower-income countries sustain their progress and become self-sufficient. We are backing the most effective and efficient multilateral institutions that can multiply our investment. We will use our shareholder role and seat at the table to press for innovation and reform, championing a more effective global financial system.
Internally, we are changing our approach to programme design and approval to take a more holistic portfolio view of how we use all our levers—programme, diplomacy, partnerships—together to deliver Ministers’ and partners’ priorities.
Part 3: Responses to Specific Themes from IDC Policy Paper
Recommendation 2 (para 27): We recommend that the Government considers Appendix 1 as a working policy document for its approach to aid and development. In its response, we request that the Government indicates where it agrees or disagrees with the Committee’s policy paper and why.
Introduction
1. In this section, the FCDO responds to specific issues raised in the Committee’s policy paper, which are not covered in Annex 1: UK’s Modern Approach to Development.
In-donor refugee costs (para 3):
2. The UK reports all ODA in line with internationally agreed OECD Development Assistance Committee rules, including ODA used to support refugees and asylum seekers during their first 12 months in the UK.
3. The Home Office has taken measures to reduce the asylum backlog and reform the asylum accommodation system to end the use of expensive accommodation in the Spending Review period to ensure more of our ODA budget is spent on our development priorities overseas. Provisional data show that in 2025, £2.4bn of ODA was spent on support for refugees and asylum seekers in the UK, down from £2.83bn in 2024 and £4.27bn in 2023.
Pipelines of bankable projects (para 16e):
4. The FCDO recognises that a chronic shortage of well prepared, bankable projects constrains private investment in Emerging Markets and Developing Economies (EMDEs). Developing a pipeline requires coordination of technical assistance and development finance. This coordination is already in place. The UK has long invested in early-stage project development and enabling environments, notably through British International Investment (BII), the Private Infrastructure Development Group and Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs) and Development Finance Institutions (DFIs) such as the World Bank Group.
Illicit finance (para 16f):
5. This Government is committed to delivering a whole of UK Government approach at home and internationally to tackle illicit finance and its harms. The Foreign Secretary will host an Illicit Finance Summit in December to galvanise international action and to drive ambitious public-private partnerships and global enforcement efforts.
6. In December 2025, the Government published its new cross-government Anti-Corruption Strategy, setting out ambitious commitments to tackle corruption domestically and internationally. The Strategy includes significant commitments to support developing countries to trace and recover stolen assets, through the work of the International Anti-Corruption Coordination Centre and the International Corruption Unit (both housed at the UK National Crime Agency and funded by the FCDO).
7. The UK remains committed to greater transparency of corporate and asset ownership, seeking to strengthen its own transparency regimes further. The FCDO, Ministry of Justice and Home Office are working closely with the Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies to ensure Legitimate Interest Access registers provide wide access and full transparency to deter illicit wealth. Our expectation remains for the Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies to establish fully public registers of beneficial ownership. FCDO funds technical assistance and advisory support to a range of jurisdictions on beneficial ownership transparency.
8. All Contracts and Grants awarded by FCDO require delivery partners to maintain effective financial management and anti-fraud controls, and to prevent, detect and report misuse of funds. Where issues arise, the FCDO has powers to investigate, suspend funding, terminate agreements and recover funds as appropriate. These measures are supported by proportionate due diligence, monitoring and audit rights, enabling early identification of issues and action to protect public funds.
Board of BII (para 16c):
9. The FCDO ensures comprehensive oversight of BII through well-established governance structures and processes. This includes ensuring BII’s Board has the correct mix of skills and experience to exercise effective oversight of BII’s activities. The FCDO also receives substantial reporting from BII as one of its shareholders. Clear communication of the department’s priorities for BII through the five-year strategy also ensure strong oversight.
