Letters | 4 June 2015

Targeting aid

Sir: The way that our aid is being spent is a national scandal (Leading article, 30 May). This is because Dfid has outsourced its professional advice and thus no longer has the expertise to manage an aid programme, and because the establishment of the 0.7 per cent means that funds must be spent regardless of outcome.

Your solution, using aid funds to socially beneficial military purposes is well-intentioned but not feasible, because international rules would not permit Britain classifying this as aid. Fortunately there is a feasible solution that could be implemented without abandoning the aid target. This is to take up the Prime Minister’s promise in the Conservative Aid Policy manifesto ‘that hard-earned taxpayers’ money will be properly audited’. He never intended that the target should be met regardless of use, and could not object if proper auditing meant a smaller aid programme.

At present most aid goes in the form of unauditable grants to corrupt governments, or in huge amounts to international organisations, some 64 per cent of our aid.