Pandemic sees foreign aid bill cut to £14.5bn – SLASHING amount we send overseas by... £712million

BRITAIN’S foreign aid budget shrank for the first time in more than a decade last year as the pandemic hit the economy.

Figures released yesterday showed overseas spending fell by £712million to £14.5billion – the 4.7 per cent reduction is the first since the financial crash in 2007.

Yet despite the fall, the amount of aid given by the UK through the EU increased by £100million to £581million.

The Government said the rise of more than a fifth was due to extra spending by Brussels in response to the pandemic.

Under the terms of the Withdrawal Agreement, the UK is committed to paying for a number of EU-managed overseas aid schemes until 2027.

There was also a rise in the amount handed out by the Home Office – up 33.9 per cent or £151million to £597million – due to ‘increased accommodation costs for asylum seekers’ as a result of the pandemic.

Around £1.4billion of the aid budget last year was spent on supporting the global effort to fight the coronavirus.

The UK is one of the largest donors to the Covax scheme to provide Covid vaccines to poorer countries. The Government says that its contribution will provide 1.3billion doses to up to 92 developing nations.

Aid spending is tied to the size of the economy under the commitment made by David Cameron’s coalition government to give the equivalent of 0.7 per cent of national income.

While this has been met every year since 2013, the hit taken by the economy in the pandemic has been reflected in the foreign aid budget. The figures come after Boris Johnson announced the aid target will be cut to 0.5 per cent in the current year as the Government tries to fill the black hole in the UK’s finances.

The Prime Minister faces a legal challenge over the move after he suggested he will avoid putting it to a vote in the Commons. Charities are preparing to take the Government to court to block the change, which is estimated would lead to a £4billion reduction in overseas spending.

The move to change the law to lower the spending target would have allowed ministers to slash the handouts to around £10billion – and keep them at a lower level for several years.

But the Mail revealed last month that the budget may be cut for just one year as ministers seek to avoid the need for new legislation amid fears it might get voted down.

In the Government’s foreign policy review, Mr Johnson committed to returning to the 0.7 per cent target ‘when the fiscal situation allows’, but he avoided setting a specific time frame. The move to cut foreign aid was criticised as ‘deeply worrying’ this week by Justin Welby, the Archbishop of Canterbury, and Cardinal Vincent Nichols, the Archbishop of Westminster.

They added: ‘Balancing the books during a pandemic on the backs of the world’s poorest is not acceptable.’

A Foreign Office spokesman said: ‘The UK is a world leader on international development.

‘In 2020 we spent £14.5billion in aid fighting poverty and helping those in need, despite the seismic impact of the pandemic on the UK and global economy.

‘This included £1.4billion to support the international effort to fight coronavirus and £1.3billion in humanitarian assistance.’

‘World leader in fighting poverty’