Hunt blames fiscal ‘shock’ as aid budget kept at 0.5%
JEREMY Hunt told MPS that the UK’S overseas aid budget would remain at 0.5 per cent of GDP for the next six years, breaking one of his party’s 2019 manifesto commitments.
Rishi Sunak first slashed the international development budget last year when he was Chancellor, saying it was difficult to justify to the public as national debt soared during the pandemic.
However, the cut – which sparked the resignation of a Foreign Office minister and was condemned by three former prime ministers – was supposed to be restored in 2024.
In yesterday’s Autumn Statement, Mr Hunt said the “significant shock to public finances” forecast by the Office for Budget Responsibility meant it would “not be possible to return to the 0.7% target until the fiscal situation allows.”
He told MPS: “We remain fully committed to that target, and the plans I have set out today assume that official development assistance spending will remain around 0.5% for the forecast period.
“As a percentage of [gross national income], we were the third highest donor in the G7 last year, and I am proud that our aid commitment has saved thousands of lives around the world.”
One of the biggest critics of Mr Sunak’s initial cut to the overseas aid budget was former International Development minister Andrew Mitchell.
However, the new Tory leader brought him back into government last month, making him his new Minister of Development.
The aid budget has come under scrutiny in recent weeks, with the government using it to pay for asylum seekers in the UK.
One report suggested more aid would be spent in the UK this year, than on direct humanitarian help for countries overseas.
That spend is fuelled in part by the need to house and feed refugees and asylum seekers from Ukraine and Afghanistan, and the surge in people crossing the Channel in small boats.
Meanwhile, the Chancellor also kept the defence budget at 2% of GDP.
Liz Truss had promised to increase it to 3%.