In October, the UK Comprehensive Spending Review increased the budget for the Department for International Development (DFID). Andrew Mitchell, the Secretary of State for International Development, told The Lancet: "The spending review has put flesh on the bones of our commitment to increase the development budget to 0-7% of the gross national income by 2013". This increase means the UK will join only a handful of countries to meet its UN obligation on foreign development aid.Accompanying this increase, DFID is "fundamentally changing the way in which we spend the development budget, with critical changes in everything we do", Mitchell continues. "Aid spent well creates miracles", he says, "but in the current financial climate, we have a particular duty to show that we are achieving value for money". DFID's administration costs will halve, and a new Independent Commission for Aid Impact (ICAI) will assess development impact, improve aid accountability, and report publicly.
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