PM has come under pressure to use the manifesto to ditch the commitment but confirmed it will remain a key Tory policy
THERESA May has ignored those in her party lobbying her to scrap the foreign aid pledge and confirmed the UK will commit to spending 0.7% of its GDP every year.
The Prime Minister has come under pressure to use the manifesto to ditch the commitment, but said at a campaign event it will remain a key Tory policy.
Speaking at a toothpaste factory in her Maidenhead constituency she was asked whether the flagship United Nations target would stay after the snap election.
She said it "remains and will remain", after figures ranging from Bill Gates and charity bosses to the former Archbishop of Canterbury have lobbied her to keep it.
But the decision will anger many of her own MPs, who have publicly called for the 0.7% figure to be ditched, which equated to a total of £13billion last year.
They have complained that in trying to hit that quota that billions has been wasted, but the PM said she is proud of the work the UK is doing abroad.
She gave the example of helping to tackle the Ebola crisis in Africa or supporting Syrian refugees, whom she met on a recent visit to Jordan.
He words come after the International Development Secretary Priti Patel was last night moved to defend her department's record.
In a surprise move, she released a 1,700 written ministerial statement expounding on why the spending was the right thing for the Government to be doing.
Mrs May did suggest that the overall figure would not change but that the way a lot of the money is spent will need looking at, stressing the need to ensure the money is spent "in the most effective way"
She told reporters and staff at the GlaxoSmithKline plant this lunchtime: “Let’s be clear – the 0.7% commitment remains, and will remain.
“What we need to do, though, is to look at how that money will be spent, and make sure that we are able to spend that money in the most effective way.
“I’m very proud of the record we have, of the children around the world who are being educated as a result of what the British taxpayer is doing in terms of international aid.
“The ability we had to be able to help in the ebola crisis, the work that we’ve been doing supporting Syrian refugees – I was in Jordan a couple of weeks ago, in a school, meeting some youngsters who are being given a good-quality education.
“That’s one of the things the United Kingdom is providing. So I’m very proud of the record that we have.
“We’ve maintained that commitment, but we have to make sure that we’re spending that money as effectively as possible.”
Earlier this year it was revealed the UK was one of only six major countries that met the UN target in 2015.
The TaxPayers' Alliance have criticised Mrs May's announcement, calling the 0.7% target “totally arbitrary and meaningless”.
The group’s chief executive John O'Connell said: “The worst possible way to deliver value when spending taxpayers’ cash is to define the success of a policy by how much you spend rather than what the money actually achieves.
"What's more, not only does the bloated foreign aid budget have a poor record at promoting freedom in developing countries, even the Government’s calculations fail to take into account the considerable amount that the British public give privately to help the most vulnerable people around the world.
“If we are ever going to balance the books, it is crucial that the government ends ring fencing across all departments to ensure that every single area of spending delivers the best value for taxpayers."
But leading UK aid organisations said: “We are delighted that the Prime Minister has recommitted to spending 0.7% of national income on aid and clearly stated her belief that aid saves and changes lives.”
A statement from a number of groups including Save the Children, UNICEF, Oxfam and Comic Relief said: “We now look forward to all parties putting commitments in their manifestos to ensure the 0.7% target is maintained and that Britain keeps its promises to the world’s poorest people.”
“The aid should be untied, focussed on poverty reduction and spent through an independent Department for International Development.”
