Rishi Sunak urged to restore UK aid spending after Ukraine invasion
Rishi Sunak is being urged to boost aid UK spending in this week’s mini-budget after an in-depth study by a leading thinktank showed government cuts had the biggest negative impact on the world’s poorest countries.
The campaign group One said the aid budget was at “breaking point” and would come under renewed pressure as a result of humanitarian and refugee spending in response to the war in Ukraine.
One’s UK director, Romilly Greenhill, called on the chancellor to use his spring statement on Wednesday to accelerate the return to Britain spending 0.7% of national income on overseas assistance.
A study from the National Institute of Economic and Social Research thinktank – commissioned by One – concluded the £4bn aid cut had implications both for the UK and recipient nations.
“The recent cuts in UK aid provide negligible direct savings for the UK, come at a cost to the UK economy, and poses significant humanitarian and social costs in many poor countries,” the NIESR report said.
Sunak announced a reduction of aid spending to 0.5% of national income in November 2020 when the Treasury was faced with the mounting cost of the Covid-19 pandemic, but in the following year’s budget pledged a return to 0.7% by the end of the parliament provided certain conditions were met.
The independent Office for Budget Responsibility is likely to report on Wednesday that the government finances are in a healthier state than thought at the time of last October’s budget, giving the chancellor some extra spending power.
NIESR said aid delivered good value for money, helping recipient nations financially but also raising UK national output. It said cutting overseas assistance had cost the UK between £322m and £423m in lost exports.
“The chancellor argued
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