Taxpayer-funded British foreign aid is directed to parts of the world that are wealthier than parts of the UK, including funding projects in Communist China, an investigation has found.
a Report A study by the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) found that taxpayer money is being used to support projects in wealthy parts of countries such as China, Mexico and Malaysia.
As parts of the UK continue to suffer from a lack of investment, the IEA claims foreign aid is acting like a “reverse Robin Hood” and called for the government to “urgently reassess” its international aid spending priorities.
The report found that aid provided through UK Official Development Assistance (ODA) over the past five years has gone towards funding arts, infrastructure and technology projects in middle-class areas around the world, often wealthier than some parts of the UK.
According to the IEA, British taxpayers’ money funded a £200,000 project to promote traditional all-female opera through digital media in the prosperous Chinese city of Shanghai. Another £200,000 UK-backed project aimed to “nurture the creativity of Shanghai’s Chinese community” even though Shanghai’s GDP per capita is comparable to leafy London suburbs like Redbridge and Waltham Forest.
The report found that the wealthiest region to receive UK taxpayer funds was the Chinese city of Ordos, which is richer than 69 UK regions. Other relatively wealthy Chinese cities that received aid included the capital Beijing, Guangzhou and the city of Shenzhen, which borders Hong Kong and is richer than seven UK regions.
Britain sent £81m in foreign aid to Communist China: report https://t.co/eeSOkKCQMA
— Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) November 24, 2020
Elsewhere, British taxpayers have funded projects in Kuala Lumpur, the Malaysian capital which is richer than five UK regions, and Campeche, a Mexican city with a higher GDP per capita than 36 UK regions.
The think tank said the reason aid is being directed to wealthier parts of the world is likely because civil servants and aid workers prefer to live in areas with more comfortable living standards, better infrastructure and more opportunities to build professional networks.
The document calls for reforming the International Development Act 2002, enacted under former Labour prime minister Tony Blair, to ensure that foreign aid only goes to areas with a GDP per capita of £10,914 or less.
“This will prevent a repeat of aid money being sent to more affluent areas than the communities it is funded by UK taxpayers,” the report argued.
Commenting on the findings, report author Mark Tovey said: said“Taxing hardworking marginalised British people to fund projects in wealthy areas overseas is a Robin Hood policy in reverse, with aid money going to wealthy areas like Ordos in China and Campeche in Mexico, both of which are actually wealthier than most of the UK.”
“To ensure that UK taxpayers’ money supports the world’s poorest people, we need to urgently reassess our aid priorities and focus on defeating infectious diseases, eradicating hunger and lifting those who are truly in need out of poverty.”
British foreign aid goes to five-star hotels and Chinese restaurants https://t.co/J9eV3li3iy pic.twitter.com/vu8PlWWmP6
— Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) December 9, 2016
