After a huge backlash from the Government’s decision in November 2020 to cut the UK’s international development spending from 0.7% of Gross National Income to 0.5%, an annual £4bn cut of Britain's aid budget, the Government put forward an alleged compromise. They agreed to reinstate the aid target of 0.7 per cent of GDP when two conditions were met: when the Office for Budget Responsibility confirms the government is no longer borrowing for day-to-day spending, and when underlying debt is falling.
This was not a compromise. Only one year since the turn of the century, 2001, have these two tests been met. These conditions will therefore enable a permanent move away from the 0.7% target.
Sign the petition below to call for the government to reintroduce the foreign aid target of 0.7% to help the world's most vulnerable.