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The days of viewing the UK as “a global charity” are over, the new development minister, Jenny Chapman, will tell MPs, in remarks that are likely to prove a controversial defence of the large-scale aid cuts she is about to oversee.
Lady Chapman replaced Anneliese Dodds in February after Dodds refused to back Keir Starmer’s decision to cut the UK aid budget from 0.5% of gross national income (GNI) to 0.3% in 2027.
The move will take £6bn out of the 2023 aid budget of £15.2bn and will be the first time UK aid spending has fallen to 0.3% of GNI since 1999.
On current trends, the UK will also fall behind Germany, France, Japan and Canada in terms of official development assistance as percentage of gross national income. Starmer justified the cut by saying the money was necessary to fund defence.
Chapman will tell the international development select committee on Tuesday that UK aid will be focused more on sharing British expertise than spending money.
She will argue that supporting economies will be at the heart of how the UK spends its overseas aid budget, arguing helping countries to grow is the surest way to reduce poverty and deliver the UK’s plan for change by discouraging foreign populations from seeking to migrate.
The unapologetic tone about the coming aid cuts may disturb some Labour MPs, as will her emphasis that her changes are likely to be welcomed by African countries.
The Foreign Office said Chapman would say: “Partners across Africa, from Ethiopia to Zimbabwe, want to move on from receiving aid from the UK and that the government’s new approach will focus on the UK as an investor, not just a donor, and on partnering, not paternalism.” She will add that Britain will increasingly be sharing with countries the incredible expertise it has to offer, instead of direct funding.
“The days of viewing government as a global aid charity are over,” she will say in remarks that are reminiscent of the claim by Boris Johnson that the aid budget was seen as a “giant cashpoint in the sky”.
Denying the government is opposed to international aid, Chapman will tell MPs: “We need to prioritise, be more efficient, and focus on impact above all else. We have to get the best value for money – for the UK taxpayer, but also for the people we are trying to help around the world.
“We need to draw on all the expertise the UK has to offer, such as our world-class universities, the City of London, Met Office, Land Registry, HMRC, education, and health.
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“We need to support other countries’ systems where this is what they want – so they can educate their children, reform their own healthcare systems, and grow their economies in ways which last. And ultimately, exit the need for aid.
“With less to spend we have no choice. Biggest impact and biggest spend aren’t always the same thing.”
The cuts are made more painful since they coincide with a massive slashing back of aid by the US. As a result, global health aid is projected to decline by 40% in 2025 compared with the 2023 baseline.
