Christian Aid – 0.7%

 Hopefully you are aware that in November, the Conservative Government broke its election pledge and cross-party consensus by cutting the UK overseas aid budget.

The cut was from 0.7% of Gross National Income to 0.5%

So for every £10 the UK earns, the amount we give to help the poorest in the world has gone down from 7p to 5p. Due to the pandemic the UK’s income went down in 2020 so the total amount of aid was going down anyway. The change in the % makes this even worse and the UK is no longer meeting the United Nations target of 0.7%.

Given the effect of the pandemic on the world’s poor, this cut will only cause further hardship.

The government claims the cut was due to economic conditions. Several political commentators e.g., Nick Robinson and Laura Kuenssberg, have asserted that in the overall scheme, the amount saved of £3bn to £4bn was “small beer” and was done for political reasons to appease the Tory base and right wing press. My local Tory MP has indicated the cut is temporary but can give no date for when it will be reviewed or reversed.

So, whilst we campaign alongside UK churches and charities for the aid budget to be restored, we can do something personally to help:

Are you giving 0.7% of your income to overseas charities such as Christian Aid or Save the Children? Check out the sums involved

with the link below and start 2021 with a positive step:


For further information please contact:

Wilf Hardy

07823 406908