Aid spending has hit health and education

http://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2015/apr/19/aid-spending-has-hit-health-and-education

Version 0 of 1.

Just what is it about the UK’s experience on international aid that Larry Elliott thinks we should be “proud of” (A strange silence about a story to be proud of, 13 April)? Yes, more money is being spent – a 50% real increase over the course of this parliament – but has it made the world a better place? There is no convincing evidence. On the contrary, repeated reports paint a picture of DfID failures and an organisation in a heightened state of dysfunctionality.

Related: Aid? What aid? Why the UK ignores its record on international development

There are two undeniable facts about the UK’s aid spending splurge. First, the extra £4bn-£5bn annually being spent on aid now compared with the start of the coalition government is at the expense of other public spending, much of which (health, education, welfare) affects the disadvantaged most.

Second, the most direct beneficiary of higher aid spending has been the UK aid industry. Organisations like the Overseas Development Institute, quoted extensively by Elliott, have ballooned in size. ODI’s turnover has doubled. Others have grown more. Quite a comfort to those who have suffered from public expenditure cuts in the past five years.Patricia OldmanLondon

• It is difficult to talk about success abroad when the story at home is one of failure. It is difficult to promote economic progress at the same time as winding down government expenditure. The only sensible way to deal with a budget deficit is to maintain government expenditure and increase taxes on financial surpluses. Yet the principal political parties agree that further winding-down of the economy will be necessary, whoever wins the election. As the Sun once suggested, will the last person to leave the country please turn out the lights.Martin LondonHellan, Denbighshire

• Follow the Guardian letters desk on Twitter: @guardianletters