The government is facing a cross-party backlash over plans to scrap the UK's independent aid watchdog, with critics accusing ministers of trying to avoid scrutiny while implementing deep cuts to the development budget. Jenny Chapman, the development minister, said she was actively considering closing the Independent Commission for Aid Impact (ICAI), which examines projects funded by the £14bn aid budget.
Chapman, a close ally of Sir Keir Starmer, first raised the possibility on Tuesday while being questioned by MPs on the Commons international development committee. She later told the Guardian that with much less money to spend, "we need to look at everything", adding: "The prime minister wanted a line-by-line review of the aid budget, and there are no sacred cows." However, the plan appears to contradict Labour's 2024 election manifesto, which promised to work "closely" with the watchdog in government.
The move has been condemned by senior figures on both sides of the House. Sarah Champion, the Labour chair of the international development committee, called it "misguided", saying it was essential for the government to spend aid wisely and with full transparency. Andrew Mitchell, the former Conservative cabinet minister who established ICAI in 2011, suggested the motive was to "escape scrutiny and hide the inevitable damage caused by Labour's brutal aid and development cuts – to cover up their crime".
ICAI was set up under the coalition government to provide independent oversight of aid spending. It has recently published critical reports, including in April a warning that using a quarter of the aid budget to support refugees in Britain was "wreaking havoc" with development plans. In November it questioned the Foreign Office's "least ambitious" atrocity prevention plans for Sudan despite warnings that El Fasher could fall.
Tamsyn Barton, ICAI's chief commissioner until July 2024, rejected the argument that the watchdog should be cut because aid is being cut, saying independent scrutiny is "all the more important" when money is scarce. An ICAI spokesperson noted that the commission costs less than 0.03% of the total UK aid budget and delivers robust scrutiny to ensure taxpayers' money has maximum impact worldwide.
