By Daniel Martin Policy Editor For The Daily Mail
Published: 01:10 BST, 20 June 2019 | Updated: 01:16 BST, 20 June 2019
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Watchdogs yesterday warned that ministers cannot prove the aid budget is giving value for money.
In a damning report, the National Audit Office said so many Whitehall departments were doling out the cash that no one was tracking whether the £14billion budget was being spent properly.
It found that the sums going to ‘upper middle income’ countries had risen over the past four years despite promises to target the poorest.
Foreign aid from the UK arrives at Pakistan's Chaklala Airbase in Rawalpindi in 2010 to help people hit by floods. Watchdogs warned yesterday that it was difficult to prove whether the budget was value for money
A separate report by another watchdog – the Independent Commission for Aid Impact – raised significant concerns over the international development budget. It questioned the effectiveness of support for marginalised girls and tackling tax evasion, and cited lapses in the ‘do no harm’ principle in conflict zones.
The two reports piled pressure on Rory Stewart, the International Development Secretary, who was knocked out of the Tory leadership race yesterday.
The NAO concluded the Government needed to do more to show the
