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Johnson Won’t Rule Out Foreign Aid Cut as Virus Hits U.K. Budget

The U.K. government refused to rule out cuts to overseas aid, despite a commitment to maintain support to poorer nations.

Johnson Won’t Rule Out Foreign Aid Cut as Virus Hits U.K. Budget
Boris Johnson, U.K. prime minister, arrives for a weekly meeting of cabinet ministers in London, U.K. (Photographer: Simon Dawson/Bloomberg)

The U.K. government refused to rule out cuts to overseas aid, despite a commitment by Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s Conservative Party in last December’s election to maintain support to poorer nations.

The Times reported on Tuesday that ministers are preparing to slash the international development budget to 0.5% of gross national income from 0.7%. Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak is pushing for the cut, with Johnson backing it for a limited period, the paper said.

Johnson Won’t Rule Out Foreign Aid Cut as Virus Hits U.K. Budget

James Slack, the prime minister’s spokesman, was asked repeatedly if the government will stick to its 0.7% manifesto commitment, but refused to confirm it would. The Treasury declined to comment on “speculation” ahead of next week’s spending review.

“What we are doing is looking at how the aid budget is spent to ensure that it serves the U.K.’s priorities and represents value for money,” Slack told reporters on Tuesday. He then cited remarks by Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick that “it is legitimate to consider where savings can be made when public finances are under huge strain.”

The proposal comes at a time when the U.K. is trying to emphasize its global role as it prepares to complete its exit from the European Union on Dec. 31, and is gearing up to take over the presidency of the Group of 7 major economies. It drew a backlash from both the opposition Labour Party and Johnson’s own side.

‘Diminish Our Role’

“This would be a poor start to our G7 presidency and diminish our role on the international stage,” influential Tory backbencher Tobias Elwood said on Twitter.

Sunak is trying to rein in spending after measures to help businesses and workers weather the coronavirus downturn pushed the national debt above 2 trillion pounds ($2.7 trillion) for the first time. He’s due to publish a spending review on Nov. 25 which will set out budgets for government departments for the fiscal year 2021-22.

The pandemic has hit the U.K. economy harder than other developed countries, with the economy about 10% smaller than before the outbreak. That in itself will lead to a cut in development aid, which is linked to the size of the economy.

Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said earlier this year ministers had identified 2.9 billion pounds of spending cuts within the aid budget to correlate with the drop in the size of the economy.

Legal Requirement

The aid target is legally set at 0.7% of national income under a 2015 law. Slack said that law allows for “circumstances” in which the U.K. can’t meet the commitment.

“If that happens, the secretary of state is required under the act to lay a statement in Parliament explaining why the target has not been met,” Slack said.

But former International Development Secretary Andrew Mitchell said the provision in the act is “not a ‘get-out-of-jail-free’ card,” according to the Times. It would “almost certainly” be subject to legal challenge, Mitchell told the paper.

“By rowing back on their own manifesto commitment to spend 0.7% of GNI on aid, the government would reduce our ability to tackle global poverty and injustice and signal a retreat from Britain as a force for good in the world,” Preet Kaur Gill, who speaks for the opposition Labour Party on international development, said in a statement.

©2020 Bloomberg L.P.