Name: UK government cuts overseas aid - breaking election promise - BBC News
Uploaded: 2020-11-29T19:05:30.000Z
Duration: 2 min 58 s
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One of the more controversial elements of the spending review was the chancellor's decision to cut the amount of money that the UK gives in foreign aid.

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The decision has Bean widely criticized Onda, Minister at the Foreign Office, has resigned today in protest.

After the decision, Mr Seneca told MPs that to carry on spending abroad when there was a domestic emergency was difficult to justify.

Our diplomatic correspondent James Landale, has more details.

For years, the site of a plane delivering British food and medicine has brought hope to millions the humanitarian assistance that can, for some mean the difference between life and death.

But now the government's cutting back to the fury of the man who championed aid in office.

It's not just that we've we're breaking a promise to the poorest people on the poorest countries in the world.

The promise that we made on a promise that we don't have to break it's that that north 0.7% commitment it really said something about Britain.

Last year, the UK spent £15 billion on foreign aid, about 150.7% of national income, the government's now cutting that legally binding target to just 0.5%.

That means spending only 10 billion next year.

This would be less than Germany on 100.6% but more than France on 0.4%.

Those who work to reduce poverty and disease say these cuts will bite deep, particularly during the covert 19 pandemic.

This is the last time we should be cutting aid.

Cutting aid will make it harder to get vaccines to people all over the world harder to get the treatments that people need on.

Ultimately, it will extend the lifetime of the pandemic.

This is a little bit like cutting funding to the R F right in the middle of the Battle of Britain, my lords, existing humanitarian disasters and conflicts again.

The Foreign Office development minister, Lady Sugg, was so unhappy she resigned, saying the cut was fundamentally wrong.

But the aid budget has long faced questions about priorities, such as why some goes to India with its own space program, questions that are harder to answer when the countries facing such an economic emergency.

This is not something that anybody wanted to have to do.

But the truth is that the NHS on helping people who are unemployed has to be the priority next year.

For years, Britain's had a reputation as an aid superpower.

That's got the UK hearing on the international stage.

It's opened doors for ministers and officials here at the Foreign Office.

The question is what impact today's decision will have on that reputation.

Justus Britain tries to carve a new role for itself after Brexit to spend less on aid.

The government will also have to change the law.

That means a long parliamentary battle ahead.

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UK government cuts overseas aid - breaking election promise - BBC News

ultimately

commitment

pandemic

controversial