Overseas cash target won’t be met for five years, says Jeremy Hunt

BRITAIN won’t hit its spending targets for overseas aid for another five years, Jeremy Hunt has warned.

Billions of pounds will be spent at home rather than being pumped into the foreign aid budget, the Chancellor says.

The cash splurge was ended back in 2021 as a temporary measure as a result of the country’s finances being hit by the costs of the pandemic.

Rishi Sunak announced in his spending review that year it overseas aid would be slashed from 0.7 per cent to 0.5 per cent – saving around £4 billion.

Mr Hunt, speaking to the Treasury Select Committee today, was quizzed over whether there were any provisions to hit the target in the next five years.

Mr Hunt confirmed: “I don’t think the fiscal position makes it possible to do that.

“But I would say this, that we are very committed to do that when it is affordable to do so.”

He added: “I don’t believe it is possible to budget for that in the figures” in the next five years.

While a backbench MP, Jeremy Hunt rebelled over the cut on spending.

Whitehall sources at the time of the decision said it would depend on the economic recovery when the target could be reached again.

John O’Connell, chief executive of the TaxPayers’ Alliance, said: “Taxpayers will welcome this healthy dose of common sense from the chancellor.

“His promise to get spending under control would not be credible if he wasn’t even able to control foreign aid spending.

“Ministers should consider scrapping the 0.7 per cent target altogether and focus aid spending on responding to genuine humanitarian emergencies.”

Ex-Prime Minister David Cameron enshrined in law 0.7 per cent of GDP would be spent on overseas aid.

He previously condemned the move to 0.5 per cent but in a u-turn now says he is a “realist” on lowering the budget.