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UK seeks way to use aid budget for hurricane-hit territories UK urges changes to international aid rules to help hurricane-hit islands
(about 1 hour later)
Ministers are seeking a way to ensure the UK can use its foreign aid budget to help victims of Hurricane Irma, the foreign secretary, Boris Johnson, has said. Britain has called for urgent changes to international rules on aid to allow UK development cash to be used to help victims of natural disasters like Hurricane Irma.
UK aid rules have made it impossible to give money directly to the victims of Hurricane Irma in British overseas territories. Downing Street has said the prime minister, Theresa May, is frustrated with rules set by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) that exclude British overseas territories like Anguilla, Turks and Caicos and British Virgin Islands from receiving money from the aid pot.
On his return from visiting Anguilla and British Virgin Islands, Johnson expressed quiet frustration at the rules. Under the rules, the UK aid budget cannot be used because the GDP of the islands is too high and the budget is designed to relieve poverty.
Downing Street has also made clear that Theresa May is frustrated with the rules, set by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, which mean the UK aid budget cannot be used because the GDP of the islands is too high and the budget is aimed at relieving poverty. The international development secretary, Priti Patel, has written to the OECD’s development assistance committee calling for reforms to reflect the vulnerability of the Caribbean island states, which stand in the path of tropical storms like Irma.
Johnson, who returned overnight from a two-day visit to observe the recovery efforts, said it was natural that the money should be used to help those affected in Anguilla, Turks and Caicos and BVI, and that ministers, including the international development secretary, Priti Patel, were trying to find a way to do so. “I have today written to the development assistance committee asking them as a matter of urgency to develop options to ensure the aid rules reflect the needs of those impacted by natural disasters,” said Patel.
“We believe that the international rules should take into account the vulnerabilities of small island states.
“These rules were first established over 40 years ago. The world has changed dramatically since then, and we will work constructively with international partners to ensure the rules remain relevant and up to date.”
Speaking on his return from visiting Anguilla and British Virgin Islands, the UK foreign secretary, Boris Johnson, also expressed frustration at the rules.
Johnson, who made a two-day visit to observe the recovery efforts, said it was natural that the money should be used to help those affected, and that ministers, including Patel, were trying to find a way to do so.
“Anybody who’s seen the effects of a hurricane knows it is absolutely catastrophic; awe-inspiring,” Johnson said. “I have never seen anything like it. It is like the destruction you see in images from the first world war.“Anybody who’s seen the effects of a hurricane knows it is absolutely catastrophic; awe-inspiring,” Johnson said. “I have never seen anything like it. It is like the destruction you see in images from the first world war.
“I think anybody with an ounce of compassion would like to see spending by our government helping these people get back on their feet and getting these British overseas territories helped in the long term.“I think anybody with an ounce of compassion would like to see spending by our government helping these people get back on their feet and getting these British overseas territories helped in the long term.
“Of course we are looking across Whitehall at ways in which we can make sure that our aid budget can be used in that way and I know that Priti Patel and all my colleagues are looking at how we can do that. That is absolutely natural and we are on that right now.”“Of course we are looking across Whitehall at ways in which we can make sure that our aid budget can be used in that way and I know that Priti Patel and all my colleagues are looking at how we can do that. That is absolutely natural and we are on that right now.”
Johnson said he would chair a meeting of the Cobra emergency cabinet committee on Thursday night.Johnson said he would chair a meeting of the Cobra emergency cabinet committee on Thursday night.
He insisted the UK response to the crisis had been prompt, despite critics saying otherwise, and listed the amount of food and aid pouring into the region. He insisted the UK response to the crisis had been prompt, despite critics saying otherwise, and listed the amount of food and aid arriving in the region.
Ministers have said they believe there will be a way to use UK aid for the longer term reconstruction work.Ministers have said they believe there will be a way to use UK aid for the longer term reconstruction work.
Under the rules, the UK aid budget cannot be used because the GDP of the islands is too high and the aid budget is designed to relieve poverty. The UK has pledged a total of £57m towards disaster relief and the public has helped to raise a further £1.3m.
But an unnamed minister told the BBC the figure would have been significantly higher without strict international rules governing the allocation of the £13bn aid budget, a claim disputed by Downing Street.
May’s spokesman said the OECD rules do not “stop Britain dedicating the money needed for the hurricane recovery and reconstruction effort”.
“The response would have been just as large and swift regardless of the aid rules,” he said. But he added: “The prime minister is frustrated with the rules as they stand.”
The Conservatives have said they are thinking of changing the legal definitions surrounding the use of the protected aid budget, and have already stretched the envelope to include security and peacekeeping measures.The Conservatives have said they are thinking of changing the legal definitions surrounding the use of the protected aid budget, and have already stretched the envelope to include security and peacekeeping measures.