Investment for development: The UK’s strategy towards Development Finance Institutions

International Development Committee Closed Inquiry
Opened: 9 Nov 2022 Closed: 7 Dec 2023 Parliament page
The International Development Committee launched an inquiry on Investment for Development: the UK’s strategy towards development finance institutions and the effectiveness of aid spending through British International Investment (BII). This inquiry assessed whether BII is best placed to deliver impact and value for the UK taxpayer, given that a greater … Read more
8 Recommendations
15 Conclusions
1 Report
4 Oral sessions
3 Letters
4 Events
Activity timeline 13 events
10 Jan
2024
Correspondence
10 Jan
2024
Correspondence
7 Dec
2023
Report published
15 Sep
2023
Report published
5 Jul
2023
Correspondence
6 Jun
2023
Oral evidence
6 Jun
2023
Formal meeting (oral evidence session) · Room 8, Palace of Westminster
25 Apr
2023
Oral evidence
25 Apr
2023
Formal meeting (oral evidence session) · The Thatcher Room, Portcullis House
7 Mar
2023
Oral evidence
7 Mar
2023
Formal meeting (oral evidence session) · The Grimond Room, Portcullis House
24 Jan
2023
Oral evidence
Oral evidence sessions 4 sessions
6 Jun 2023
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Investment for development: The UK’s strategy towards Development Finance Institutions
Rt Hon Andrew Mitchell · Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office
25 Apr 2023
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Investment for development: The UK’s strategy towards Development Finance Institutions
Diana Layfield · British International Investment Nick O’Donohoe CMG · British International Investment
7 Mar 2023
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Investment for development: The UK’s strategy towards Development Finance Institutions
David Kuijper · FMO Joe Dharampal-Hornby · Impact Investing Institute Mr Stuart Bradley · Phatisa Group Limited Samantha Attridge · Overseas Development Institute
24 Jan 2023
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Investment for development: The UK’s strategy towards Development Finance Institutions
Anna Marriot · Oxfam Daniel Willis · Global Justice Now Graham Gordon · Catholic International Development Charity (CAFOD) Paul James · Publish What You Fund
Title HC No. Published Items Response
Ninth Report - Investment for development: The UK’s strategy tow… HC 884 15 Sep 2023 23 Responded
Recommendations & Conclusions
3 results
Clear
19 Recommendation Accepted in Part
Ninth Report - Investment for deve…
Require BII to align its entire portfolio with the UK Government's development agenda, emphasising impact.
BII must ensure that its entire portfolio is aligned with the UK Government’s development agenda. With a diminished ODA budget there is more pressure to target development assistance towards the poorest and most marginalised groups: consequently, there is a greater … Read more
Government Response
The government partially accepts, agreeing ministers should maintain scrutiny over ODA and BII allocations. While stating BII annually monitors development impact for active investments since 2012 and current monitoring is appropriate, the FCDO will review in 2024 whether additional external spot checks are needed to verify BII's internal assessments.
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20 Recommendation Accepted in Part
Ninth Report - Investment for deve…
Require BII to perform annual impact assessments and divest from misaligned portfolio investments.
To deliver accountability and transparency and to operate in lockstep with the International Development Strategy, BII must assess the impact of its portfolio under previous strategy periods and actively manage its portfolio. BII must perform annual assessments of the impact … Read more
Government Response
The government partially accepts, agreeing ministers should scrutinize the ODA budget and BII allocations. While stating BII already annually monitors impact for active investments since 2012 and that current monitoring is considered appropriate, the FCDO will review in 2024 whether additional external spot checks are needed to verify BII's internal assessments.
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22 Recommendation Accepted in Part
Ninth Report - Investment for deve…
Mandate BII to transparently report detailed financial, impact, and fossil fuel investment data annually.
BII must prioritise the monitoring and reporting of investment activity and transparently report its financial and impact data. This should include, but not be limited to: (a) the number and type of jobs created, (b) types and value of capital … Read more
Government Response
The government partially accepts, agreeing on the importance of monitoring and reporting. BII will publish a Transparency Roadmap and begin disclosing qualifying criteria for new 2X investments, while already reporting on some impact data. However, it does not explicitly commit to publishing a full annual listing of fossil fuel investments or plans for recourse for shortcomings.
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Government Response AI assessment · 23 of 8 classified
Accepted 12
Accepted in Part 3
Deferred 6
Rejected 2
Total 8 recs + 15 conclusions
Correspondence 3 letters
10 Jan 2024 Correspondence from the Minister for Development & Africa relating to Clarification on BII Funding Eligibility for Overseas Territories - 20 December 2023
Parliament page
10 Jan 2024 Correspondence to the Minister for Development & Africa relating to Clarification on BII Funding Eligibility for Overseas Territories - 5 December 2023
Parliament page
5 Jul 2023 Correspondence from the Minister for Development and Africa regarding British International Investment (BII) Statutory Instrument - 20 June 2023
Parliament page