Dominic Raab: new department will make aid spending more effective

Merger of Foreign Office and Department for International Development will mean better value for money, minister says

Dominic Raab has pledged that the controversial merger of the Foreign Office and Department for International Development (DfID) will give taxpayers better value for money on government aid spending.

The foreign secretary has ordered a review into the Independent Commission for Aid Impact (ICAI), the body for overseeing government aid, in a move he said would lead to more effective and accountable aid spending" when the new Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) is formally launched next week.