Labour will decimate the UK aid budget to 17-year LOW unless action is immediately taken

On Wednesday 18 September, over 100 leaders of the UK international development, humanitarian and peacebuilding sector have come together ahead of the Autumn Budget, to urge the Labour Party government to take immediate action to prevent further cuts to the UK aid budget.

UK aid budget: lowest since 2007

122 leaders of the UK’s largest NGOs including ActionAid UK, Oxfam GB, CARE International UK, International Rescue Committee UK, and Save the Children UK, have signed a statement warning that the spending plans the new government has inherited from the previous government will cut UK aid to its lowest levels since 2007, (including under recent Conservative governments), unless the government takes action in the Autumn Budget.

The statement warns:

If these plans are not urgently revised, the Prime Minister and his government will be withdrawing vital services and humanitarian support from millions of marginalised people globally and turning up empty-handed to global forums over the coming months.

Urgent action for UK aid budget needed

Leaders call for the government to take immediate and bold action in the autumn budget to:

• Maintain UK aid at current levels (0.58% of GNI) and prevent further cuts due to high spending within the UK on refugees and asylum seekers.
• Reduce the amount of UK aid being spent within the UK on refugees and asylum seekers, while still ensuring adequate support for this vulnerable group.
• Urgently set out new plans for how and when the government will return to 0.7% by introducing fair and transparent fiscal tests and scale-up UK aid as progress is made towards meeting them.

A private letter signed by NGO leaders has also been sent to the prime minister, outlining these asks in detail and warning that with upcoming global summits and forums like the UN General Assembly, G20, and COP29, the UK cannot afford to show up empty-handed as it seeks to rebuild its reputation and restore relations with lower-middle-income countries.

The statement and private letter follow Bond’s recent briefing on the state of UK aid which reveals that without any action in the autumn budget, UK aid spending outside of the UK (on development and humanitarian programmes) is expected to fall to £9.8 billion in 2024, equivalent to just under 0.36% of GNI.

Sarah Champion MP, re-elected Chair of the Select Committee for International Development, said:

It is right that we support refugees and asylum seekers, but the reckless spending of the UK aid budget to pay for extortionate hotel bills for this vulnerable group in the UK not only mismanages taxpayer money but also deprives millions of marginalised people around the world of the vital humanitarian support they need to stay safe in their own countries.

In the short term, we need the UK government to top up the UK aid budget to cover these additional costs, so we don’t see further cuts to programmes.

The UK aid budget is meant to tackle global poverty and instability, not to cover the costs of a broken asylum system at home. In the long-term, we need humane solutions for this vulnerable group that doesn’t come at the expense of marginalised communities globally.

‘Deeply concerned’

Romilly Greenhill, CEO of Bond, the UK network for NGOs, said:

We are deeply concerned that more cuts to the UK aid budget are on the way. The government must urgently act in the autumn budget to provide additional funding for vital humanitarian support and services for millions of marginalised people worldwide.

With UK aid spending on refugee and asylum accommodation in the UK at extremely high levels, the government needs to urgently find alternative funds from other government budgets to support this vulnerable group instead of counting this as UK aid.

The decisions the UK chooses to take now will heavily shape judgments on its global development ambitions and ability to rebuild trust with low- and middle-income countries.

Halima Begum, CEO of Oxfam GB, said:

If the government doesn’t act swiftly to protect UK aid, the consequences will be devastating and far-reaching. With the world facing crucial challenges such as climate change and a growing food insecurity crisis, the new government must restore the UK aid budget.

They must stop diverting it to prop up the UK’s broken asylum system, and instead support vulnerable groups already in the UK through alternative Home Office funding.

These steps are essential to ensure that millions of people worldwide can still access life-saving services. Failure to do so would undeniably put the UK at risk of further diminished credibility as a dependable agent in addressing urgent global crises.

Featured image via the Canary