Question
The Foreign Secretary and I represent communities 15 miles apart—decent, hard-working people who are finding life very tough at the moment. In that context, how would he justify to working people and pensioners spending £6 billion on foreign aid while freezing the tax-free personal allowance and cutting the state pension? [Interruption.]
Answer
I think the answer came from Members in the right hon. Gentleman’s former party. The money that we spend on foreign aid is absolutely about preventing the problems from elsewhere in the world coming here—to his constituency and mine. At one and the same time, he complains about small boats, which is an issue partly caused by fragile states, and says that we should not be taking action to prevent it. I am afraid that I do not agree with him.50% point-scoring
Verdict: AMBER (62/100)
The reply directly answers the core question about why the government spends money on foreign aid, giving a concrete justification: aid is intended to prevent problems overseas from reaching the UK, with a stated link between fragile states and small boat crossings. However, the question also asked for a comparison with other spending decisions, namely the freeze on the personal allowance and the state pension cut, and the reply does not address that comparison. A member of the public would get a clear answer to the main point but would likely need to ask again about the comparison.
How we got there
| Question item | Coverage | Specificity | Rationale |
|---|---|---|---|
| What is the Government's justification for spending £6 billion on foreign aid while freezing the tax-free personal allowance and cutting the state pension. | Addressed | Direct | The item asks for the justification for foreign aid spending, and statement 2 gives a concrete one: aid is aimed at preventing problems elsewhere from reaching the UK, supported by statement 3's link between fragile states and small boat crossings. The reply does not engage with the freeze on the personal allowance or the state pension cut, so the comparative part of the question goes unanswered, which keeps confidence moderate. |