Chancellor confirms £300m MORE will go on foreign aid… even as he hikes taxes to balance books
Whitehall officials have to find more projects to splurge the extra cash
UK taxpayers will be forced to spend an extra £300million in foreign aid by the end of the decade.
Ministers are bound by law to pay 0.7 per cent of national income in aid.
And because Britain’s economy is out-stripping doom-laden Brexit forecasts, the foreign aid budget will have to grow.
It means Whitehall officials will have to find more projects to splurge the extra cash.
The foreign aid budget was already due to reach more than £16billion a year by 2020.
MOST READ IN POLITICS
The hike in foreign aid spending was slipped out in yesterday’s Budget documents.
The Treasury said the extra £300million reflected the better-than-expected growth forecasts.
The Office for Budget Responsibility said the UK economy is set to rise 2 per cent this year - much higher than its previous forecast of 1.4 per cent.
Theresa May is under pressure to scrap the 0.7 per cent foreign aid pledge and divert money to Britain’s creaking social care system.
David Cameron brought in the law two years ago, making Britain the only advanced nation to spend 0.7 per cent of gross national income on aid every year.
Responding to the hike, a spokesperson for the department for International Development said: “With the world facing the real threat of famine in four countries, UK aid is the difference between life and death for millions, and gives Global Britain the authority to stand tall on the world stage.
“Conflict, migration and disease know no borders, and we will continue to tackle the root causes of these problems before they threaten us here in the UK.”
Will the budget help your family?
For more on the budget, listen to BETTER CALL PAUL from 8am.
Call Jake on 0344 499 1000
Listen on DAB, via the talkRADIO app or online at