John Baron MP questions Government over the effect of ODA reductions on the British Council

MP concerned at possible effects on arms-length bodies

Due to the financial pressures of the coronavirus pandemic, the Government has announced its decision to temporarily cut ODA (international aid) spending from 0.7% of GNI to 0.5%. During an Urgent Question today in the Commons into ODA spending reductions, John Baron MP asked,

“The Minister is fully aware of the excellent work undertaken by arms-length bodies such as the British Council in fostering better understanding and relations with other countries. We are indeed a soft power superpower, so what steps is the Government taking to ensure these ODA reductions do not lead to decisions which will damage these bodies’ long-term effectiveness?”

The Minister, Rt Hon James Cleverly MP, responded that the Government is conscious of the impact of these reductions, which are hopefully a one-off given the pandemic, but will ensure that delivery mechanisms are able to continue into the future.

John said afterwards,

“In this uncertain world the strategic error in reducing our soft power footprint would be felt for many years to come. Let us hope the Government recognises the importance of our arms-length bodies such as the British Council in helping it to achieve its Global Britain vision.”