UK aid sector braces for spending cuts in 2026

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UK spending on foreign aid is set to fall to its lowest level this century, as long-feared cuts begin to hit NGOs and charities hard from 2026.

Sir Keir Starmer’s government announced in February that it would reduce foreign aid spending from 0.5 per cent of gross national income to 0.3 per cent by 2027 in order to fund increased defense spending to confront Russia.

But of the total planned cuts of £6.5bn, only £500m was earmarked for 2025-26, before the pace of cuts accelerated rapidly with £4.8bn cut in 2026-27, suggesting the real crisis will start in the second half of 2026.

Sarah Champion, chair of parliament’s International Development Committee, which has called on the government to reverse the cuts, said 2026 would reveal the full impact of the cuts.

Champion, the Labor MP, said: “The horrific reality of a 40 per cent cut in the aid budget for the world’s poorest people and to protect the UK from global health and security threats will be exposed in the new year.”

The cuts will increase pressure within the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, which is undergoing a restructuring process led by Permanent Under-Secretary Olly Robins.

The Foreign Office, which absorbed the Department for International Development in 2020, is expected to see staff cuts of up to 25 per cent in the coming years, with departments overseeing foreign aid expected to be hit hard.

By 2027-28, the percentage of gross national income spent on the aid budget will fall to 0.3 per cent, the lowest level since 1999. The amount it makes it abroad is likely to be lower due to the transfer of money to the Home Office to fund the care of asylum seekers.

Bond, the UK’s umbrella group for organizations working in international development, said there was already a “devastating impact” from the cuts, “with programs from health centers in Somalia to education programs in Syria having to close.”

“However, the worst consequences are yet to be realized, with UK aid budget allocations for 2026-27 still to be finalized by the FCO – with little clarity on how these devastating decisions were made,” said Gideon Rabinowitz, director of policy and advocacy at Bond.

“The UK government must urgently improve transparency in the decision-making process behind the cuts, and clearly set out a strategy for how it will continue to honor its global commitment.”

Baroness Jenny Chapman, the UK Development Minister who took over after Anneliese Dodds stepped down when the cuts were announced, has made clear that foreign aid is not “charity” and has stressed its “value for money” for UK taxpayers in recent months.

She has sought to recast the UK’s position as one of “partnerships” to help countries, rather than focusing on traditional aid programmes, saying in December that the UK was shifting from a “donor to an investor” in Africa.

But activists and NGOs worry that the UK risks losing influence abroad and that the aid budget will be too small to have a significant impact, with eventual repercussions for the UK.

The Department of Health and Social Care, which funds projects overseas to prepare for pandemics as well as fight deadly diseases, will lose almost two-thirds of its aid money over the two years to 2027-28, down from £331m to £123m.

A Foreign Office spokesman said the Prime Minister took the decision because defense and security are “the first responsibility of any government”, adding that it remains “strongly committed to international development”.

“We will bring British expertise and investment where it is needed most, while increasing our focus on humanitarian support, global health, climate and nature,” the spokesman said.

Data visualization by Amy Burritt