UK’s humanitarian aid for Ukraine too slow - Sarah Champion MP

• Letter: Correspondence from the Foreign Secretary relating to disbursement of humanitarian aid to Ukraine
• International Development Committee

The Chair of the International Development Committee, Sarah Champion MP said:

“I am shocked and disappointed that less than £60m. of the UK’s promised £220m. humanitarian aid package for Ukraine has been delivered so far. I am quite sure the British people, who have given so quickly and generously, will also be astounded at the news.

“On 9 March, I urged the Prime Minister to make sure the UK’s pledges for Ukraine are disbursed quickly. Today, more than a month later, it is shameful that I have to repeat that urgent appeal.

“More than 12 million people in Ukraine are in need of humanitarian support, as well as 4 million people who have fled the country. These people need our help now – not at some vague future date.

“I am also extremely disappointed that the aid money for Ukraine is coming out of an aid budget that has already been slashed from 0.7% of UK national income to 0.5%. We know that this reduced budget means cruel cuts to aid programmes around the world. This includes cuts, for example, to projects aimed at helping women and girls in exceedingly difficult circumstances. The government itself said these projects for women and girls were their priority – yet they were still cut.

“Given these circumstances the government should be less rigid in sticking to the 0.5% target for aid spending. This would allow the UK to respond to the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine without taking resources away from communities suffering from other conflicts, or extreme poverty, around the world”.

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