Minister declines to commit to maintaining slashed level of aid spending

Sophie Wingate, Press Association Deputy Political Editor

The UK Government has declined to commit to maintaining its reduced level of international aid spending.

Figures in April showed the percentage of the UK’s national income allocated to official development assistance (ODA) in 2025 fell to its lowest level for nearly two decades, at 0.43% of gross national income (GNI), and it is set to drop further in 2027.

The Government slashed its target for ODA spending to 0.3% of national income by next year to fund an increase in defence spending, but stated a commitment to restore international aid to 0.7% of income as soon as fiscal circumstances allow.

Campaigners and aid organisers were highly critical of the move, claiming it would cause widespread damage and weaken the UK’s influence overseas.

Sarah Champion, chairwoman of the cross-party Commons International Development Committee, asked ministers in a letter to commit to retaining ODA spending of 0.3% of income for the rest of the spending review period.

Development minister Baroness Jenny Chapman replied: “We have been able to set three years of allocations, providing teams with the predictability required to effectively manage the transition to 0.3% of GNI.”

She went on to say: “All future plans are subject to revision as, by its nature, the department’s work is dynamic.

“Programme allocations are continually reviewed to respond to changing global needs, including humanitarian crises and other ODA allocation decisions.”

Ms Champion said the response had failed to provide the reassurance she was seeking.

The Labour MP said: “Having written to the Foreign Secretary seeking reassurance on aid spending, this response does not fill me or my committee with confidence.

“The minister rightly states that international aid both supports those in extreme poverty and boosts our security at home.

“However, I’m disappointed that that she could not go further and explicitly say that the Government is committing to ODA spending at 0.3% of GNI for the duration of the spending review period.”

Ms Champion said the ambiguity appeared at odds with messages delivered by ministers at last week’s global partnerships conference in London, where Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper spoke about the importance of international partnerships in preventing crises.

The committee chairwoman continued: “Aspects of this new approach are welcome but if the UK is to deliver on it, to help the world’s most vulnerable people and to preserve our international reputation, then we must ensure that ODA spending does not drop below 0.3%.”

Confirming changes to ODA allocations earlier this year, Foreign Secretary Ms Cooper insisted the UK would remain a “major player” in overseas aid and development despite shifting funding to defence.

Baroness Chapman said in her letter that the “new approach” to aid puts “partnership and locally-led approaches at the heart of our development work”.

She insisted the UK’s “commitment to international development is as important as ever” and “supports those in extreme poverty and, in an interconnected world, crises around the world impact our security at home”.

The 0.7% of national income target was first cut to 0.5% by then-chancellor Rishi Sunak in 2021 amid economic pressures.

Gideon Rabinowitz, director of policy and advocacy at Bond, the UK network for NGOs, said: “It is deeply concerning that the UK Government has repeatedly declined to rule out any further cuts to the UK aid budget.

“Cuts to the UK aid budget last year have already forced lifesaving programmes around the world to close, including reproductive and maternal health services that protect the lives of women and girls in Africa.

“These cuts are leaving us all, including here in Britain, more vulnerable to a world with more disease, food and energy insecurity, and conflict and forced displacement.

“Any further reduction to the already threadbare UK aid budget will fall hardest on the world’s most marginalised people, and inflict further damage to the UK’s reputation as a reliable partner on the global stage.”

Plan International UK urged the Government to rule out any further cuts to the aid budget because “children’s lives depend on it”.

Amelia Whitworth, head of policy, advocacy and youth at the global children’s charity, said: “It is incredibly alarming to hear the Government would even consider diverting yet more funding from the world’s poorest communities.

“We are already seeing the devastating impact reduced aid spending from governments around the world has on girls’ lives.

“In Haiti, girls tell our staff they go to school without eating all day, while others engage in survival sex to access education their families cannot afford any more.”