How UK aid is spent
This report outlines how the UK’s international development spending has undergone substantial changes, with major budget reductions, competing crises and global turbulence since 2020.
Future scrutiny
We conclude with some questions that we intend to scrutinise further over the next four years:
- How will the UK deliver its priorities for international development?
- How will the government balance multiple priorities, such as climate action, poverty reduction and meeting urgent humanitarian needs?
- How will the UK focus its efforts as a bilateral donor and contributor to the international system?
- What does a modern approach to international development look like in practice?
- What role will the UK play in the international development system?
- What will its new approach to partnership look like?
- Which funding channels will the government use and when?
- What balance will the government strike between working through partner governments, international institutions and civil society, and managing and delivering development assistance itself?
- How will the government decide when to fund bilateral programmes or multilateral institutions, or when to provide grants, technical assistance, investments or loan guarantees?
- How should the UK government best organise itself to deliver development assistance effectively?
- How will the international development portfolio be managed across the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office and other government departments?
- How will the government progress its manifesto commitment to restore development spending to 0.7% of gross national income as soon as fiscal circumstances allow?
- How can the UK best recover its global reputation for clear, transparent and evidence-based development spending?
- How will the government reduce the amount of development assistance spent on supporting refugees in the UK?