Chancellor ‘should abolish foreign aid department and end free eye-tests for OAPs to save billions’
THE Chancellor was last night urged by a former minister to abolish the foreign aid department and bin free eye-tests for OAPs to save billions.
Dominic Raab said Philip Hammond had to be bold and could save £2billion alone by scrapping the Department for International Development - and moving the management of the aid budget to the Foreign Office.
Theresa May abolished the Department for Energy and Climate Change when taking charge last summer – but created two new departments for Brexit.
Mr Raab – the former Justice Minister – said: “There remains ample scope to build on the Prime Minister’s early gambit and consolidate the sprawling arms of Whitehall.
“A popular start would be to scrap the Department for International Development.
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“Without touching the aid budget, that could save £2billion each year.”
Just days before the Budget, the Tory high-flyer said reforming “grey welfare” could unlock as much as £31 billion, through changes to pensions to scrapping free bus passes and eye tests for wealthy OAPs.
Writing on ConservativeHome he said: “The ground needs to be prepared for a more balanced approach that both reduces the burden on the taxpayer, and makes Government spending fairer.
“We should make a start sooner rather than later.”
The call came less than 24 hours after a powerful Commons Committee urged Theresa May to scrap the Triple Lock guaranteeing an inflation-busting increase in state pensions of at least 2.5 per cent each year.
MPs on the Work and Pensions Committee said young Brits would have to work until the age of 70.5 so the Government could afford the payments.