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Aid spending in the UK

Inquiry

Report and Government response published

The Government must put the UK’s aid budget beyond the reach of the Home Office and ringfence it to spend in the world’s poorest and most vulnerable countries, the International Development Committee is urging today.

In a searingly concise report of 14 paragraphs, the Committee sets out the evidence to demonstrate that the world’s poorest countries are being short-changed as a result of other Government departments raiding the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office’s (FCDO's) aid budget. Meanwhile the aid budget has been cut to 0.55 per cent of Gross National Income and aid programmes which support the world’s poorest people overseas have been disproportionately cut.

The UK Government’s approach to spending ODA in the UK is incompatible with the spirit of the OECD’s Development Assistance Committee rules, says today’s report. Most countries take a conservative approach, recognising that the ODA budget is for spending that “promotes and specifically targets the economic development and welfare of developing countries.”

This makes the Government’s choice to spend a significant and increasing proportion of the ODA budget in the UK a “political choice”. It is a self-defeating decision which is likely only to increase the number of refugees arriving in the UK.

Read the Report: Aid spending in the UK

Read the Government response: Aid spending in the UK

This inquiry is no longer accepting evidence

The deadline for submissions was Thursday 15 December 2022.

Reports, special reports and government responses

View all reports and responses
Sixth Report - Aid Spending in the UK
Inquiry Aid spending in the UK
HC 898
Report
Response to this report
Seventh Special Report - Aid spending in the UK: Government response to the Committee’s Sixth Report
HC 1367
Special Report
Seventh Special Report - Aid spending in the UK: Government response to the Committee’s Sixth Report
Inquiry Aid spending in the UK
HC 1367
Special Report
Correspondence from the Permanent Under-Secretary relating to the FCDO’s Supplementary Estimate memorandum for 2023-24 & Home Office’s Official Development Assistance (ODA) spend - 20 March 2024
Inquiry Aid spending in the UK
Correspondence
Correspondence to the Permanent Under-Secretary relating to the FCDO’s Supplementary Estimate memorandum for 2023-24 & Home Office’s Official Development Assistance (ODA) spend - 13 March 2024
Inquiry Aid spending in the UK
Correspondence

Oral evidence transcripts

View all oral evidence transcripts
8 February 2023
Inquiry Aid spending in the UK
Witnesses Mr Andrew Mitchell (Minister of State (Development and Africa) at Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office), Robert Jenrick (Minister for Immigration at Home Office), and John Glen (Chief Secretary to the Treasury at HM Treasury)
Oral Evidence
13 December 2022
Inquiry Aid spending in the UK
Witnesses Ian Mitchell (Senior Policy Fellow at Center for Global Development), Professor Michael Collyer (Professor at University of Sussex), and Professor Stefan Dercon (Professor of Economic Policy at Blavatnik School of Government)
Oral Evidence
13 December 2022
Inquiry Aid spending in the UK
Witnesses Enver Solomon (Chief Executive at Refugee Council), and Daphne Jayasinghe (Chief Policy Adviser at International Rescue Committee)
Oral Evidence
HM Treasury (ASU0017)
Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (ASU0016)
Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, His Majesty's Treasury, The Home Office and The Department for Levelling Up, Using and Communities (ASU0015)

Other publications

No other publications published.

Contact us

  • Email: indcom@parliament.uk
  • Phone: 020 7219 1223 (general enquiries) |0207 219 8969 (media enquiries)
  • Address: International Development Committee, House of Commons, London, SW1A 0AA