MPs and peers warn aid cuts are wasting R&D investment

Fears over impacts on global health research heard in both chambers of parliament

Parliamentarians have continued to pressure the government over cuts to the UK’s aid budget, saying that previous investments made in R&D are being wasted due to the way the cuts have been implemented.

In back-to-back debates in the House of Commons and the House of Lords this week, MPs and peers lined up again to criticise the government’s decision to reduce aid spending from 0.7 to 0.5 per cent of gross national income.