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Global Action from Tearfund

Welcome to Global Action George Osborne announced his emergency budget this morning and if you missed it you can find the main points on the BBC News website, whilst it is clear that in many ways life will be much harder over the coming years, Tearfund is pleased that the Chancellor has protected the UK’s aid commitment this year. It is also encouraging that the government is committed to achieving 0.7% of Gross National Income (GNI) being spent on aid from 2013, as we prayed and campaigned that they would. Please email and thank Andrew Mitchell at DfID and ask him to ensure that the UK’s 0.7% commitment is quickly enshrined in law.

KEEP THE PROMISE! On the face of it the aid budget has been protected from cuts this year but in the autumn the Chancellor will announce the results of the Spending Review, which will set the departmental budgets for 2011 through until 2015. The Government has said that the bulk of the reduction to the current deficit will be achieved by reductions in spending so there is a real risk that the historical commitments could be cut or watered down.. The commitment to spending 0.7% of Gross National Income from 2013 was not part of the list of bills that the Government wants to pass over the next 18 months, but there was a short reference to the plan in the Queen’s Speech in May. This would suggest that the coalition is willing to put it into law but are in no hurry, so we need to act now to ensure that even in financial hardship we continue to prioritise the needs of the poorest people in the world. Email our new Minister for International Development, Andrew Mitchell, thanking the Government for protecting the aid budget and asking for the 0.7% commitment to be enshrined in law as quickly as possible. Click here to email.

With thanks for all you do, Tom, Ben, Helen, Jay, Jack, Laura and Heather The Campaigns Team Follow Tearfund’s campaigning on Twitter at www.twitter.com/superbadger and take the latest SuperBadger action at apps.facebook.com/superbadger/. Photo Credit:Jay Butcher/Tearfund

Posted on 22 Jun 2010

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