10. The FCDO appoints the Chair and two Non-Executive Directors (NEDs) to the Board and is consulted on all other appointments. These Board members are appointed by Ministers for their specific skills in overseeing the performance of a regulated financial institution, ensuring it delivers the strategy set by the FCDO. The FCDO then holds the Board to account for delivering through reporting and senior engagement. The FCDO’s reporting framework with BII ensures comprehensive access to information on BII’s performance across a range of areas. Senior FCDO officials and Ministers meet frequently with BII’s Chair, NEDs, CEO and senior management, including at quarterly Ministerial and shareholder meetings.
11. Introducing an FCDO Board seat risks undermining this model. It would blur the distinction between the Board’s role as the accountable body and FCDO’s role as shareholder. It would also duplicate existing oversight mechanisms that already provide full visibility for FCDO on BII’s performance.
Preventing duplication through country-level investment boards (para 16c):
12. The FCDO agrees that stronger coordination of UK investment across DFIs, multilaterals and bilateral programmes is essential to maximise impact and avoid duplication. We do not consider that establishing new country-level investment boards is necessary.
13. Instead, we are strengthening coordination through existing mechanisms. At country level, UK Posts—led by Heads of Mission—already bring together development, finance and economic teams to align UK investments with partner country priorities and ensure coherence across DFIs, MDBs and bilateral programmes.
14. At the centre, the Minister for International Development’s ODA Impact and Delivery Board provides cross-government oversight of development spending, reinforcing strategic alignment and value for money. This is complemented by improved data, including country-level estimates of UK-attributable multilateral spend, helping Posts and central teams take a more joined-up view of UK investment portfolios.
15. Taken together, these arrangements enable coordination at both country and central levels without creating additional governance structures.
Debt (para 18c; 54):
16. The FCDO agrees that strengthening the G20 Common Framework is essential to delivering timely and sustainable debt restructurings for lower-income countries. The UK is championing improvements, including to accelerate timelines, strengthen creditor coordination, and improve transparency, recognising that current processes can be slow and complex. The FCDO continues to work closely with international partners (including through the G20, International Financial Institutions, the Paris Club and the Global Sovereign Debt Roundtable) to drive reforms and has participated fully in recent restructurings to help restore debt sustainability.
17. While the FCDO does not consider changes to UK legislation necessary, we agree that private creditors must play their part in debt restructurings. The G20 expectation is that private creditors participate on terms at least as favourable as those provided by official creditors, and recent progress in Chad, Zambia and Ghana demonstrates growing willingness to engage. The FCDO continues to monitor developments and keep its approach under review.
18. The Government has actively engaged with the review of the Low-Income Country Debt Sustainability Framework, including through support for incorporating climate and nature risks, and is championing natural disaster (also known as pause) clauses that allow countries to suspend debt repayments following shocks. The UK was the first bilateral creditor to offer these, through UK Export Finance (UKEF) in 2023. Now, others are committed to rolling these out (e.g., Japan, Spain), or already have (e.g., World Bank, European Bank of Reconstruction and Development, Inter-American Development Bank). The FCDO has also supported the launch of the London Coalition on Sustainable Sovereign Debt (co-chaired by the Government) as a way to work towards mainstreaming private lending, and to recognise the vital role of private creditors in lending to developing countries.
Tax (para 18a-b):
19. The FCDO is committed to continuing to work with partners to ensure inclusive and effective international tax cooperation, including the OECD and platforms like the Inclusive Framework (147 members) and the Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes (172 members), both of which include strong representation of developing countries in their membership.
20. His Majesty’s Treasury has also been actively engaging in negotiations at the UN over a future Framework Convention. A UN Tax Framework Convention has the potential to further advance international tax cooperation, but to be successful, it needs to have clear aims, secure broad support and participation, and avoid duplication with existing initiatives.
21. The government has a long track record of seeking opportunities to improve revenue capacities of its partner countries. Firstly, the UK has established our Finance Community of Expertise, which includes our Public Finance Resource Centre offering specialist technical support on tax systems to partner governments, a peer-to-peer offer from His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs and the Institute for Fiscal Studies. Secondly, the government has supported international partners to work on domestic resource mobilisation (spanning domestic and international taxation). We work with select partners whose technical expertise, and global reach, complements our own, for example, the International Monetary Fund, World Bank Group and the OECD. The government also supports global south countries to provide their own peer-to-peer support, including by providing support to the African Tax Administration Forum.
