Labour to defend aid cuts, claiming UK’s days as ‘a global charity’ are over
The days of viewing the UK as “a global charity” are over, the new development minister, Jenny Chapman, will tell MPs, in remarks that are likely to prove a controversial defence of the large-scale aid cuts she is about to oversee.Lady Chapman replaced Anneliese Dodds in February after Dodds refused to back Keir Starmer’s decision to cut the UK aid budget from 0.5% of gross national income (GNI) to 0.3% in 2027.The move will take £6bn out of the 2023 aid budget of £15.
2bn and will be the first time UK aid spending has fallen to 0.3% of GNI since 1999.On current trends, the UK will also fall behind Germany, France, Japan and Canada in terms of official development assistance as percentage of gross national income.Starmer justified the cut by saying the money was necessary to fund defence.Chapman will tell the international development select committee on Tuesday that UK aid will be focused more on sharing British expertise than spending money.
She will argue that supporting economies will be at the heart of how the UK spends its overseas aid budget, arguing helping countries to grow is the surest way to reduce poverty and deliver the UK’s plan for change by discouraging foreign populations from seeking to migrate.The unapologetic tone about the coming aid cuts may disturb some Labour MPs, as will her emphasis that her changes are likely to be welcomed by African countries.The Foreign Office said Chapman would say: “Partners across Africa, from Ethiopia to Zimbabwe, want to move on from receiving aid from the UK and that the government’s new approach will focus on the UK as an investor, not just a donor, and on partnering, not paternalism.” She will add that Britain will increasingly be sharing with countries the incredible expertise it has to offer, instead of direct funding.“The days of viewing government as a global aid charity are over,” she will say in remarks that are reminiscent of the claim by Boris Johnson that the aid budget was seen as a “giant cashpoint in the sky”.
Denying the government is opposed to international aid, Chapman will tell MPs: “We need to prioritise, be more efficient, and focus on impact above all else.We have to get the best value for money – for the UK taxpayer, but also for the people we are trying to help around the world.“We need to draw on all the expertise the UK has to offer, such as our world-class universities, the City of London, Met Office, Land Registry, HMRC, education, and health.Sign up to First EditionOur morning email breaks down the key stories of the day, telling you what’s happening and why it mattersafter newsletter promotion“We need to support other countries’ systems where this is what they want – so they can educate their children, reform their own healthcare systems, and grow their economies in ways which last.And ultimately, exit the need for aid.
“With less to spend we have no choice.Biggest impact and biggest spend aren’t always the same thing.”The cuts are made more painful since they coincide with a massive slashing back of aid by the US.As a result, global health aid is projected to decline by 40% in 2025 compared with the 2023 baseline.
People in mental health crisis waiting up to three days in A&E in England
Thousands of people in a mental health crisis are enduring waits of up to three days in A&E before they get a bed, with conditions “close to torture” for those in such a distressed state.At one hospital, some patients have become so upset at the delays in being admitted that they have left and tried to kill themselves nearby, leading nurses and the fire brigade to follow in an attempt to stop them.A&E staff are so busy dealing with patients seeking help with physical health emergencies that security guards rather than nurses sometimes end up looking after mental health patients.The findings are included in research by the Royal College of Nursing. Its leader, Prof Nicola Ranger, called the long waits facing those in serious mental ill health, and the difficulties faced by A&E staff seeking to care for them, “a scandal in plain sight”
Protests planned as Scottish parliament holds free vote on assisted dying bill
Opponents of proposals to legalise assisted dying in Scotland have warned it is ethically wrong to allow the state to help someone take their own life.Campaigners against assisted dying, including the Silent Witness actor Liz Carr, are staging demonstrations outside the Scottish parliament on Tuesday, hours before MSPs hold a free vote on new legalisation proposals.Pam Duncan-Glancy, Scottish Labour education spokesperson and one of Holyrood’s few disabled MSPs, said it was a mistake to see this issue as one about choice and personal autonomy. It had far-reaching consequences, she added.She opposed the bill because “we are legislating for the state to assist someone to take their own life, and in almost every other circumstance we want the state to legislate for people to live and live well”
Weight loss jabs in obese children can help avoid mealtime rows, study says
Giving obese children weight loss jabs works and could help avoid arguments over mealtimes, according to research.Clinicians treating very obese children at a hospital in Sweden analysed whether liraglutide injections could be used as well as diet and lifestyle changes to increase weight loss.In real-life analysis of 1,000 children under 16 with severe obesity over a number of years, about a quarter of patients in 2023 were given the weight loss drug liraglutide in addition to receiving intensive health behaviour and lifestyle treatment at the National Childhood Obesity Centre in Stockholm.The clinicians found that nearly a third of these children dropped enough weight to improve their health, compared with about 27% in earlier treated groups with no access to the drugs.Patients starting the programme in 2024 have been given semaglutide but results from these children are not yet available
Becoming obese under age of 30 ‘raises risk of early death by at least 75%’
Becoming obese under the age of 30 increases the chances of premature death by more than 75%, a large-scale study has found.Nearly two-thirds of adults in England are overweight or obese, while NHS data shows that the average man now weighs more than 85kg (13st 5lb) and the typical woman about 73kg (11st 7lb), more than 6kg heavier than they were in 1993.While excess weight is more common with age, the Swedish research shows that putting on extra weight in early adulthood has a sharply disproportionate impact on mortality risk, compared with those who gained weight later.Researchers, led by academics from Lund University, Malmö, Sweden, tracked 620,000 adults aged 17-60 and found that women who became obese under the age of 30 were 84% more likely to die early, while men were 79% more likely when they were compared with those who did not gain weight in young adulthood.Patients typically gained about half a kilogram a year until the age of 60, but for the under-30s, each additional half kilogram increased their mortality risk by 24% for men and 22% for women
Liz Kendall to overhaul DWP’s assessment for disability benefits
Liz Kendall is to begin an overhaul of the disability benefit assessment process long decried by campaigners as cruel, calling on groups to engage with the changes amid criticism of the government’s forthcoming welfare cuts.The work and pensions secretary said on Monday she was beginning the process of abolishing the work capability assessment and overhauling the process to apply for the personal independence payment (Pip) – which can be paid to those in or out of work – to form a single assessment process.Kendall said the changes would involve significant consultation with disabled people. Several MPs have been highly critical of the government’s decision not to consult on drastic changes to eligibility for Pip and the top-ups to universal credit for those who cannot work because of disability.Her announcement comes days after 42 Labour MPs signed a letter to the Guardian calling for a pause on the welfare changes, which campaigners say will push thousands of people into poverty
Asthma figures show ‘shocking’ health inequalities in England, charity says
People from minority ethnic backgrounds in the most deprived areas of England are up to three times more likely to need emergency treatment for asthma than their white counterparts, analysis has found.Analysis of NHS statistics conducted by the charity Asthma and Lung UK found that Asian people with asthma from the most deprived quintile in England are almost three times more likely to have an emergency admission to hospital than their white counterparts. Black people with asthma in the most deprived quintile are more than twice as likely than their white counterparts to be admitted to hospital.People with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) aged between 45 and 54 in the most deprived quintile are nine times more likely to be admitted as an emergency than those in the least deprived quintile, according to the analysis.Across the UK, one in five people will develop a lung condition during their lifetime, while asthma affects one in nine adults and one in eight children
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