In the 2024 Budget, the Government allocated £13.3 billion to be spent on foreign aid in 2024/25, increasing to £13.7 billion in 2025/26.
Britain currently spends over £13 billion on foreign aid each year, and the Government is under pressure to ramp up defence spending to help Ukraine in the war against Russia.
In the 2024 Budget, Labour pledged £13.3 billion in foreign aid for 2024/25, which would increase to £13.7 billion in 2025/26.
The Sun reports that this funding went towards issues such as studying shrimp health in Bangladesh, mental health services in Colombia, and fostering gender equality in Nepal.
The Foreign Office also gave £9.5 million to a contractor in December 2024 to support “accountability and inclusion” in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
It also paid for a conference on “preventing gender-based disinformation” in Kenya, costing £110,000, and Criminal Justice Advisor in Somalia for £473,070.
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A Directorate of Military Women’s Affairs in Jordan received £500,000 for its army’s “gender mainstreaming strategy,” and 15 electric vans worth the same amount were given to Albanian prisons.
Campaigners said money has also gone to environmental causes, with £25 million being spent on “green urban growth” in Somalia and £38 million on “green growth” in Nepal.
This comes as the Government faces mounting pressure to further support Ukraine by increasing defence spending to 2.5% of GDP, generating an extra £5bn a year.
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte called for member states to increase spending to 3% of their GDP, while Donald Trump has demanded 5%.
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Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds said: “The whole Cabinet, the whole Government, I think most people in this country recognise the pressures the world is under, and that more will have to be spent on defence.
“The spending review will set out the road map to that target.”
Shadow Chancellor Mel Stride told the outlet: “Given the Chancellor’s disastrous Budget, it’s clear that we must urgently rein in these pointless and eye-watering spending projects to stop further tax rises on hard-working families.
“The time for reckless spending is over. We need a Government that prioritises value for money, not waste – and under new leadership, only the Conservatives will deliver that.”
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