MPs and peers demand government reverses ‘disastrous’ water and sanitation aid cuts
The government plans to cut the UK aid budget by about £5billion due to the pandemic
5 May 2021 • 5:29pm
The UK has been a leader in the field of providing clean drinking water to the world’s poorest, one of the most cost-effective ways of improving health and productivity
Credit: Jason Florio
An influential group of cross-party MPs and peers has demanded that the government overturn plans to slash aid spending on water and sanitation by 80 per cent.
The proposal, revealed in a leaked memo seen by the Telegraph last week, will see spending cut from £176 million in 2019 to less than £35.2m this year. The reduction is part of swingeing cuts to the UK’s aid budget as it is slashed from 0.7 per cent of gross national income to 0.5 per cent – a cut of around £5billion – as a result of the hit to the economy caused by the pandemic.