LONDON — The U.K. government will not spend 0.7% of gross national income on official development assistance next year, Chancellor Rishi Sunak confirmed Wednesday, despite being legally committed to the target.
The government will instead allocate 0.5% of GNI — expected to be around £10 billion ($13 billion) — to the aid budget in 2021, according to Sunak.
That is a cut of around £5 billion compared to the 2019 budget and will have a significant impact on the programs it is able to support.
Printing articles to share with others is a breach of our terms and conditions and copyright policy. Please use the sharing options on the left side of the article. Devex Pro members may share up to 10 articles per month using the Pro share tool ( ).
About the author
William Worley@willrworley
Will Worley is the Climate Correspondent for Devex, covering the intersection of development and climate change. He previously worked as UK Correspondent, reporting on the FCDO and British aid policy during a time of seismic reforms. Will’s extensive reporting on the UK aid cuts saw him shortlisted for ‘Specialist Journalist of the Year’ in 2021 by the British Journalism Awards. He can be reached at william.worley@devex.com.
