The U.K. Department for International Development will immediately freeze new financing for “awareness projects” to redirect funding to initiatives that will have a bigger impact on curbing global poverty, U.K. Secretary of State Andrew Mitchell said.
The move will help save more than 500,000 pounds (USD720,998) and affect five existing projects, including:
- 146,000 pounds for a Brazilian-style dance troupe with percussion in Hackney.- 55,000 pounds to run stalls at summer music festivals.- 120,000 pounds to train nursery school teachers about “global issues.”- 130,000 pounds for a “Global Gardens Schools Network.”- 140,000 pounds to train outdoor education tutors in Britain on development.
DfID is also suspending a development awareness program known as The Global Development Engagement Fund, to which the agency has committed 6.5 million pounds.
All other U.K.-based projects will be evaluated in an urgent review to guarantee these projects are providing maximum value for British taxpayers’ money. Funding for projects that will fall short of results-based criteria will be halted.
“Today I send a clear signal: value for money will be our top priority for aid,” Mitchell said in a press release.
Meanwhile, the ministerial team at DfID has grown with the addition of Stephen O’Brien as parliamentary undersecretary of state for international development.
O’Brien served various positions under the shadow cabinet, as shadow minister for health and social care, shadow minister for skills and higher education, shadow secretary of state for industry, and shadow minister for the Treasury.
