Labour figures Andy Burnham and Ed Miliband have privately indicated a desire to restore foreign aid spending to 0.7% of national income. Downing Street notes that Labour's manifesto pledges to restore the target "as soon as fiscal circumstances allow," and no timeframe has been set.
The Institute for Fiscal Studies estimates that this informal commitment would cost approximately £13bn annually. The UK currently faces a record high tax burden, with the tax take exceeding £1.1 trillion each year.
Past foreign aid spending has included £74m for promoting branded condoms in Pakistan as part of a contraception programme, and £52m for building a road in the Amazon rainforest in Guyana. Additionally, £20m was spent on training tax collectors in Ethiopia. In 2024, £2.8bn, or 20% of the aid budget, was allocated to housing and supporting asylum seekers within Britain, counted under international development accounting rules.
In response to recent flash floods and landslides on the Nepal-China border, which have caused over 1,000 deaths, Britain announced an initial £5m and an offer of emergency rescue teams.