Following the Government’s Spending Review, announced today (Wednesday 11 June) by the Chancellor, we are urgently calling for the publication of a full impact assessment of the proposed UK foreign aid cuts to the Foreign and Commonwealth Development Office (FCDO*) and Official Development Assistance (ODA**) budget.
This is particularly important for the 1 in 10 children globally who are at risk of growing up alone, separated from their families, neglected or forced to live in an abusive environment.
Children without parental care are already more likely to face violence, exploitation, poverty, and exclusion. UK aid has helped protect them by supporting essential services (such as nutrition, healthcare and access to education and livelihood support***) to help keep families together. Cutting this, particularly without assessing the impact, risks putting children further into harm’s way. As well as the impact on individual children and families, this risks cycles of violence, exploitation and harm repeating, and communities and countries continuing to face increasing insecurity.
Jess Price, Head of Programme Funding at SOS Children’s Villages UK, said “In my role, I see firsthand the importance of the FCDO and ODA funding on vulnerable children and those living in the most unimaginable crises. For many of them, it provides a critical lifeline when all other hope is gone.
“Without this lifeline, families collapse under pressure, and children are left exposed to danger, displacement, or worse.“
We urge the Government to fully understand and be honest about the human cost of these cuts. A thorough impact assessment must be published before any further decisions are made.
Key terms:
What is the FCDO?
The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) is the UK Government department responsible for managing the United Kingdom’s foreign relations, international development, and overseas aid. It oversees the UK’s Official Development Assistance (ODA) budget and leads efforts to promote the UK’s global interests, including diplomacy, security, and sustainable development.
What is the ODA budget?
Official Development Assistance (ODA) is government aid intended to promote economic development and welfare. In the UK, ODA is managed primarily by the FCDO. Eligible ODA activities include spending on health, education, water and sanitation, humanitarian aid, governance, and infrastructure. ODA plays a major role in international development financing, particularly for Least Developed Countries (LDCs), where it can account for around 70% of external financial flows (OECD, 2023).
*** What is ‘livelihood support’? SOS Children’s Villages provides support to help individuals secure new income sources For example, this could be support to set up a small business, but it could also be helping them to learn a new trade/reskill, or find job opportunities.