Sixth Report - Aid Spending in the UK
- HC No.
- HC 898
- Published
- 2 Mar 2023
- Items
- 0
- Response
- Response document linked Read government response ↗
Select Committee · International Development Committee
Aid spending in the UK
Status: Closed
Opened: 15 Nov 2022
Closed: 22 May 2023
1 report
Inquiry scope
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 UKReports
Oral evidence sessions
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| Date | Session and witnesses | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 8 Feb 2023 |
Aid spending in the UK
Rt Hon Andrew Mitchell · Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office,
Rt Hon John Glen MP · HM Treasury,
Rt Hon Robert Jenrick MP · Home Office
|
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| 13 Dec 2022 |
Aid spending in the UK
Daphne Jayasinghe · International Rescue Committee,
Enver Solomon · Refugee Council,
Ian Mitchell · Centre for Global Development,
Professor Michael Collyer · University of Sussex,
Professor Stefan Dercon · Blavatnik School of Government
|
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Who gave evidence
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| Witness | Organisation | Sessions |
|---|---|---|
| Daphne Jayasinghe · Director of Policy – Global Protracted Displacement Team | International Rescue Committee | 1 |
| Enver Solomon · Chief Executive Officer | Refugee Council | 1 |
| Ian Mitchell · Co-Director, Europe and Senior Policy Fellow | Centre for Global Development | 1 |
| Professor Michael Collyer · Professor | University of Sussex | 1 |
| Professor Stefan Dercon · Professor of Economic Policy | Blavatnik School of Government | 1 |
| Rt Hon Andrew Mitchell · Minister of State | Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office | 1 |
| Rt Hon John Glen MP · Chief Secretary to the Treasury | HM Treasury | 1 |
| Rt Hon Robert Jenrick MP · Minister for Immigration | Home Office | 1 |
Correspondence
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