Sigh

[Svejk]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2912555/Britain-handed-60million-day-fund-overseas-development-projects-end-2013-meet-Cameron-s-target.html

[factor-fiction]

Does anyone know what Labour's plans are for Overseas Development? I'm sure quite a lot of the money is wasted/abused but I've mentioned before that a lot of this 'aid' is actually given as a sweetener in return for contacts with British firms

[douglas9401]

He may be buying a legacy as a plaster saint since his time of any influence is rapidly coming to an end.

[Svejk]

They had planned to spend the money by April but found out they had to spend it by the end of December. Hence the rush to 'get rid off it'.
I find it very hard to believe but that's what they're saying this morning.

[factor-fiction]

Thanks. It sounds a like a bit of a mess-up but I'll read the article later.

On the general point about levels of aid I think the parties should realise that they need to show they are spending this money wisely. Overall it's only a something like 2% of our spending, and we get some of that back, so even if we stopped spending it altogether we wouldn't be significantly better off but I think the public are fed up of hearing stories of waste and would like to see quite a lot of it go to somewhere like the NHS or in reducing VAT.

One problem is that when the major leaders all get together they all want to appear to be influential and they all agree to commitments such as 2% of GDP or whatever it is- none of them likes to say- "no, we are too hard up and don't feel we want to influence what goes on in developing countries"

[Buenchico]

Typical Daily Mail selective reporting. What the National Audit Office actually reported was that:
(a) the United Nations set a target figure of 0.7% of gross national income for developed nations to contribute to help developing countries ;
(b) in 2010 the Coalition Government entered into a commitment to achieve that target ; and
(c) during 2013 that target was achieved.

Yes, the NAO did note difficulties in getting the OECD's January-to-December accounting year to fit in with the Government's April-to-March one, with 40% of the Department's 2013 spending occurring during the last two months of the year but much of that spending was in relation to urgent crises. (e.g. 40% of the spending during that period went to Syria).

http://www.nao.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Managing-the-official-development-assistance-target.pdf

[Svejk]

It's 0.7% of GDP. Peanuts? It's a billion pound a month. Maybe we don't need it because everything is cushty in this country.

[Svejk]

I heard it on R4.

[factor-fiction]

It may be billions but our economy is valued in trillions. We as individually would hardly notice if we stopped spending the money altogether -0 the country would be about 0.7% better off initially - but we'd have far less influence across the world and would lose out on exports.

[Svejk]

Even Big Issue sellers know when the end of their financial year is. Apparently these people we trust with £250,000,000 per week didn't.
And if it's an enormous slush fund to bribe foreigners to buy British, all the more reason to stop it.
Some people say it's not much. All NHS problems can be sorted by an additional 8 billion a year.

[factor-fiction]

I don't thin £8 billion would solve all the NHS's problems (it would represent an extra 6-7% in expenditure and may not solve problems of filling vacancies in key areas or allow more hospitals to be built quickly enough), but i would agree that if a government would to give people the choice, they'd choose NHS over foreign aid.

But if we want to have some influence in world affairs it simply isn't feasible to say we aren't going to join the other major economies in giving aid.

[Farriercm]

And meanwhile IDS has stopped overseas pensioner from recieving,
heating allowance,these pensioners who have paid UK taxes all their working life. and still we pay all this money out in overseas aid ,
to people who have never been to the UK ,and never paid any UK tax at all.

[Buenchico]

I'm no socialist, Farriercm, but I do understand the principle of distributing limited resources according to need.

Overseas pensioners don't, in general, NEED a heating allowance. Many Syrians urgently NEED help, simply to stay alive and healthy:
http://www.redcross.org.uk/en/About-us/News/2014/December/Red-Cross-calls-for-urgent-support-for-Syrians-this-winter-as-funding-is-squeezed

[ToraToraTora]

I just knew it would be IDSs fault! PMSL, Svejk, looks like you've woken up the brains trust!

[ToraToraTora]

anyway I agree we should stop giving money to foriegners, end of.

[ToraToraTora]

as for heatiing allowance, I don't give a rats ar5se if they need it or not they should not get free money if they choose not to live here.

[anotheoldgit]

You beat me to it Sveik, you early bird :0)

But that is only half the story, Money for a 'Spice Girl' pop group in Ethiopia.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2508063/UK-pay-4m-fund-Ethiopian-Spice-Girls-New-aid-project-Yegna-ridiculed.html

And money for a Water Park in Morocco.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/destinations/africaandindianocean/morocco/9576154/Revealed-800000-in-aid-given-to-water-park-in-Morocco.html?mobile=basic

I wonder what the supporters of such a waste of money will think about that?

[Farriercm]

Think it is disgusting that those same expat pensioners should also have the power to vote the Consevatives out of office this may , when they do not live in the UK . enjoy.

[ToraToraTora]

They should not have the vote at all if they don't live here.

[Farriercm]

But they HAVE GOT THE VOTE, and they will use it.

[Farriercm]

Under the present rules for expats voting in a general election,
they lose that right after being out of the Country more than fifteen years.
However the 15 year rule is about to be scrapped,and they will be given the vote for life , guess who is campaing for this one then?
Conservative party chairman ------- Grant Shapps,
and they do not have to even live in the UK enjoy.