Britain spends around 11 bln pounds ($14.6 bln) on foreign aid
MANCHESTER, England, Oct 3 (Reuters) - Britain said on Tuesday it would reform the way it awards aid contracts to stamp out what it describes as unethical and uncompetitive behaviour among some suppliers in the international development market.
Seeking to drive down costs, Britain's Department for International Development said it would write in clauses to contracts to inspect costs, fees and profits of suppliers in detail.
A new code of conduct will allow the department to end contracts early if it believes they are not being run properly, and it will clamp down on occasions where large suppliers include smaller businesses to win bids, but then drop them from the contract once they have been won.
"Today, I am announcing the conclusion of a comprehensive review of DFID's relationships with suppliers," minister Priti Patel told the Conservative Party's annual conference.
"I am introducing a tough Code of Conduct, with legally enforceable sanctions for non-compliance, to root out unethical behaviour."
Britain spends around 11 billion pounds ($14.6 billion) on foreign aid in a bid to help governments to improve on areas such as health and education.
($1 = 0.7541 pounds)
(Reporting by Kate Holton; editing by Guy Faulconbridge)
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