Foreign aid: Expert slams ‘wasteful’ money sent to China

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The latest spending plans for Britain’s foreign aid budget has provoked outrage, as the British government hands over £2.74 million “to help people in El Salvador lose weight”. Dani Boxall, from the Taxpayers Alliance, told talkRADIO the projects were infuriating, given that the lowest-paid British workers are suffering at the moment. She pointed to the National Insurance tax hike, rising inflation, and the ongoing energy crisis as evidence.

Earlier this year, the Government cut aid by reducing the target of what must be allocated to overseas spending from 0.7 percent of national income to 0.5 percent.

However, even though the Government slashed the aid budget by £4bn, the amount given to India is actually increasing.

The UK is also still sending millions to China, despite previous claims that these payments would stop.

Ms Boxall said: “This is happening because of the foreign aid spending target. It has been cut but it is still at 0.5 percent of our GDP.

“So, they start coming up with these ludicrous projects.”

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She provided examples, such as spending £1.2million to help them send text reminders to Kenyan diabetes patients.

TalkRADIO host Kevin O’Sullivan was left fuming at claims that the UK “sent thousands to Sri Lanka to help them study twin behaviour”.

He said: “There must be a better domestic use for that money than studying twins in Sri Lanka.

“Given the dire straits this country is in, with the biggest national debt ever, the massive economic problems after the lockdowns, and the financial problems all across the country.

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“People wonder why we are sending any money abroad.”

Ms Boxall agreed, responding: “It seems ridiculous that in the middle of the Covid crisis, the Government thinks this is an appropriate way of spending our money.

“When we are seeing a National Insurance increase, rising inflation and a fuel crisis.”

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This comes as Chancellor Rishi Sunak was warned that millions of Britons could be £300 worse off this autumn after a “triple whammy” of energy bills, high inflation and a £20 cut to Universal Credit.

The poorest households face an end to the extra £20 uplift of Universal credit during the pandemic, as well as the National Insurance increase of 1.25 percentage points for more than 20 million people to help pay for the NHS and social care.

Fuel shortages have left stations without gas and also threatened food supplies on supermarket shelves.

At the same time, the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office revealed that it plans to increase the amount it sends to India – a country with its own space programme – by a third.

The Department has also increased its annual funding to the Great Britain China Centre, despite previously pledging to slash its aid to China by 95 percent.

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