Press Release - Tsunami: Provision of Financial Support for
Humanitarian Assistance
1 March 2006
The reaction of the Department for International Development to
the Indian Ocean Tsunami was both rapid and impressive Sir John
Bourn, head of the National Audit Office, reported to Parliament
today. The first of many cargoes of relief supplies was airlifted
to the affected area within 24 hours. However DFID need to
strengthen their financial monitoring to establish how much of the
£50 million paid in grants to other organisations actually reached
the victims of the disaster, and how much remains in bank accounts
waiting to be spent.
In January 2005 the Prime Minister pledged £75 million in
immediate humanitarian aid to the victims of the tsunami in
addition to the existing development programmes. In the months that
followed, the extent of the generosity of governments and the world
community became clear - sufficient resources had been made
available to the victims to meet their immediate and short-term
relief requirements. There was therefore no need for DFID to spend
all the resources they had pledged. In the event, £64.1 million was
spent, £7.5 million has been reallocated to DFID’s disaster risk
reduction programme, with the remaining £3.9 million in reserve for
unexpected costs.
The NAO was able to confirm that the £64.1 million spent on
tsunami-related projects represented additional resources and was
not a substitute for development assistance already earmarked in
existing country assistance plans.
Of the £64.1 million spent, grants totalling over £50 million
were paid to third parties, such as United Nations agencies and
Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs). Monitoring undertaken by
DFID showed that delays were occurring in implementing some
projects and this meant that unspent grants were being held by the
grant recipients. DFID is now following up these unspent balances
looking at plans for how they might be used and requesting refunds
where appropriate.
One year on from the disaster the emphasis has now shifted to
meeting the rehabilitation and reconstruction needs of the
victims. DFID are actively engaged in this programme and have
allocated £65 million of new funding to meet these needs.
Sir John Bourn said:
"The speed of DFID’s response after the tsunami was
impressive and demonstrates the importance of planning for
disasters. The scaling back of expenditure against the £75 million
of immediate humanitarian assistance promised was justified, given
the generosity of other governments and people from around the
world. But it remains important to keep control over the £50
million paid in grants to other organisations and to know how it is
spent.”
Notes for Editors:
- This review by the NAO focuses on how the Department for
International Development (DfID) met the pledge of providing £75
million of immediate humanitarian assistance to the victims of the
tsunami. It does not examine the value for money achieved from
those grants, nor does it examine how the £300 million donated by
the UK public to the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) appeal has
been spent. The NAO published on 24 November 2005 its report on how
the Government provided support to British Nationals who were
directly affected by the disaster. In addition, the NAO will be
publishing a separate report focusing on the experiences of
individuals affected by the Tsunami. It has commissioned the Zito
Trust to undertake a survey of British Nationals affected by the
Tsunami, to inform the report.
- Press notices and reports are available from the date of
publication on the NAO website at www.nao.org.uk
Hard copies can be obtained from The Stationery Office on 0845 702
3474.
- The Comptroller and Auditor General, Sir John Bourn, is head of
the National Audit Office, employing some 800 staff. He and the NAO
are totally independent of Government. He certifies the accounts of
all government departments and a wide range of other public sector
bodies; and he has statutory authority to report to Parliament on
the economy, efficiency and effectiveness with which departments
and other bodies have used their resources.
Press Notice 15/06
All enquiries to Mark Anderson, NAO Press Office:
Tel: 020 7798 7558
Mobile: 07796 937119