Yesterday the first cuts at DfID were announced by the new Conservative administration.
Yesterday the first cuts at DfID were announced by the new Conservative administration, as new international development secretary Andrew Mitchell announced that projects designed to raise awareness of development issues amongst the UK public are to be scrapped.
He said:
“I’m surprised that Labour ministers thought these projects were the best use of British aid.”
Yet he has simply listed the projects to be cut without listing any explanation for their original rationale. In fact, development education in the UK has been an important part of DfID’s programme from it’s creation. As we have reported previously, DfID’s first White Paper in 1997 established the Building Support for Development programme (BSD) which addressed the need for an:
“Increased public understanding of our global mutual dependence and the need for international development.”
Stalls at music festivals may sound frivolous, but they are a tool many development NGOs use regularly in order to engage with the UK public to raise support for their work and their campaigns. Is training nursery school teachers so that they can make children aware of the world they live in from an early age such a bad idea?
This follows articles in The Times and by the right-wing think tank IPN criticising the spending of aid in the UK, reported here previously. In DfID’s first White Paper the then Secretary of State Clare Short stated in the foreword the need for:
“An informed public opinion [to] help ensure that the UK plays its full role in generating the international political will necessary to meet the international poverty eradication targets.”
In the current climate the public naturally wants to see value for money from all public spending – but that cannot be used an excuse to cut development education, a key tool in generating that political will amongst the public.
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25 Responses to “Cuts to development education may increase public scepticism”
Matthew Sinclair
This is an absolutely incredible post. DFID is spending money building support for its own budget – you don’t see a problem with that?
Grassy Knollington
The spirit of Gramsci is alive and well in the Labour movement, clearly.
David Taylor
@Matthew Sinclair – not when DfID’s budget results in 3 million a people being lifted out of absolute poverty every year – that can’t happen without public support.
Mr. Sensible
SadButMadLad, if we cannot help those who are literally starving oversees we are in a bad way.
I don’t want my country looked on as being a selfish one; I want my country looked on as helping those in need.
SadButMadLad
@David Taylor
Is the DfID money funding all 3 million or (more likely) is it helping along with money from loads of other countries?
Also what is your definition of poverty. Poverty in the UK means not having something like a fridge or TV. In other countries, poverty might mean a lot less such as not having a basic roof over their heads. I suspect you are putting western definitions on other countries.