13.1 |
Resources
714.
The NAO
recommended that “DFID needs better management information on
its
costs to
inform its decisions and achieve value for money [in insecure
environments]”.
715.
The Inquiry
asked Mr Hilary Benn, the International Development Secretary
from
2003 to
2007, if the high security costs in Iraq had undermined DFID’s
ability to deliver
value for
money, and whether the funds spent on Iraq could have been better
used
elsewhere.455
He told the
Inquiry:
“No,
because we had a particular responsibility … [and] our duty to
fulfil that
responsibility.
Because what we were trying to do … was to assist Iraq to
build
something
better for itself, and this was a very important objective. And it
would
have been
wrong to say, ‘Well, we will get up and walk away’ …”
716.
Mr Benn
also told the Inquiry that DFID funding for Iraq had been
reallocated from
other
middle‑income countries, rather than from low‑income
countries.
717.
Section 15
considers the steps taken by the UK Government to provide
security
for civilian
staff in Iraq.
455
Public
hearing, 2 February 2010, page 46.
567