Scoop: UK Labour yet to ‘figure out’ its aid policy, adviser admits

The United Kingdom government has not worked out its objectives for international development beyond buzzwords such as “modern” and “equal partnerships,” the expert asked to carry out an independent review said. In private comments shown to Devex, Minouche Shafik said her role is to “help figure out” Labour’s plans and priorities — going beyond her official remit to advise how to rebuild capacity and expertise after the botched merger that killed off a separate aid department in 2020. “You have to know ‘capacity for what,’ and unless you've got clarity about your strategic objectives, it's very difficult to know what capacity to build,” Shafik said at an online event last month. “This government needs to set out its stall on development and for a whole variety of reasons — timing of the election and so forth — that hasn't really happened yet. I think one of the useful things that my review can do is help facilitate that and support ministers in doing that.” She added: “If you listen to ministers’ language so far, they use words like ‘we want a more modern approach to development, we want more equal partnerships.’” She characterized her role as to “help figure out” how ministers can “translate” those ideas into practical policy. The former top civil servant at the axed Department for International Development, or DFID, and ex-president of Columbia University, was asked to review whether aid delivery is fit for purpose by U.K. Foreign Secretary David Lammy. During a webinar for former DFID staff, Shafik also: • Said key issues include a “path to [spending] 0.7 [% of gross national income on aid],” after Labour failed to commit to returning to the United Nations aid spending benchmark — and “better management of refugee costs,” as Labour continues to raid the aid budget to pay them. • Suggested there is a need for “ring-fencing both resources and people” — to prevent development losing out to “foreign policy pressures” in a crisis response. • Revealed she is exploring whether the U.K. needs “a sovereign lending facility,” and how to “leverage the private sector, particularly on climate in middle-income countries” — saying: “We need some new ideas.” • Described the development strategy Labour inherited from the defeated Conservative government as a “pretty good document” it can take forward — but warned of inevitable “choices” about what can be delivered given available “resources.” • Suggested the aid watchdog ICAI should report to parliaments in countries where U.K. projects are carried out, as well as to the U.K. Parliament. • Said she will publish an interim report in November and a fuller report “three months later” — to address “both capacity and what are the emerging strategic priorities.” Shafik has been asked to explore deeper integration of diplomacy and development within the giant Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office — despite Labour’s pledge, before winning power in July, of “a new model.” A de-merger is off the agenda, despite a new book by former senior DFID officials revealing Keir Starmer, the U.K. prime minister, sought expert advice that recommended a separate aid department could be restored with “negligible” cost and disruption. Shafik noted concerns from “my conversations” about the “deprioritization of the development agenda” in any crisis response if the “diplomatic side” is allowed to call the shots. “If you're taking those resources away from long-term development programs, it's very, very disruptive, and that affects the effectiveness of those investments,” she said. “One of the things I'm trying to figure out is how do you get that balance right between agility and long-term capability — and whether one needs to think about ring-fencing both resources and people, so you can maintain these long-term commitments?”