Since 2013, departments other than the Department for International Development as well as cross government funds have made an increasingly large contribution to the UK’s Official Development Assistance (ODA) expenditure. At the same time no part of government has responsibility for checking on progress in implementing the UK Aid Strategy or for assessing the overall effectiveness and coherence of ODA expenditure across government, according to today’s report from the National Audit Office.
In 2015, the UK government met the target to spend 0.7% of its gross national income on ODA for the third year in a row, spending £12.1 billion (compared to £11.4 billion in 2013 and £11.7 billion in 2014). Provisional data suggest that the target will be met in 2016 (with spending of £13.3 billion). Since 2015, the government has been legally obliged to meet the target.
The 2015 UK Aid Strategy set out that more ODA expenditure would come from sources other than the Department for International Development. In 2013, expenditure by the Department for International Development contributed 88% of the total; in 2015, it contributed just over 80%.
As part of the Spending Review in November 2015, HM Treasury took an evidence-based approach to allocating ODA budgets to departments which bid for new activities that could be funded with ODA. It collected information on, for example, the objectives of their planned programmes and their eligibility to count towards the target. However, it did not fully assess each department’s capacity to manage the increase in spending.
The Department for International Development supported other government departments as their ODA budgets increased. It provided advice on issues such as the eligibility of ODA expenditure and support to build their project management capacity. Those departments and cross government funds put in place arrangements to oversee their ODA expenditure and have taken positive steps to build their capacity to spend their larger ODA budgets. The NAO found that they also experienced similar challenges to those the Department for International Development faced in 2013, the first year the target was met. For example, five of the 11 bodies the NAO examined spent more than half their ODA budgets for 2016 in the last quarter of the calendar year. And many of them faced issues accurately forecasting their expenditure.
The Department for International Development has improved its management of its ODA budget since the NAO last reported on this issue in 2015. For example, a smaller proportion of its spending is in the last two months of the year. And it has a pipeline of projects with a value in excess of its budget, creating choice and opportunities to consider value for money.
To date, government has focused on making sure the target is met. It has taken important steps to support cross government working by, for example, creating a senior officials group to support the target’s management and delivery.
“The government has decided that departments and cross-government funds other than DFID should have responsibility for expenditure which makes up the 0.7% aid target. This means that meeting the target has become a more complex undertaking and the resulting gaps in accountability and responsibility require more effort to manage. HM Treasury and DFID, together with other relevant bodies, should now focus on developing ways to demonstrate the overall effectiveness and coherence of ODA expenditure.”
Amyas Morse, head of the National Audit Office
Read the full report
Managing the Official Development Assistance target a report on progress
Notes for editors
£12.1 billion UK 2015 spending on aid – Official Development Assistance (ODA) 0.7% 2015 ODA as a percentage of the UK’s gross national income 14 Number of central government departments and funds that spent ODA in 2015 80.5% Proportion of total 2015 UK ODA spent by the Department for International Development, expected to drop to 70% by 2020 4 Number of objectives in the 2015 UK aid strategy 19.8% Proportion of total UK ODA accounted for by promissory notes- In 2010, the coalition government committed to spend 0.7% of UK gross national income on overseas aid - known as Official Development Assistance (ODA) - from 2013 onwards. 0.7% is the proportion of a nation's income that the United Nations has said developed countries should aim to spend on overseas aid.
- In 2015, ODA expenditure was £12.1 billion, 0.7% of gross national income. The United Kingdom therefore met the target for the third year in a row, having met the target for the first time in 2013. Because of increases in gross national income, the UK had to spend 3.7% more than in 2014 to meet the target, and 6.4% more than in 2013. As part of the Spending Review 2015, the government estimated that ODA expenditure will be £16.3 billion by 2021. This figure is updated when there are significant updates to economic forecasts.
- Press notices and reports are available from the date of publication on the NAO website. Hard copies can be obtained by using the relevant links on our website.
- The National Audit Office scrutinises public spending for Parliament and is independent of government. The Comptroller and Auditor General (C&AG), Sir Amyas Morse KCB, is an Officer of the House of Commons and leads the NAO. The C&AG certifies the accounts of all government departments and many other public sector bodies. He has statutory authority to examine and report to Parliament on whether departments and the bodies they fund have used their resources efficiently, effectively, and with economy. Our studies evaluate the value for money of public spending, nationally and locally. Our recommendations and reports on good practice help government improve public services. Our work led to audited savings of £734 million in 2016.