Source · Select Committees · Scottish Affairs Committee
Recommendation 117
117
Acknowledged
In response to the immediate economic pressures the UK faced as a result of the...
Conclusion
In response to the immediate economic pressures the UK faced as a result of the pandemic, the UK Government decided in November 2020 to temporarily reduce the funds it would make available for Official Development Assistance (ODA) from 0.7% to 0.5% of UK Gross National Income (GNI).267 On 11 March 2021 UKRI wrote to higher education institutions to explain that this decision would have a “significant impact” on the work it funded under ODA programmes.268 UKRI went on to say: The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy’s ODA allocation to UKRI has reduced significantly its planned ODA expenditure for FY21/22, leading to a £125m budget and a £120m gap between allocations and commitments to grant holders. It is too early to detail the final impact of this review on individual grants funded by the Global Challenge Research Fund (GCRF), Newton Fund and other ODA funds within our councils including Innovate UK.269
Government response summary AI-generated
The government acknowledged the temporary ODA reduction by outlining its commitment to increase public R&D spending to £20 billion by 2024/25, and to return ODA funding to 0.7% of GNI by 2024/25, contingent on the fiscal situation.
Government Response
The government responded to this report on 27 April 2022. No passage in that response could be matched to this conclusion. Read the response document ↗