Thank you for contacting me about UK spending on foreign aid, otherwise known as Official Development Assistance (ODA).
The UK's vital work on international development is a source of immense pride. The UK was for many years the only G7 country to spend the UN recommended target of 0.7 per cent of Gross National Income (GNI) on ODA, and since 2015, the only country to guarantee this in law. I was elected in 2019 upon the pledge to 'proudly maintain' this commitment.
As such, I was very disheartened when I learned last September of the Government's intention to renege upon this commitment, albeit temporarily. Especially so, given that only a few months earlier, in June, the Prime Minister reaffirmed the UK's commitment to the target when the merger of the Department for International Development (DFID) and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) was announced: a merger which promised to put UK ODA at the heart of the new FCDO and the UK's international policy.
I appreciate the trying economic situation the UK finds itself in domestically, because of the pandemic, and why the Government and many across the House feel that this necessitates cutting back on our development commitments overseas. I do not agree, however. The amount saved by cutting aid spending to 0.5 per cent of GNI is a mere drop in ocean compared with what the Government is currently borrowing, and will do little to alleviate the current domestic economic crisis. The cut will make little difference to those of us lucky enough to reside in the UK, but it will have a massive impact on the world's most vulnerable people, be it the millions of children at risk of famine or women without access to contraception, for whom the UK's aid efforts were hitherto a source of great hope, and who now stand to lose out.
Finally, I think cutting back on our commitments now, just as we are taking over Presidency of the G7, whilst other G7 nations such as France and Germany increase theirs, sends completely the wrong message. The pandemic, which risks erasing decades of global progress, makes it more essential than ever for the UK to step up, not back.
Development spending is an important part of securing the UK’s place in the world. I have been a member of the International Development Committee for almost 11 years and I am working hard to make sure there is continuing scrutiny of aid spending.
I have been working with colleagues across the House to pressure the Government into giving Parliament a vote to reduce the 0.7 per cent aid commitment, so that the full range of objections can be properly expressed. The Government finally introduced a motion last Tuesday, which I voted against. You can read my contribution here: https://hansard.parliament.uk/Commons/2021-07-13/debates/92FD1E80-7F3E-461D-AC25-F6B79E503131/InternationalAidTreasuryUpdate#contribution-9048B948-1352-4EC0-9595-47F9C628B97B. I also wrote an article discussing the effects of the motion for Politicshome/The House, which you can find here: https://www.politicshome.com/thehouse/article/there-is-little-hope-for-a-swift-return-to-07-foreign-aid-target.
I am extremely disappointed that the aid budget has been reduced and will advocate for a return to 0.7 per cent as soon as possible.
Thank you again for contacting me.