The World Bank

by Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: International Development Committee, Malcolm Bruce

2011 · The Stationery Office

This report cautiously welcomes DFID's increased contributions to the World Bank development programme, but calls for greater Parliamentary scrutiny of its spending and warns that the Bank must be reformed. It calls for: a more open process for selecting the current President's successor; a more equitable allocation of voting shares for developing countries; the Bank's main watchdog, the Independent Evaluation Group, to be strengthened; the promotion of girls' education to be made an early priority; more support to improve the financial viability of renewable energy. The Government must give MPs the chance to fully debate the key decisions taken by the Bank given the large sums of money being donated by Britain. In December the Government announced that its contribution to the International Development Association (IDA) - the aid arm of the World Bank - would increase to an average of £888 million a year for each of the three years (a total of £2.7 billion) in its sixteenth programme. The UK should use its role as one of the largest contributors to the International Development Association to ensure that a robust system is put in place to evaluate the performance of the President during his or her tenure.

DFID and the World Bank

by Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: International Development Committee

2008 · The Stationery Office

The World Bank is a major provider of development funding, analysis and advice. The Bank is not perfect, however, and the context in which it operates continues to change. As a major shareholder and contributor to the World Bank, the UK has a distinct leadership role. The UK should articulate and pursue a vision for reform of the Bank. The Department for International Development's (DFID) and the Bank both have core objectives of poverty reduction. There is an increased responsibility on DFID to ensure that the Bank is organisationally effective and achieving a level of development impact that justifies the UK contributions. More consistent and transparent use of impact assessments by the World Bank across all of its lending is the single most important change in Bank practice that DFID should be pursuing. There should be more representation of developing countries in World Bank decision-making. Selection of the President of the World Bank, should be transparent and on merit, rather than in the gift of the United States. Other recommendations cover: women's empowerment; DFID staffing in relation to the Bank; and climate change. This last is an acute challenge for developing countries. As a development leader, the Bank should use its substantial resources and leverage to support viable renewable energy sources. But the urgency of climate change does not lessen the blight of poverty and the Bank's primary focus must remain on poverty reduction and development.