Bond reaction to Baroness Chapman’s comments ahead of the IDC about UK no longer being a “global charity”

Ahead of the Minister for International Development, Baroness Chapman, appearing at Parliament’s Select Committee for International Development this afternoon, it has been reported that the FCDO has said that the Minister will say that “the days of viewing government as a global aid charity are over” and that the UK will share expertise with countries instead of direct funding. 

In reaction, Gideon Rabinowitz, Director of Policy and Advocacy at Bond, the UK network for organisations working in international development and humanitarian assistance, said: 

UK aid isn’t about charity, it is about global solidarity and responsibility to our international commitments, and it’s an investment in a safer, healthier and more sustainable world that benefits us here in the UK. Whether it’s delivering vaccines to help prevent the spread of disease, educating girls so they are not forced into child marriage, or working with local communities on peacebuilding efforts to prevent conflict.

Baroness Chapman says that getting the best value for money from the UK aid budget is a key priority, and a clear way to achieve this is by reducing the amount of UK aid spent on asylum accommodation in the UK. Supporting refugees is vital, but it must come from a separate budget. Continuing to spend billions of limited UK aid on expensive hotel contracts is wasteful and wrong.

Baroness Chapman also says the government will prioritise sharing the UK’s expertise, but countries and local communities understand their own needs and requirements and the government should meaningfully engage with countries and listen to what they need. A crucial way the UK can do this without spending a penny is backing financial reform proposals tabled by lower- and middle-income countries ahead of July’s Financing for Development conference, including debt relief and restructuring, global tax reform and tackling illicit financial flows which will enable lower-middle income countries to mobilise public finance domestically and internationally to finance their own economic development.

ENDS.

Notes for editors

• At the start of July, Spain will host the Fourth International Financing for Sustainable Development Conference (FfD4), in Seville, a decade since the last conference.
• Read Bond’s blog about how the UK can support global financial architecture reform ahead of FfD conference.  
• Read Bond’s blog on the four ways the government can manage the planned UK aid cuts to limit their damage.  
• In April, over 100 NGOs and refugee charities called on the government to end the use of hotels for housing asylum seekers as soon as possible.  
• Bond is the UK network for organisations working in international development. Bond unites and supports a diverse network of over 350 civil society organisations from across the UK, and allies to help eradicate global poverty, inequality and injustice. 
• For further information or interviews, please contact Jess Salter at [email protected] or call 07392972411.