UK aid spending will fall to its lowest level since 2007 unless the government takes urgent action in this year’s Budget, a group of more than 120 humanitarian and international development charities have warned.

Leaders from 122 of the UK’s largest charities have signed a statement warning that under the spending plans the Labour government inherited from its Conservative predecessors, the budget for providing aid overseas will be cut to its lowest levels since 2007.

Under these spending plans, the UK aid budget is expected to drop to £9.8bn in 2024 – equivalent to just under 0.36 per cent of gross national income, the organisations have warned.

The joint statement warns: “If these plans are not urgently revised, the Prime Minister and his government will be withdrawing vital services and humanitarian support from millions of marginalised people globally and turning up empty-handed to global forums over the coming months.”

Signatories include representatives from ActionAid UK, Oxfam GB, Care International UK, International Rescue Committee UK and Save the Children UK. 

The group said the drop is mostly due to large sums in the budget being diverted to hosting asylum seekers in the UK.

The official development assistance budget allocated to cover the costs of supporting asylum seekers in the UK rose from £500m in 2019 to £4.3bn in 2023, according to a briefing published by the NGO umbrella body Bond. 

The £4.3bn, £3bn of which was spent by the Home Office, represented 28 per cent of the total UK ODA budget. Since 2020, the allocation of UK ODA to the Home Office has risen by nearly 395 per cent.

The organisations have urged the government to urgently revise these plans and take “immediate and bold action” in the Budget, which is expected on 30 October, to maintain UK aid at current levels – which amounts to 0.58 per cent of gross national income – and prevent further cuts.

They have also called for the government to reduce the proportion of the UK aid budget being spent within the UK on refugees and asylum seekers, while still ensuring adequate support for them.

The group has urged the government to set out plans for how and when it will return UK aid spending to 0.7 per cent of GNI, a policy which Labour committed to in its manifesto but did not set out a clear time frame for.  

They said the government must return to 0.7 per cent by introducing “fair and transparent fiscal tests” and scale-up UK aid as progress is made towards meeting these. 

The organisations have also sent a private letter to Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, going into these points in detail. This letter also warns that the UK cannot afford to show up “empty-handed” to upcoming global summits, such as the UN General Assembly, G20 and COP29, as it seeks to rebuild its reputation and restore relations with lower-middle-income countries.

Romilly Greenhill, chief executive of Bond, said: “The government must urgently act in the autumn budget to provide additional funding for vital humanitarian support and services for millions of marginalised people worldwide.

“With UK aid spending on refugee and asylum accommodation in the UK at extremely high levels, the government needs to urgently find alternative funds from other government budgets to support this vulnerable group instead of counting this as UK aid.”

Hamila Begum, chief executive of Oxfam GB, said: “If the government doesn’t act swiftly to protect UK aid, the consequences will be devastating and far-reaching. 

“They must stop diverting it to prop up the UK’s broken asylum system, and instead support vulnerable groups already in the UK through alternative Home Office funding. 

“These steps are essential to ensure that millions of people worldwide can still access life-saving services. Failure to do so would undeniably put the UK at risk of further diminished credibility as a dependable agent in addressing urgent global crises.”

The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office did not respond to a request for comment.