Britain gives £1 in every £8 of foreign aid from developed world
As just 5 other countries hand out 0.7% of GDP...
BRITAIN provided £1 in every £8 of foreign aid doled out by 29 major countries last year, figures revealed yesterday.
They showed the UK’s £13.3billion aid budget outstripped that of every other major nation, except the US and Germany.
However, per head of population, Britain’s foreign aid bill is equivalent to £203.75 per person – compared with just £76.24 in the US.
France’s foreign aid budget was just £ 7billion, which worked out as £108.41 per person, while spending by Hungary, the Czech Republic and Slovakia was less than £20 per head of population.
Britain is one of just six countries to spend the international target of 0.7 per cent of national income on foreign aid, according to the figures compiled by the OECD, an economic organisation of developed nations. The others are Germany, Sweden, Luxembourg, Denmark and Norway.
David Cameron’s government controversially passed legislation that means ministers are not allowed to spend less than this proportion. In total the 29 major donor countries gave £105.6billion in aid, which worked out at just 0.32 per cent of national income.
Tory backbenchers last night renewed their calls for Theresa May to scrap the aid spending target so some of the money can be used on vital services at home such as social care, the NHS and schools.
Andrew Rosindell, MP for Romford, said: ‘The 0.7 per cent target is no longer sustainable in the eyes of most British people. Spending money for the sake of spending it is not a good use of taxpayers’ money. We should replace this target with a commitment to support genuine need, based on merit.’
Jacob Rees-Mogg, MP for North East Somerset, said: ‘The target is too high, especially when so many other budgets are under strain.
‘The comparison with other nations makes us look a soft touch and we must re-evaluate our priorities.’
Peter Bone, MP for Wellingborough, said: ‘We should get rid of the 0.7 per cent target and concentrate our spending on where it is most needed.’
Last week it was revealed how Britain’s overseas aid spending soared by £1.2billion in 2016. Although most of the foreign aid budget is used by the Department for International Development (DfiD), other Government departments – including the Home Office and the Foreign Office – are increasingly having to help to get the money out the door. Aid cash dished out through the EU also rose to £976million last year.
The Daily Mail has exposed how aid has been spent on projects such as an all-female pop group dubbed Ethiopia’s Spice Girls and that more than £ 1billion has been handed out in cash in the past five years despite warnings about fraud.
Last month MPs from the Commons International Development Committee said Britain should stockpile its aid budget so it can be used when most needed – rather than in last-minute splurges to meet annual targets.
They also said they were ‘concerned about the lack of strategic direction and management’ within the DfiD.
In another report published last week, MPs said ministers must do more to tackle the ‘appalling conduct’ of some international aid contractors used to deliver UK aid.
They found there were ‘fundamental flaws’ in the practices of some of the organisations responsible for handling public money.
A Government spokesman last night said: ‘At times of global instability, it’s more important than ever for us to be outward looking. We welcome Germany joining Britain as the second G20 country to meet its commitments to the world’s poorest people – now it’s time for others to do the same.
‘Whether it’s stepping up our support for Syrian refugees, tackling the lethal legacy of landmines or giving aid to stop people dying of hunger in East Africa; UK aid is keeping Britain safe while helping developing countries stand on their own two feet.’