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Wednesday 17 June 2020 09:16
Boris Johnson’s move to axe the Department for International Development will have “deadly consequences around the world”, Oxfam GB’s chief executive has warned – a decision Matt Hancock revealed the prime minister had taken without consulting Cabinet.
The health secretary admitted he may have had “Harry Potter on the mind” after mistakenly praising footballer “Daniel Rashford”, as he denied that the government had made an embarrassing U-turn in its decision to provide free school meals to underprivileged children during the summer holidays.
The Manchester United star said he was “grateful” to the prime minister for changing his mind on food vouchers, but revealed he was considering what more can be done to help struggling families, saying: “We’ve bought ourselves six weeks of time now to plan and figure out what’s next and keep taking steps forward.”
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“This is a backwards step, this is a costly mistake and it’s going to have deadly consequences around the world. The UK should be rightly proud of the money that we spend on international development,” Oxfam GB chief executive Danny Sriskandarajah told Sky News.
“We know that it saves lives … and by muddying the waters and taking that focus away from the poorest and most vulnerable and making that about a broader set of objectives, we worry that this is going to cost countless lives around the world.”
He added: “This is not necessarily about the quantity of money, but the quality of spend. Independent report after independent report … have come to the conclusion that having a stand-alone ministry dedicated to development, dedicated to making sure we get value for money from our aid budget is far more effective than putting it together under a wider foreign policy ministry.
“So the effectiveness argument that the prime minister made yesterday isn’t supported by independent analysis.”
International trade secretary Liz Truss said in a statement: “Our new-found status as an independent trading nation will enable us to strengthen ties with countries around the world.
“Ambitious, wide-ranging free trade agreements with old friends like Australia and New Zealand are a powerful way for us to do that and make good on the promise of Brexit.
“Pivoting towards the Asia-Pacific will diversify our trade, increase the resilience of our supply chains and ensure the UK is less vulnerable to political and economic shocks in certain parts of the world.”
With trade talks due in the coming weeks, the UK has today said its objectives include:
– Future-proofing any agreement in line with the government’s ambition on climate and in anticipation of rapid technological developments, such as artificial intelligence.
– Set a new precedent with Australia by establishing an ambitious framework for co-operation within tech, innovation, and R&D.
– Leaving the NHS and the price it pays for drugs off the table.
Almost two thirds of families on universal credit or child tax credits have been forced into a “debt nightmare” as a result of the coronavirus pandemic with many forced to borrow money in the form of payday loans or relying on credit cards to try and make ends meet, Harry Cockburn reports.
A survey, by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF) and Save the Children, indicated 70 per cent of all families have cut back on food and other essentials due to the crisis, while half have fallen behind on rent or other household bills, raising concerns of further hardship ahead if unemployment continues to rise.
The survey found 86 per cent of those with children on universal credit or child tax credits have faced extra household costs owing to the pandemic, and 60 per cent said they had now been forced to borrow money.
Parents with children living at home who were caught in poverty pre-crisis are around 50 per cent more likely to have lost their jobs than parents who were better off, and the long-term effects on childhood and family life could be significant, the organisations said in a statement.
The extra strain is having a negative impact on parents’ mental health: two-thirds of those surveyed reported their concerns about money had affected their mental health with around a quarter said it had resulted in a severe impact.
Save the Children and JRF are now calling for an urgent, temporary lifeline for families in the form of a £20 a week increase to the child element of universal credit and child tax credit.
The health secretary told BBC Breakfast: “I want to say to your viewers, if you are in the shielded category we will announce very soon what the plans are and we will write to you personally through the NHS so that you can get the direct clinical advice.”
England footballer Marcus Rashford has said he is planning his next move to help struggling families after his successful campaign to extend the children’s food voucher scheme.
The 22-year-old Manchester United striker told BBC Breakfast he was “shocked” by the government’s decision to announce a one-off £120m fund as a result, adding: “It’s a big decision for someone to make and I’m just grateful that the Prime Minister did change his decision and he understood.
“I spoke to him and thanked him for that. It’s a nice feeling but I’m just happy that people’s lives, and people’s summers especially, have been changed for the better.”
But the player said that people are “struggling all year round” and he now wants to learn “how we can help them best” in the future, adding: “I think this is only going to be successful throughout the summer period so we’ve bought ourselves six weeks of time now to plan and figure out what’s next and keep taking steps forward.
“I don’t want this to be the end of it because there are definitely more steps that need to be taken. So we just need to analyse the response.”
The health secretary has drawn mockery on social media after calling Manchester United star, Marcus Rashford, “Daniel”.
Seeking to deny the government had made an embarrasing U-turn after it ceded to the footballer’s campaign to continue free school meals, Mr Hancock told Sky News:
“Righty-ho, I will tell you what happened, the prime minister talked to Daniel Rashford, he considered it and made his decision – I think it’s terrific.”
He later told the BBC: “I completely misspoke. I can’t [explain myself]. Of course I know he’s called Marcus Rashford. I think I said that once and then several other times I said, I’ve no idea, I just completely misspoke … too early in the morning.”
And forced again to discuss the misstep on LBC, he said: “Maybe I had Harry Potter on the mind. My seven-year-old listens to Harry Potter and reads Harry Potter avidly, including at 5.30 this morning when I got up to do this morning’s media round.”
Mr Rashford said he had been called far worse in the past few days.
Jack de Menezes has more details here:
Rob Merrick and
Lizzy Buchan‘s piece from yesterday on what David Cameron believes this could mean for Britain’s global reputation.
Good morning, and welcome to today’s politics live blog.
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