UK aid being used to fund Chinese film industry and museums, MPs warn
3 min read
UK aid is being used to help promote the Chinese film industry, according to an influential group of MPs.
Overseas aid has been spent on campaigns to promote the Chinese film industry and healthy eating programmes for Chinese children, a new report from the International Aid Committee has found.
MPs questioned if cash from the cross-departmental Prosperity fund was consistently being used on schemes to alleviate poverty abroad.
Alongside projects with a “clear development focus”, such as climate change research, the Commons inquiry found several projects with a “much weaker focus”, including some to improve China’s credit bond rating system and another to boost the country’s museum infrastructure.
The £38m fund was set up following a Government commitment to spend 0.7% of GDP per year on foreign aid projects.
The committee recommended a review of the funds spending priorities.
Some aid charities told the committee that they believed a portion of the spending was being used to boost trade prospects with key post-Brexit trading partners.
Committee chair Stephen Twigg said there was a “lack of clarity” around the scheme.
“The role of cross-government funds has become increasingly prominent but the current arrangements for oversight leave gaps and the opportunity for a lack of coherence”, he said.
“Our report raises concerns that some activities are being badged as ODA without a clear focus on poverty reduction. This lack of clarity risks undermining faith in UK aid.”
“With a heavy emphasis on promoting UK trade, the Prosperity Fund risks losing the rightful focus on poverty reduction and is a step towards the return of tied aid. We recommend that existing programmes should be reviewed.
“Almost three quarters of the world’s poorest people live in middle income countries but it is unclear to us how some projects – especially those under the banner of the Prosperity Fund – benefit the very poorest, marginalised or most vulnerable communities.”
A government spokesperson said: “We have been clear, we must ensure that the aid budget is not just spent well but could not be spent better and standards are raised across Government to achieve value for taxpayers’ money.
“UK aid spending is best done using expertise across government, with departments working together in a joined-up way.
“We continue to press for quality and consistent aid spending to achieve results for the world’s poorest and to successfully tackle global challenges such as disease and conflict to make us safer at home – which is firmly in the UK’s interests.”
Kirsty McNeill, Executive Director of Policy, Advocacy and Campaigns at Save the Children said, "We welcome the Committee’s call for the Government to freeze the share of aid spent through cross-government funds until they are more transparent and better focussed on poverty". Read the full response to the report here.
PoliticsHome Newsletters
PoliticsHome provides the most comprehensive coverage of UK politics anywhere on the web, offering high quality original reporting and analysis: Subscribe
