UK Aid Budget Cuts: An analysis of feasibility and potential impact

On February 25th, Prime Minister Keir Starmer outlined the UK government’s intention to cut official development assistance (ODA) to 0.3% of Gross National Income (GNI) starting from the 2027 calendar year. This cut, coming off the back of an extremely damaging drop from 0.7% to 0.5% in 2021, alongside a significant increase in the amount spent domestically, has rightly raised a significant number of questions about feasibility and impact.

Following this, the governments Spring Statement on the 26th March provided further clarity to the roadmap up to 2027. Despite earlier promises that 0.5% would be maintained in the 2025/26 financial year, the ODA budget will drop £0.5bn. Then in the 2026/7 financial year, there will be a sharp drop of £4.8bn, bringing the ODA budget to just above 0.3% GNI. Whilst the government has termed this as a “gradual reduction”, these further cuts heighten previous concerns.

This analytical note aims to provide clarity on the future ODA landscape and identifies key challenges and impacts arising from the decision to cut to 0.3%