THE slashing of the UK foreign aid budget is deeply disappointing, although I have to agree with at least one point: both China and India should be supporting their own peoples. Support for China and India has often been quoted as a reason to slash the aid budget, as both have nuclear and space industries.
However, the aid to China and India estimated at £85 million is a drop in the proverbial ocean compared to the cuts. Already £2.9 billion has been slashed with the absorption the Department of International Development into the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. A further slash is the reduction of the aid budget from 0.7% to 0.5% of GDP. Last year’s budget was £15bn, so this reduction alone is £4.3bn and the total aid budget cost reduction is therefore a massive slash at £7.2bn.
READ MORE: SNP conference: Indy Scotland would give 0.7 per cent in foreign aid
The quoted aid to China and India represents only 0.0056% of the £15bn aid budget, so perhaps you may see why I believe that using India and China as reason to reduce the aid budget is wrong-headed.
Maybe we should divert the £85m to places that really need it, like Yemen or Gaza.
Alistair Ballantyne
Birkhill, Angus
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