10 Nov 2025
The Independent Commission for Aid Impact (ICAI) has today published more information about our forthcoming review of the UK’s management of the official development assistance (ODA) spending target. The period since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 has been one of exceptional turbulence for UK development assistance. UK ODA spending was reduced from […]
Read more on Terms of reference published: Management of the ODA spending target
6 Nov 2025
Jillian Popkins gave evidence to the International Development Committee in Parliament on 4 November, in a session looking at the work of the Independent Commission for Aid Impact (ICAI). The Chief Commissioner updated the committee on how work has progressed since her pre-appointment hearing nearly a year ago, and how ICAI plans to hold the […]
Read more on ICAI Chief Commissioner discusses recent highlights and challenges in Parliament
29 Oct 2025
Liz Ditchburn appeared before the House of Commons International Development Committee yesterday (28 October) as part of a one-off evidence session on the situation in Sudan. The Commissioner answered questions from MPs on the findings of the recent Independent Commission for Aid Impact (ICAI) report, UK aid to Sudan. Themes of the discussion included whether […]
Read more on ICAI Commissioner Liz Ditchburn gives evidence to Parliament on Sudan
17 Oct 2025
The government has updated the Independent Commission for Aid Impact (ICAI) on how it is implementing recommendations to improve UK aid in a range of areas, from international climate finance to tackling fraud. In a letter to Chief Commissioner Jillian Popkins, the Second Permanent Under-Secretary at the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO), Nick Dyer, […]
Read more on Government updates ICAI on progress implementing recommendations
13 Jun 2025
The Independent Commission for Aid Impact (ICAI) held a launch event for its Fourth Commission in Parliament on Wednesday 11 June, discussing what valuable scrutiny of UK aid looks like in a climate of budget reductions and difficult government choices. International Development Committee Chair Sarah Champion MP opened the event, underlining the importance of the […]
Read more on ICAI parliamentary event underlines value of scrutiny in a time of aid budget reductions
19 May 2025
Each year, the Independent Commission for Aid Impact (ICAI) assesses progress made by the government on implementing our recommendations to improve the effectiveness of UK aid spending. This is an important step in the accountability chain, providing Parliament’s International Development Committee (IDC) and other stakeholders with evidence on whether the government has taken appropriate action […]
Read more on ICAI confirms approach to following up on recommendations from 2023-24
27 Jan 2025
The Independent Commission for Aid Impact (ICAI) welcomes Jillian Popkins as its new Chief Commissioner today (Monday 27 January). Jillian, whose appointment was endorsed by Parliament’s International Development Committee last month, joins fellow Commissioners Liz Ditchburn and Harold Freeman. Together, they will lead independent scrutiny of UK international development spending, helping to ensure value for […]
Read more on UK aid watchdog welcomes new Chief Commissioner
26 Feb 2024
The COVID-19 pandemic and race to develop a vaccine brought health research to the top of the international agenda, and in recent years it has become more central to UK aid’s strategic priorities. A forthcoming review from the Independent Commission for Aid Impact (ICAI) will look at aid spent by the Department for Health and […]
Read more on Forthcoming review: DHSC’s aid-funded global health research and innovation
7 Feb 2024
The Independent Commission for Aid Impact (ICAI) will look at UK aid to Gaza, Afghanistan and China in three new information notes. Since the Israel-Hamas war began in October 2023, the UK has announced £60 million in additional humanitarian funding in Gaza, trebling the planned 2023-24 annual budget to the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPTs). However […]
Read more on UK aid to Gaza, Afghanistan and China to come under ICAI scrutiny
22 Jan 2024
The Independent Commission for Aid Impact (ICAI) will assess how well the UK is using its aid for sustainable cities and urban development in a forthcoming review. Cities generate more than 80% of global GDP and by 2050, the United Nations projects that more than two-thirds of the global population will live in urban areas. […]
Read more on Forthcoming review: UK aid for sustainable cities