Partnerships with local organisations (para 24):
22. While the FCDO recognises that better funder coordination can and should improve our ways of working with local organisations, and their experience of partnerships, it is not feasible for the UK to commit to tracking all activities by other actors in the relevant context. We should instead focus on strengthening existing coordination mechanisms, such as due diligence harmonisation efforts, as well as supporting the development of shared metrics to assess quality of partnerships. Further detail on the UK’s modern approach to development partnerships is set out at Annex 1.
Engaging with diaspora (para 25):
23. The FCDO recognises that UK based diaspora communities can support our focus on locally led development by contributing contextual knowledge and trusted cross border connections that help link people, resources and expertise. This is reflected in our wider engagement with civil society, including through the 2025 FCDO Engagement Report on Shaping the Future of Centrally Managed Civil Society and Civic Space Programming2 which identified the importance of the FCDO working with diaspora groups and proposed opportunities to do so.
Communicating to the UK public (paras 40–45):
24. The Government is transforming how we communicate development and is already delivering a more strategic, evidence-led and audience-focused approach, aligned with the Committee’s recommendations. Effective communication underpins delivery of the modern development approach, strengthening transparency, accountability and public confidence.
25. Our approach places a stronger emphasis on demonstrating tangible impact and mutual benefits, including how development acts as a preventative investment that contributes to UK security, prosperity and stability. For example, as co-host of the Global Fund’s Eighth Replenishment, our communications highlighted how UK investment is expected to help save up to 1.3 million lives and strengthen global health security, supporting efforts to tackle AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria while helping to protect the UK public and the NHS.
26. We have moved away from a focus on inputs and budgets towards clear, evidence-based storytelling that shows real-world impact and relevance to people’s lives. This is informed by audience insights which demonstrate that public confidence increases when development is linked to issues people care about, and is presented in practical, relatable terms. For example, we secured media coverage of UK-backed research at the University of Nottingham to develop drought-resilient rice crops, helping to strengthen global food security and reduce the risk of climate-driven food price shocks. The story highlighted the role of British scientists in tackling global challenges and connected international research to everyday concerns such as food prices and supply.
27. We are also broadening how and through whom we communicate, working with partners beyond government, including civil society and trusted voices such as frontline workers and content creators, to reach a wider range of audiences. At the Global Partnerships Conference, we worked with nine creators with a combined reach of over 2 million Instagram followers and significant audiences across TikTok and YouTube, extending engagement beyond traditional channels. In parallel, we are using first-hand accounts from UK-supported aid workers to bring impact to life, including an ITV News feature where a UK-supported midwife described delivering care after over 120 health facilities were destroyed by Hurricane Melissa, clearly demonstrating how UK support delivers life-saving services on the ground.
Multilateral reform and transparency of multilateral ODA (paras 49–52):
28. The FCDO does not agree that a Multilateral Aid Review would be worthwhile at this time, especially given we have just agreed multi-year ODA allocations for the next three years. The FCDO aims to drive change in the multilateral development system. This is partly why we have prioritised multilateral ODA within our budget. The FCDO is committed to listening to what Global South partners want and to working in partnership with others to make concrete progress on reform. This includes co-chairing the current World Bank Shareholding Review and our commitment to reforming the UN Security Council to include permanent representation from the African continent, India, Germany, Brazil and Japan.
