In July it was reported that the UK Exchequer was suspending "non-essential aid spending" for countries other than Ukraine over fears of exceeding the spending limit. Last year, the UK government cut the overseas aid budget from 0.7% to 0.5% of GDP to facilitate the economy's post-COVID-19 pandemic recovery.
According to the report, the UK government is considering extending the freeze on foreign aid spending by another two years until 2026-2027 to save some 4 billion pounds ($4.65 billion) a year.
In late October 2021, Sunak, then-Chancellor of the Exchequer, said that the UK government was aiming to reverse the cut in the overseas aid budget to its usual level of 0.7% of GDP by 2024.