London Reportedly Mulling Extension of UK’s Foreign Aid Budget Freeze for Extra 2 Years
A view of Tower Bridge, center, on the River Thames at sunset in London stuck fully open on Monday Aug. 9, 2021. London’s Tower Bridge was stuck with its roadway arms raised Monday afternoon, snarling traffic on both sides of the River Thames
MOSCOW (Sputnik) – UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is considering freezing the United Kingdom’s foreign aid budget for extra two years to balance the country’s economy, British media reported on Friday, citing Treasury sources.In July it was reported that the UK Exchequer was suspending “non-essential aid spending” for countries other than Ukraine over fears of exceeding the spending limit. Last year, the UK government cut the overseas aid budget from 0.7% to 0.5% of GDP to facilitate the economy’s post-COVID-19 pandemic recovery.
WorldUK Chancellor Will Need £60Bln of ‘Brutal’ Spending Cuts to Fund Mini Budget, IFS Warns11 October, 10:27 GMTAccording to the report, the UK government is considering extending the freeze on foreign aid spending by another two years until 2026-2027 to save some 4 billion pounds ($4.65 billion) a year.In late October 2021, Sunak, then-Chancellor of the Exchequer, said that the UK government was aiming to reverse the cut in the overseas aid budget to its usual level of 0.7% of GDP by 2024.
