It is forecast to dish out another £13.3 billion for 2024/25 and £13.7 billion in 2025/26.
However, campaigners for greater accountability of government spending claim taxpayers money is being squandered on dubious contracts.
In one instance, £500,000 of precious taxpayers’ money was spent on buying 15 electric vans for Albanian prisons, secured through a local Porsche dealer, according to The Sun.
The contract boasted the cars would help the Balkan state move “towards Net Zero and is part of a wider greening initiative”.
Jason Brown, a former government adviser and brains behind The Waste Files campaign, fumed: “With taxes at eye-watering levels and hard-working families struggling to make ends meet, Brits up and down the country will be astonished that their hard-earned money is being spent on sending electric cars to prisons in Albania.”
The UK government has also provided £1.9 million to create jobs in Albania in an attempt to stem the flow of migrants from the country.
Additionally, British taxpayers are helping to fund climate initiatives in foreign countries.
An eye-watering £114 million for “inclusive green enterprises” has been donated to India, whose economy is bigger than that of the UK.
India surpassed the UK as the fifth largest economy in 2023 and according to analysts at Morgan Stanley, it is on track to overtake Japan and Germany and hit third spot by 2027.
Around £5 million has also been allocated to “transforming feminist funding in Iraq”, while another £500,000 was given to a Directorate of Military Women’s Affairs in Jordan to support the “gender mainstreaming strategy” in its army.
The Foreign Office earmarked a further £30 million for “enhancing gender outcomes” in Nepal in a contract running until 2030.
Campaigners claimed that £110,000 went towards funding a conference on “preventing gender-based disinformation” in Kenya.
Labour has robustly defended the government’s aid spending, saying its priorities include economic transformation and addressing unsustainable debt, providing climate finance and humanitarian aid, conflict prevention, and empowering women and girls.
Foreign Secretary, David Lammy, has commissioned three reviews into UK aid policy, and is currently considering his response.
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Publish date : 2025-02-17 00:43:00
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