SW News: Archbishop of Westminster Cardinal Vincent Nichols and Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby have expressed concern over the British government's decision to cut foreign aid from 0.7% to 0.5% in the coming financial year.

As part of the effort to deal with the deficit caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, Chancellor Rishi Sunak has said that the cut is ‘temporary’ and would return to the usual 0.7% when the finances permit. Responding to the cut in foreign aid the archbishops stated that “balancing the books during a pandemic on the backs of the world’s poorest is not acceptable.”

The archbishops pointed out that these cuts would be “doing real damage to life-saving work” in poorer countries like Yemen, Syria and South Sudan. They said, “how fortunate we are” to benefit from the coronavirus vaccinations, and reminded that “no one is safe until we are all safe. Our lives are connected.”

The archbishops highlighted that the 0.7% of Gross National Income aid budget “would honour the many promises made and deliver on the duty imposed by Parliament,” and added that by saying “the Government will only do this “when the fiscal situation allows” is deeply worrying, suggesting that it will act in contravention of its legally binding target.”  They noted that the nation cannot prosper if it shrinks from its international responsibilities.

“Keeping our promises to the world’s poorest people would be a good start,” they asserted, and emphasized that the UK should set an example as a world leader.