Government set to breach foreign aid spending cap

The authorities is acceptable to breach its headdress connected overseas assistance spending due to the fact that truthful overmuch of the fund is being utilized to wage for asylum seekers successful the UK.

Spending is presently acceptable astatine 0.5% of nationalist income - astir £11bn.

The BBC has learned that Chancellor Jeremy Hunt is expected to admit determination volition beryllium an overspend of $1bn oregon truthful successful each of the adjacent 3 years pushing assistance spending to an estimated 0.55%.

The Treasury said determination were "significant pressures" connected assistance budgets.

The department, liable for the country's finances, has been forced to judge the summation due to the fact that the Home Office has spent truthful overmuch of the overseas assistance fund lodging and feeding refugees and asylum seekers from Ukraine, Afghanistan and others coming successful boats crossed the Channel.

The BBC revealed past period the authorities was connected people to walk £4bn of aid successful the UK this year, much than connected nonstop humanitarian assistance for countries overseas.

International rules let governments to number the wealth they walk connected the archetypal twelvemonth of an asylum seeker's enactment successful their state arsenic authoritative improvement assistance - known arsenic ODA. But specified person been the numbers coming into the UK this twelvemonth that the Home Office's drain connected the assistance fund has risen inexorably.

As a result, earlier successful the summertime the Foreign Office suspended each "non-essential" spending connected humanitarian and improvement needs overseas, causing devastating cuts to UK assistance projects each implicit the world.

This was connected apical of the government's determination 2 years agone to chopped its assistance spending people from 0.7% of nationalist income to 0.5%. The simplification was expected to beryllium impermanent and past lone until "the fiscal concern allowed" - which the Treasury past twelvemonth forecast would beryllium successful 2024.

But authorities sources suggest Jeremy Hunt volition marque wide this Thursday erstwhile helium announced the Autumn Statement that determination volition beryllium nary instrumentality to the 0.7% people for astatine slightest 3 years. Nor is determination expected to beryllium immoderate curb connected Home Office usage of the assistance budget.

Even though assistance spending overseas is falling, immoderate wide summation successful the fund whitethorn beryllium arguable successful a week erstwhile truthful overmuch different authorities spending is expected to beryllium chopped by the Chancellor.

Charities said officials successful the Foreign Office had not realised however overmuch assistance was being spent by the Home Office and had not had capable clip to chopped different budgets to conscionable the 0.5% target. "Officials conscionable don't cognize what their fund is going to be," 1 root said. "It is very, precise hard to plan."

It is besides understood that The Treasury that Andrew Mitchell, the caller International Development Secretary, has successfully persuaded the Treasury to support immoderate assistance spending targeted astatine preventing treatable diseases.

Mr Mitchell is expected to denote connected Monday conscionable however overmuch wealth the UK volition lend implicit the adjacent 3 years to the Global Fund - the planetary organisation that tackles tuberculosis, HIV/Aids and malaria. Charities are hoping helium volition allocate astatine slightest £1bn. Three years agone the authorities pledged £1.4bn for that three-year period.

The Treasury emphasised that the authorities was prioritising indispensable overseas assistance backing and remained committed to spending 0.7% of nationalist income connected ODA erstwhile the fiscal concern allowed.

In a statement, it said: "Across government, determination are important pressures connected the ODA fund owed to the costs of accepting refugees from Afghanistan and Ukraine arsenic good arsenic wider migration challenges. We stay 1 of the largest planetary assistance donors, spending much than £11bn successful assistance successful 2021, and UK assistance has precocious gone towards those successful request successful the Horn of Africa and Pakistan.

"All spending decisions volition beryllium considered successful the circular by the Chancellor astatine the Autumn Statement."