Speeches by Law.

“Can you just delve a bit deeper into why financing women specifically led to such positive economic outcomes?”

“Are you saying that was not entirely expected at the start of the programme?”

“I would like to hear about the spillover benefits. Emilie, is there anything you would like to add?”

“You have answered my next question. If I can put to the other two panellists: after the end of the Ayrton Fund in March 2026, Juliette, what kind of engagement would you like to see from the UK Government?”

“Will my hon. Friend give way?”

“As the chair of the all-party parliamentary group on critical minerals, I have an interest that I know you share, Madam Deputy Speaker, in critical minerals. I welcome the strategy’s recognition of the role that regional clusters, like that in Cornwall, can play. Given Cornwall’s resurgent critical minerals ecosystem, …”

“Very briefly, Anisa, you talked a bit about the earlier stages of a project and what happens during it. Can you enlighten us more on how you measure the ongoing impact of a project after its completion?”

“On that point—bearing in mind the complexity and immense scope of the data ask and having seen this first-hand from the development finance side—I can only imagine how complicated it gets when you are trying to cover so many different programmes. Given the burden this can place on the FCDO itself, on partner organisati…”

“Are you saying you have limitations as an economist?”

“That is a great answer, thank you. Linked to that, do you think that complexity poses challenges for transparency in terms of reporting on the data and the results of that MEL exercise, certainly to a wider audience? Do you feel it is possible to be sufficiently transparent, particularly given those complexities you ou…”

“I would also argue that there are a lot of value judgments and subjective judgments made along the way, and then you introduce an element of human error. I am sure you have seen that in practice in all your work.”

“It is a really clear answer, thank you. I just think it is often very hard for people in the wider world to get into the weeds at that point.”

“I understand it creates that trade-off as well. But Alex, to sum up, what do you think are the main barriers to the FCDO’s ability to report transparently on these things?”

“I know we have touched on this very briefly but do you think the FCDO’s use of contractors affects its own level of knowledge and expertise?”

“Brendan, what systems are in place for the FCDO to monitor the effectiveness of those different contractors in meeting broader value for money targets?”

“Sometimes that is the best answer. Just very briefly—you already spoke to this earlier—how does the FCDO compare with other agencies in terms of its transparency?”

“I understand it creates that trade-off as well. But Alex, to sum up, what do you think are the main barriers to the FCDO’s ability to report transparently on these things?”

“It is a really clear answer, thank you. I just think it is often very hard for people in the wider world to get into the weeds at that point.”

“That is a great answer, thank you. Linked to that, do you think that complexity poses challenges for transparency in terms of reporting on the data and the results of that MEL exercise, certainly to a wider audience? Do you feel it is possible to be sufficiently transparent, particularly given those complexities you ou…”

“Do you feel that donors put enough emphasis on the ongoing longevity of their impact, post the end of a programme?”