MPs examine foreign aid spending on education 

Wednesday 23 November at 10.00, Committee Room 8 

Watch live on Parliamentlive.tv 

Education programmes funded by UK aid are mainly ambitious, well-implemented and relevant to the needs of marginalised children, particularly girls who have previously been hard-to-reach.  

However, some barriers remain. One quarter of programmes targeting girls did not meet the FCDO’s expectations. It was also difficult to ascertain the scale of success globally for children with disabilities, with concern that ministerial focus on this issue had declined.  

That’s the verdict of the UK’s foreign aid watchdog, the Independent Commission for Aid Impact, in a report published in April which covers the UK’s portfolio of education aid programmes since 2015.  ICAI reports that aid from the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office has reached children affected by conflict and humanitarian disasters effectively. 

In this session, members of the International Development Committee will review the report findings with representatives from ICAI and FCDO. 

Witnesses: 

Panel 1 at 10.00: 

• Tarek Rouchdy, Commissioner, ICAI 
• Korina Cox, Team Leader, ICAI 

Panel 2 at 10.45: 

• Alicia Herbert OBE, Director for Education, Gender and Equality, FCDO 
• Judith Herbertson, Head of Girls’ Education Department, FCDO