Press Releases

Mr. Nicholai Price, Clerk of the Public Accounts Committee, is currently in London attending a major parliamentary workshop on financial oversight of aid effectiveness hosted by the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA).

The CPA UK’s sixth Westminster Workshop, which is attended by over 70 parliamentarians, is taking place in the Houses of Parliament on 4-7 July and will feature a range of high-level speakers including the UK’s former Secretary of State for International Development, Rt Hon. Andrew Mitchell MP.

The four-day workshop is looking at a range of issues including the role of parliaments in overseeing development financing, the challenges for donor co-operation, the importance of aid transparency, and ensuring that anti-corruption strategies are given a high priority. There will be a particular focus on the complexity of financing mechanisms available in the post-2015 era and the need for donor collaboration. Delegates will also discuss the role of advice services available to parliamentarians to help them scrutinise budgets, including Parliamentary Budget Offices and Independent Financial Institutions.

There will also be an in-depth session targeted at Members and clerks of Public Accounts Committees, including a Westminster-style PAC hearing exercise. Organisations represented at the workshop will include the European Commission, the Overseas Development Institute, DFID, OECD and the African Development Bank.

A release from the CPA reported Chief Executive of CPA UK, Andrew Tuggey CBE as saying, “Parliamentary oversight of the financial effectiveness of development aid is now a high priority across the world, as parliamentarians seek to ensure value for money for taxpayers. “However there are still many questions to be answered about the tools that parliamentarians and legislatures need to carry out such oversight, and the role that they should play in the aid management cycle. “I am delighted to be welcoming such a wide range of parliamentarians, clerks and high-level speakers for what promises to be a highly interesting and thought-provoking workshop”.

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