Budget kept down to 0.5 per cent of GDP as Jeremy Hunt says OBR forecasts show ‘significant shock to public finances’
Britain will not return to its target of spending 0.7 per cent of national income on foreign aid for at least six years, Jeremy Hunt said.
Rishi Sunak lowered the amount the UK spends on aid to 0.5 per cent of GDP in the wake of the Covid pandemic – alongside a pledge that it would return to its usual level by 2024/25.
But the Chancellor told MPs that the public finances had suffered a “significant shock” which meant spending would not return to 0.7 per cent until 2027/28 or perhaps even later.
The move will save around £4 billion a year.