Britain set to spend more on foreign aid than on entire Wales ministry after £1.2billion rise
Government is obligated to devote 0.7 per cent of our national output to overseas development
BRITAIN spends almost as much on foreign aid as it does on Wales, figures show.
Our bloated overseas development fund soared by ten per cent to £13.34billion last year.
The £1.2billion rise means it is set to eclipse spending by the Wales department, which stood at £13.5billion last year.
In 2015 then PM David Cameron passed a law committing Britain to spend 0.7 per cent of gross national income on aid every year.
Last year’s spike in spending came after economists changed the way national income is calculated and Britain’s economy outstripped forecasts.
But the rise has triggered fresh anger from Tory MPs demanding ministers ditch the pledge.
Welsh-born Nigel Evans, who sits on the Commons International Development Committee, said yesterday: “Scrutiny of this aid will be paramount.
“Twenty million face starvation in East Africa and any money on vanity projects elsewhere will directly lead to deaths in Africa and Yemen.
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"The target will be at risk if the Department for International Development gets this wrong.”
A Government spokesman insisted: “Our international development budget only increases when the UK economy grows, a sign of our economic success.
“This money is an investment in Britain’s own security — ensuring the world is more prosperous, developed and stable.
“Whether it’s stepping up our support for desperate Syrian refugees, tackling the lethal legacy of landmines or giving life-saving aid to stop people dying of hunger in East Africa, UK aid is keeping Britain safe while helping the world’s poorest stand on their own two feet.”
Earlier this week MPs warned that cash handed to private contractors to spend the foreign aid budget was at £1.34billion a year, twice what they got five years ago.
The Commons International Development Committee identified “fundamental flaws” in the working practices of firms doling out the huge sums of money.