Overseas aid would be among the public’s top priorities for spending cuts in the U.K., a poll commissioned by the Local Government Association suggests. The British government is seeking to slash the nation’s annual budget deficit of 156 billion pounds (USD237 billion) and has invited the public’s comments on what areas should see reduced funding.
More than two-thirds of the 2,000 people who took part in the survey said senior officials of the National Health Service should be targeted, followed by quangos, or non-departmental public bodies, such as industry regulators, and foreign aid.
International aid and health budgets are being protected by ministers, BBC reports.
The results of the survey would come as an embarrassment to the U.K. government as it decided to ring-fence financing for aid, according to BBC local government correspondent Greg Wood.
The British public regarded police, fire and medical staff as “frontline” services, the poll revealed.
