Politics

Dominic Raab accused of ‘sneaking out draconian cuts’ to foreign aid


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ominic Raab has been accused of “sneaking out draconian cuts” to the foreign aid budget.

Conservative former international development secretary Andrew Mitchell criticised the Foreign Secretary for having “slipped out” details of reduced spending in a statement late on Wednesday.

Mr Raab set out how £8.11 billion of the aid budget will be allocated by the Foreign Office – approximately 80 per cent of the total UK spend – including £906 million for humanitarian preparedness and response.

Work involving that money will focus on countries most affected by risk of famine, including Yemen, Syria, Somalia and South Sudan.

Economic damage caused by the Covid-19 pandemic has led the Government to shelve its manifesto commitment to spend 0.7 per cent of national income on overseas aid, cutting that to 0.5 per cent.

The Government expects just under £10 billion to be allocated to departments for aid spending in 2021/22.

After Mr Raab’s statement, Tory backbencher Mr Mitchell said: “These words hide the most draconian cuts ever made by Britain and they affect many countries where Britain has a deep and abiding relationship.

“There is little detail but we know that the cuts are close to 50 per cent.

“This is a statement that should have been made to MPs in the House of Commons, rather than slipped out at the end of the day in a written communication.”

The chair of the Commons International Development Committee, Sarah Champion said the timing of the statement shows “a lack of respect” for Parliament.

“To sneak out a written statement at the end of the day shows a lack of respect for both Parliament scrutinising these cuts and the aid organisations that are hearing about the spend for the first time only now,” the Labour MP said.

“To say the statement is scant on detail is an understatement. Whilst we now have limited understanding on the areas the Government is prioritising for its shrinking aid pot, we are still awaiting guidance on country-by-country allocations.



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