Aid budget will be better focused, say ministersClick to play Click to play
Andrew Mitchell said it is ''morally right' and also ''in our national interest'' to help the poorest people in the world Continue reading the main story Related Stories UK 'stopping aid to 16 countries' UK funding warning on UN agency Should UK re-think foreign aid? The government is to outline plans to stop direct development aid to 16 countries and freeze the level of assistance given to India. But there will be more for Bangladesh, Nigeria and Pakistan as aid is "better focused" on the poorest people. Labour said they believed government policy was "on the right track". International Development Secretary Andrew Mitchell said aid was being protected from spending cuts because it was in the UK's national interest. The department's overall £7.8bn budget has been unaffected by the government's deficit cutting measures. But the UK is expected to stop direct aid to 16 countries, including Russia, China, Vietnam, Serbia and Iraq. Some, such as Vietnam and Bosnia, are seen to have "graduated" out of poverty. Others are judged to be adequately served by United Nations agencies. The government says it wants greater transparency and accountability in aid spending, with an emphasis on funding programmes that deliver greater results and which, specifically, help girls and women. Continue reading the main story Countries losing direct aid Source: Dept for Int Development document seen by BBC Angola Bosnia Burundi Cameroon Cambodia China Gambia Indonesia Iraq Kosovo Lesotho Moldova Niger Russia Serbia Vietnam Mr Mitchell told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "We're ending a culture which has seen large sums of money thrown at problems, and focusing on the results that the British taxpayer can buy. "This is about value for money, it's about ensuring for every pound we take off hard-pressed taxpayers we really do deliver 100 pence of development value." Five countries will have their budgets increased substantially - Ethiopia, Bangladesh, Nigeria, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Pakistan. By 2014, 30% of UK aid is expected to go to war-torn and unstable countries. Shadow international development secretary Harriet Harman told the BBC Labour welcomed the government's decision to stick with the commitment of spending 0.7% of national income on overseas aid. 'National interest' "Obviously it's right, as things change, that you review who you give overseas aid money to and how you give it - so I think that's right to do as well. So broadly we think the government are on the right track. "I know it's difficult when people are feeling the pinch here at home, but we have to remember that with just a very small amount of money we can save lives in the developing world." David Loyn, the BBC's international development correspondent, said: "The government is keenly aware of its political vulnerability in ring-fencing the international development budget while cutting spending everywhere else except for health, and it wants to ensure that it is getting value for money." Continue reading the main story Current top 10 recipients of UK bilateral aid Country Aid 09/10 (£m) Source: Dept for Int Development 1. India 295 2. Ethiopia 214 3. Bangladesh 149 4. Sudan 146 5. Tanzania 144 6. Pakistan 140 7. Afghanistan 133 8. Nigeria 114 9. Congo (Dem Rep) 109 10. Ghana 90 Mr Mitchell was asked on BBC Breakfast about his decision to maintain overseas aid while some charities were suffering funding cuts in the UK. He said: "We are dealing with a scale of poverty around the world of a completely different order. "And we do it because it's morally right, it's about our values as a country and as a government, and also because it's in our national interest." India is currently one of the biggest recipients of UK development aid, and there have been media campaigns in the UK suggesting an economy growing at nearly 10% a year simply does not need British assistance. But others point out that nearly half a billion people in India - more than in any other country in the world - are still desperately poor. The government says the new approach will be more effective in cutting poverty, and assist in reaching the Millennium Development Goals by the target date of 2015. On Saturday, it emerged that the UK is threatening to switch funding away from the UN Food and Agriculture Organization - which focuses on longer-term projects, such as providing seeds and tools for agriculture - unless its performance improves. Instead, more funding could go to the World Food Programme, which deals with emergency food aid around the globe. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "JFD info" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/jfdinfo?hl=en.
