Government Minister admits that last year more than £51 Million of taxpayers’ money was given to the Peoples’ Republic of China (with whom the UK has a trade deficit of more than £40 billion). Is this what the Prime Minster means when he says our dealings with the CCP will be characterised by “robust pragmatism”?
Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon, the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, has provided the following answer to your written parliamentary question (HL3836):
Question by Lord Alton of Liverpool:
To ask His Majesty’s Government what projects in China were funded with the £51.7 million in Official Development Assistance they provided to that country last year; and who were the beneficiaries of those projects. (HL3836)
Tabled on: 29 November 2022
This question was grouped with the following question(s) for answer:
To ask His Majesty’s Government why they gave China £51.7 million in Official Development Assistance in the last year; and what assessment they have made of the continuing need to give China such assistance given that China has the second largest economy in the world. (HL3794)
Tabled on: 28 November 2022
To ask His Majesty’s Government who decided to give £51.7 million of Official Development Assistance to China last year; how this aligns with their commitment in April 2021 to reduce such funding by 95 per cent; and when this reduction will be implemented. (HL3795)
Tabled on: 28 November 2022
To ask His Majesty’s Government whether any of the £51.7 million in Official Development Assistance that they provided to China last year was used (1) to provide assistance to, or (2) to benefit, the Uyghur communities in that country. (HL3837)
Tabled on: 29 November 2022
Answer:
Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon:
The UK Government stopped direct government-to-government bilateral aid to the Chinese Government in 2011. The FCDO cut aid programming in China by 95 per cent from the 2021-22 financial year. All new FCDO ODA programming in 2021 was limited to supporting projects that furthered our open societies and human rights objectives in China, such as funding important research on the human rights violations occurring in Xinjiang. There was additional programme spend in 2021-22 to meet the exit costs of former programmes. In addition to programme spend, FCDO Official Development Assistance (ODA) to China in 2021 includes other types of spend that is counted as ODA, such as ODA eligible operational costs for UK diplomatic missions in China, Chevening scholarships, ODA-eligible British Council activity and funding for the Great Britain China Centre. It is not direct assistance to the Chinese government but is categorised as ODA in line with the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, Development Assistance Committee rules on ODA reporting. Total HMG ODA to China in 2021 also included spend by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy [£18.8 million], the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs [£30,000] and, in the first quarter of the year only, the Prosperity Fund [£2.8 million]. Details on all UK ODA projects for 2021, including those to China, can be found in the Statistics on International Development publication in ‘Data Underlying the SID’: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1119764/data-underlying-SID-2021.ods
