I WAS honoured to recently be elected as a member of the House of Commons International Development Committee, following a ballot of my parliamentary Labour colleagues.

I’m delighted with this role, scrutinising the work of DFID (Department for International Development) and UK Aid in supporting the world’s poorest people with health and education, tackling disease, and responding to disasters and conflict.

This week I took up the position, attending my first meeting – an evidence session on DFID’s allocation of resources. The inquiry is exploring the subject in detail, with the purpose of considering the implications of the Comprehensive Spending Review and the new Overseas Development Assistance strategy.

It’s a busy time for the committee, with a number of other inquiries also under way, including:

• Crisis in Yemen – examining the humanitarian response to the crisis in the poorest country in the Middle East where more than 80 per cent of the population need assistance;

• Tackling corruption overseas - looking into the direction and effectiveness of DFID's current anti-corruption efforts, the development impacts of UK Government policy on corruption, and the coherence of the Government’s approach as a whole;

• The global humanitarian system - examining priorities for the 2016 World Humanitarian Summit, and looking at the shortcomings of the global humanitarian assistance funding model and whether responses are sufficiently tailored to vulnerable groups and children in particular;

• DFID’s programme in Nigeria - examining overseas development assistance in fragile and conflict-affected states, focusing on Nigeria; how DFID can work best to reduce poverty; and how effective DFID has been in improving the education systems and reducing the disadvantages faced by women and girls;

• Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) – examining how the goals agreed by UN Member States in September will or should be implemented by DFID and the wider UK Government .

I’m looking forward to working on these issues, particularly as prior to becoming an MP I worked at DFID and international charities such as Oxfam and World Vision.

I want to play a key role in scrutinising UK government efforts, at a time when we face a number of global humanitarian crises, the challenges of conflict and climate change, and the fact that far too many people still live below the poverty line or can’t access schools and hospitals.

I’m proud of the role so many people play locally in Penarth and Cardiff, fundraising and volunteering to support international development, fair trade and disaster relief – and I hope to highlight their work whenever I can.