29. There are multiple tools that currently support transparency and public scrutiny of the FCDO’s multilateral ODA spending. The DevTracker3 website is where Annual Reviews and LogFrames for individual programmes are published. These are key ways in which the FCDO evaluates the delivery and impact of its core funding to multilateral organisations. In addition, the FCDO utilises external sources such as the Multilateral Organisation Performance Assessment Network to access independent evaluations of multilateral organisations. The FCDO agrees that it is very difficult to compare development interventions on a like-for-like basis. Although individual Annual Reviews and LogFrames will look different for each programme, the Programme Operating Framework provides a set of rules and guides to support consistency in terms of how the FCDO measures delivery and impact across our ODA programmes. As part of the Statistics on International Development publications, imputed UK shares of net multilateral ODA are also published by sector and country. These statistics give a public indication of the impact the UK’s contribution to multilateral organisations is having.
30. The data published by multilateral organisations is incomplete and we agree that more can be done to improve this, including by encouraging multilateral organisations to publishing to the International Aid Transparency Initiative (IATI), which would improve the FCDO’s ability to trace how its multilateral ODA is spent. The FCDO is working closely with international partners, including IATI, to revise our approach and streamline the process to make it easier for multilateral organisations to publish more information.
Transparency at the WBG (para 53):
31. Since 2012, the WBG has operated under an Access to Information Policy that presumes disclosure of World Bank documents. This includes publication of project documents showing how resources are allocated and procurement is managed. The WBG has set up portals like Finance One and published Corporate Scorecard to provide the latest information available on the WBG’s financial activities as well as development impact, where this information is available to all. The World Bank has scored highly in the 2024 International Aid Transparency Index and remains firmly within the top rating category.
32. The primary accountability of Multilateral Development Banks is to their borrowing client countries, a principle that equally applies to the WBG. The WBG works closely with all shareholders, including the UK government, to provide the information needed to support oversight and good governance. The WBG is also subject to independent assessment, including through the Multilateral Organisation Performance Assessment Network (MOPAN) and the UK’s Independent Commission for Aid Impact (ICAI).
33. The World Bank communicates publicly about its work and impact. In addition, it agrees communications and visibility plans with donors for their participation in World Bank Trust Funds, which support specific purposes and are separate from core contributions to the World Bank Group.
Independent Commission on Aid Impact (ICAI) (Para 58):
34. The FCDO remains committed to ensuring UK ODA is delivered transparently, represents value for money, and responds promptly where programmes are underperforming or risks such as corruption, waste or inefficiencies are identified.
35. In order to continue to ensure the highest standards of transparency, value for money and learning in its ODA spending and development impact, the FCDO draws on multiple mechanisms including ICAI reports, National Audit Office reports, Aid Transparency Indices (ATI), internal audits, regular programme reviews and evaluations. These mechanisms help ensure UK ODA is delivering its intended outcomes and represents good value for money.
36. As the UK’s approach to development shifts, ICAI’s expanded mandate will provide important assurance not only on the value for money of UK ODA spending, but also on the impact of UK development partnerships, expertise, and the UK’s policy influence on priority global development themes.
Development capability (paras 32; 48–55; 59):
37. We know that our reputation is built on our people and expertise. We need to deploy our people with greater precision and impact. The modern approach to development may require more specialist time, particularly in complex or high-risk contexts.
38. The relative prioritisation towards key multilateral partners requires sufficient heft at post to effectively hold them to account, and a more coordinated ability to put central pressure on multilaterals at HQs. The FCDO is implementing a new Capability Framework which will allow the organisation to manage its workforce strategically, ensuring the right people, with the right skills and expertise, are in the right places. Strengthening our understanding of the workforce at a capability level will support the agile deployment of skills into specific contexts where unforeseen or surge requirements emerge.
39. We will work to ensure that reductions in programme management capability do not erode the foundations needed for future expansion, recognising that any future increase in ODA would require a strong programme and workforce pipeline, supported by an appropriate programme management capability offer.
Footnotes
1 FCDO uses the OECD definition of ‘local actor’
2 FCDO-Engagement-Report-on-shaping-the-Future-of-Centrally-Managed-Civil-Society-and-Civic-Space-Programming.pdf
3 https://devtracker.fcdo.gov.uk/