SID 2011 Annex 4: Data Sources

1. The majority of UK Official Development Assistance (ODA) is delivered through DFID’s budget. The 2002 International Development Act makes reducing poverty the core purpose of UK aid. As such, the vast majority of DFID aid expenditure is included in ODA; only a small amount of expenditure on non-ODA eligible countries and multilateral institutions is excluded. Figures for the DFID programme are produced from a combination of data held on DFID’s internal accounting and management information system (ARIES) and the UK attributions of EC budgetary spending. 

2 DFID’s Overseas Pensions Department is also responsible for the payment of colonial pensions made to ex-members of the UK Overseas Civil Service who were employed directly by developing countries. A small element of this is permitted to be classed as ODA and GPEX. From this year this element is reported as non-DFID expenditure; this change is consistent with DFID’s Departmental Expenditure Limit (DEL).

ODA managed jointly by DFID and other UK Government Departments

3 The Conflict Pool is governed and jointly managed by DFID, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) and the Ministry of Defence (MoD) to bring together the UK government’s development, diplomatic and defence interest and expertise to ensure a coherent response to conflict prevention. Some of the Conflict Pool’s expenditure is ODA eligible. In these statistics all Conflict Pool funds disbursed through DFID are included in ODA and appear as part of DFID expenditure. The remaining ODA figures comprise the aggregate of FCO and MOD funding.  Data on the ODA eligible Conflict Pool funds disbursed by the FCO and MOD are collected by DFID in liaison with programme officers in the relevant departments.

4 The Environment Transformation Fund was established in 2008 to support development and poverty reduction through better environmental management and help developing countries respond to the realities of climate change. The fund is managed jointly by DFID and the Department for Energy and Climate Change (DECC) who contribute equal amounts to the fund all of which are assessed as ODA-eligible.

Other ODA delivered by UK Government Departments

5. The FCO contributes to UK ODA in a number of ways:

• The FCO Strategic Programme Fund supports a range of the UK government’s international goals. Where the programme funds projects which meet the required OECD definition these projects are included in UK ODA statistics.
• The FCO supports the British Council through grant-in-aid funding. This funding goes to support a range of initiatives including building the capacity and quality of English language teaching; supporting education systems; and using cultural exchange to improve economic welfare. UK ODA statistics include the proportion of this work which is clearly focussed on delivering economic welfare and development in ODA eligible countries.
• The British Council also manages, on behalf of the FCO, the Chevening Scholarships programme, which provides funding for postgraduate students or researchers from developing countries to study in UK universities. Funding from this scheme to students from ODA eligible countries are included in UK ODA statistics.
• The FCO makes annual contributions to UN and Commonwealth organisations. A proportion of these contributions are allowed to score as ODA in line with Annex 2 of the DAC Statistical Reporting Directives.
• In line with OECD rules a proportion of FCO administrative costs are allowed to score as ODA. Currently these costs are estimated as being equivalent to 5% of the value of the programme elements listed above. This area is a focus of ongoing methodological work by DFID and FCO. We plan to establish a more precise estimate of the ODA-eligible element of FCO administrative costs including those associated with diplomatic staff for inclusion in future editions of these statistics.
• In addition to contributing directly to the Conflict Pool (see above) the FCO is also responsible for the UK contribution to the UN Department for Peacekeeping Operations (UNDPKO). In line with DAC rules 6% of donor funding to UNDPKO is allowed to score as ODA. FCO also funds other bilateral peacekeeping missions including the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and the European Security and Defence Policy (ESDP) civilian missions; a proportion of which is reported as bilateral ODA.

6 In addition to contributing to the Environmental Transformation Fund DECC also makes annual contributions to the International Atomic Energy Agency and UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. A proportion of this support is deemed ODA eligible.

7. The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) is responsible for the Darwin Initiative a programme which aims to assist the progression of environmental goals in developing countries. Eligible expenditure is included in UK ODA statistics. DEFRA also makes an annual contribution to the Montreal Protocol which is allowed to score as ODA under DAC rules.

8 The Scottish Government runs its own bilateral aid programme which aims to directly support the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and economic growth in a number of developing countries. The Welsh Assembly’s ‘Wales for Africa’ programme also aims to help deliver the MDGs and provides small grants to organisation based in Wales.

9. The Department for Culture Media and Sport works closely with DFID to deliver a range of initiatives to help address wider social issues encompassed by the MDGs; including contributing towards addressing gender inequality and acting as an effective medium for conveying educational messages relating to health. Relevant funding is reported in these statistics.

10 The estimates of the costs incurred by the UK Border Agency (UKBA) of supporting refugees from developing countries during there first 12 months in the UK are included in the ODA statistics. This brings the reporting of UK ODA fully in line with OECD definition and improves the overall comparability of the international data.  DFID and the UKBA are also contributing to ongoing methodological work in the OECD to clarify guidance on refugee costs to further improve the consistency of donor estimates.  UK ODA statistics also include funding from the Home Office to the International Organisation for Migration.

11  A number of other government departments also make direct contributions to the UN system. A proportion of each payments is reported as ODA in line with DAC rules. The Department of Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) provides support to the World Trade Organisation, the Universal Postal Union, the International Telecommunications Union and the World Intellectual Property Office; the Department for Work and Pensions makes an annual contribution to the International Labour Organisation and; the Department for Health makes an annual assessed contribution to the World Health Organisation.