Tackling fraud in UK aid – new approach summary paper and call for evidence

9 Oct 2020

The Independent Commission for Aid Impact (ICAI) is today launching a call for evidence as part of its forthcoming review looking at the counter-fraud measures used by aid-spending government departments.

UK aid is increasingly being delivered through a wider range of departments, and ICAI’s rapid review – the details of which are set out in a new approach summary paper also published today – will look at how departments prevent, detect and investigate fraud in their aid delivery chains, and how they manage fraud risk within their portfolios and programmes.

The review will also explore how departments have evolved their approaches to tackling fraud, with increasing amounts of UK aid being spent across government departments in recent years, and will aim to understand why reported rates of fraud in UK aid are much lower than in other areas of public spending. As a rapid review, it will not be scored, but will provide evidence-based recommendations to the newly-merged Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office and other departments as they navigate changes to the way aid is spent.

As part of the evidence gathering process for this review, ICAI would like to hear from individuals or organisations that have been involved in the delivery of UK aid in any way. The aid watchdog has launched a survey that opens today and will run until Sunday 1 November. The survey is anonymous and only aggregated findings will be included in the final report, expected to be published in Spring 2021.

Feedback can also be given in confidence via email at Tackling-Fraud@icai.independent.gov.uk. Any specific allegations or suspicions of fraud will also be passed to the relevant UK authorities.

The full details of the review are set out in the approach paper.