The international development select committee has warned that the government's plans to restructure the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) and slash the UK aid budget are proceeding too quickly and on too large a scale, risking catastrophic consequences. The cuts, which would reduce spending from 0.5% to 0.3% of gross national income, have already been flagged in a government impact assessment as likely to cause deaths worldwide.
In a report published on Thursday, the committee urged the government to pause the cuts until a review is undertaken to ensure future aid is targeted effectively. Sarah Champion, the Labour MP who chairs the committee, said: 'The brutal cuts we have seen to official development assistance over successive governments pose pressing questions about how we will keep supporting some of the world’s poorest countries. It is clear to us that financial and staffing changes at the FCDO are being pushed through far too quickly, with the unintended consequences having the potential of being catastrophic.'
The report also raises alarm over the potential loss of 2,000 FCDO staff and the possible scrapping of the Independent Commission for Aid Impact (ICAI), the UK's aid watchdog established in 2011. The committee has asked the government to clarify how it intends to prioritise poverty reduction as it develops a future aid strategy, noting that the greatest need lies in fragile and conflict-affected states and those vulnerable to climate change.
Romilly Greenhill, CEO of Bond, the UK network for NGOs, responded: 'Today’s interim report confirms what the UK NGO sector has warned: that the speed and scale of changes to the FCDO and the reduction of the UK aid budget, as well as the potential loss of essential scrutiny by ICAI, risk pushing global poverty reduction down the agenda – with devastating consequences for millions of people facing conflict, poverty and insecurity. We urge the government to pause irreversible staffing and funding decisions until we urgently see a full assessment of how the UK aid cuts will impact the world’s most marginalised communities.'
International development minister Baroness Jennifer Chapman has maintained that the core aim of UK overseas aid remains alleviating poverty and stabilising countries. An announcement on where exactly the cuts will fall is expected later in February.
