The UK’s own ‘DOGE moment’: Research aid spending cut 60% in three years
Key Points
- FCDO ODA R&D spending will fall 44% this spending review period versus 2025/26 and 60% versus 2024/25.
- Total FCDO ODA was cut 31% over the same period.
- UK ODA fell from 0.7% of GNI in 2021 to a planned 0.3% in 2027.
- MPs called the R&D cuts shortsighted and warned China and Russia would fill the gap.
Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office aid spending on research and development will be cut by 60% in the current spending review period compared to the 2024/25 financial year, according to a House of Commons Science, Innovation and Technology Committee report published on 7 July 2026.
Department figures showed FCDO official development assistance (ODA) spending on R&D will fall 44% compared to the 2025/26 financial year, against a 31% reduction in total FCDO ODA. This means research funding has been cut disproportionately despite making up a small share of the overall aid budget.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced in February 2025 that ODA spending would fall from 0.5% of gross national income to 0.3% in 2027 to fund increased defence spending, following the earlier drop from the 0.7% target in 2021.
Then-Minister for International Development Anneliese Dodds resigned over the announcement, saying it would boost Russian and Chinese influence and “deeply” harm the UK’s reputation.
The committee said the UK had been “shortsighted” in cutting the area.
“The cuts constitute a missed opportunity for the UK to strengthen its global leadership in science and technology, with the risk that this spot may be taken up by competitors. The impact on our relationships and reputation will resonate for years to come,” it said.
Witnesses warned the cuts would diminish UK soft power in science and technology, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa, where China and Russia are increasing their activity. Mike Podmore, CEO of StopAIDS, noted that when the US withdrew funding from the World Health Organisation, “China responded by having one of its biggest delegations ever, and it firmly recommitted to the WHO.”
Former FCDO Chief Scientific Adviser Charlotte Watts said the funding had been “a modern development offer” that had “now been undermined”.
Former UK Health Security Agency Chief Executive Jenny Harries cited ODA-funded work in Pakistan that developed an outbreak control system benefiting both Pakistan and the world, and warned that “each time one of those relationships gets damaged or impeded, that trusted relationship starts to diminish.”
The US has made significantly deeper cuts through its Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), closing USAID and cancelling 82% of all programmes worth around $54 billion. Lord O’Neill of Gatley described the US retreat as a “huge opportunity” for the UK to “positively accelerate” its standing in international science.
The committee urged the government to restore ODA funding for research and development across departments, citing “clear strategic, diplomatic and scientific benefits”.
FCDO Minister for Growth Seema Malhotra told MPs the government’s commitment to international development was “really clear” but that the UK needed to “modernise” its approach, and reiterated the ambition to return to the 0.7% target when possible.
