Thank you for contacting me about overseas development assistance.
As you will know, the previous Government reduced the proportion of funding spent on overseas development assistance from 0.7% of gross national income (GNI). This had been the established target for the aid budget since the International Development Act 2015. In 2022, the proportion of gross national income spend on overseas development assistance was 0.51%.
I am committed to returning the aid budget to 0.7% of GNI. Unfortunately, the previous Government has left a dismal fiscal inheritance. However, the new Government is working to deliver economic growth and, once the fiscal situation allows, it will return the aid budget back to 0.7.
I want to see a world free from poverty on a liveable planet. Poverty and a lack of opportunities are drivers of vulnerability, conflicts and uncontrolled migration, a vicious cycle which breeds more poverty and hunger. The manifesto I stood on set out key priority areas for overseas development. These include supporting economic transformation, tackling unsustainable debt, empowering women and girls, supporting conflict prevention, and unlocking climate finance.
This Government is clear that it intends to take a new approach to international development, one characterised by genuine respect and partnership with the Global South in order to achieve our common interests. At the same time, it will also put in place robust measures of development effectiveness, transparency, and scrutiny for the money that is spent in this vital area.
We can change the future and this work starts now.
Thank you once again for contacting me about this issue.
Yours sincerely,
Barry Gardiner
MP for Brent West