UK International Development Strategy: joint open letter to the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs

Alongside more than 200 British NGOs, DI expresses deep concern regarding possible cuts to UK official development assistance.

Following reports that the UK's forthcoming International Development Strategy may result in cuts to official development assistance (ODA) in critical areas, DI CEO Harpinder Collacott signed a joint open letter to Liz Truss, the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, warning of the impacts of reducing support for people and countries in crisis all over the world.

The letter notes that the government reportedly intends to cut fundamental elements of UK aid, including on global health, climate change and conflict prevention, which would undermine critical crisis prevention and development efforts.

This follows previous significant cuts to the UK’s aid budget from 2020–2021. As DI noted in a previous briefing, on 25 November 2020, the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced that at a time of unprecedented crisis, the government would reduce UK aid spending to 0.5% of gross national income (GNI) in 2021, allocating £10 billion to overseas aid in the spending review. The next day, the Foreign and Development Secretary’s statement to Parliament confirmed that the reduction to 0.5% in 2021 was a temporary measure.

The joint open letter calls on the Secretary of State to restore the UK’s commitment to allocating 0.7% of GNI on ODA and ensure that the forthcoming International Development Strategy is poverty-focused, evidence- and rights-based, and accountable to the British public and communities it is meant to serve, noting that no-one is safe until we all are.

Further information can be found in this press release issued by Bond, the UK network for organisations working in international development.