When Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced plans to abolish hotel accommodation for asylum seekers by 2029 in the recent spending review she earned cheers from the Labour backbenches – but there was a sting in the tail.
The cost of housing refugees and asylum seekers will grow next next year - and this is money which is taken from the budget notionally earmarked for international development.
It means that the UK will be making a smaller contribution to combatting HIV, TB and malaria abroad.
When David Cameron was Prime Minister in 2013, he pledged to spend 0.7% of our national income on development – under Sir Keir Starmer that will shrink to just 0.3%.
Adrian Lovett is an executive director of the One campaign which raises awareness of extreme poverty around the world – and which is considering mounting a legal challenge against the government’s aid cuts.
He estimates that 600,000 lives could be lost unless the cash is restored.
Listen to more episodes of the Byline Podcast here.
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