Government must stop diverting overseas aid to increasingly callous UK asylum system
Today (5 April), the Government released figures showing the provisional Overseas Development Assistance (ODA) spend for 2022. They show that out of a total ODA spend of £12.8bn, £3.7bn (28.9 per cent) was diverted to cover the domestic costs for asylum seekers and refugees. This compares to £1.1bn in 2021.
Responding, Kathleen Spencer Chapman, Director of Communications, Advocacy and UK Programmes at Plan International UK, said:
“We are deeply concerned that the Government is using large chunks of an already reduced aid budget to pay for a domestic asylum system that is not fit for purpose. In its relentless push to slash overseas aid, the Government is failing women and girls around the world. At the same time, with its increasingly callous approach to asylum seekers and victims of trafficking, it is failing vulnerable children and adults who have come to the UK seeking safety.
“We need an effective and fully funded asylum system, but the funding must not come at the expense of communities facing crises overseas. Diverting overseas aid means less support for the East Africa hunger crisis, where children are dying from hunger. It means less support for communities stricken by the Turkey-Syria earthquake, or the floods in Pakistan. And it means less support for girls’ education.
“We urge the Government to allocate funds directly and transparently to the UK asylum system, and to urgently refocus the aid budget onto those areas for which it was intended – chiefly tackling global poverty and the impacts of climate change, promoting gender equality, and responding to humanitarian crises.
“We also call on the Government to respect those seeking refuge here in the UK. People fleeing war and persecution must be able to seek safety in the UK, and to live with dignity as they await a decision on their asylum application.”
For media interviews or more information, please contact:
Tom Phillips
Senior Press Officer
Email: [email protected]
Mobile: + 44 (0)7946 648 533
About Plan International UK
Plan International UK is a global children’s charity. We work to give every child the same chance in life.
In every child there’s a spark of imagination, curiosity and ambition. But not every child is born with the same opportunities.
When you face poverty or violence the odds are stacked against you. When you’re a girl it’s even harder to be safe, in school and in charge of your body.
All children deserve an education, health care and clean water. All children deserve the chance to thrive.
We’re fighting so every child, especially every girl, knows their value. We’re fighting so the communities they’re growing up in – and the world around them – value them too.
And if disaster strikes we’re there to protect children, keep them learning and help them recover.