Foreign aid money spent on cutting smoking rates among workers in China

Hundreds of thousands of pounds of British taxpayer's money is being spent on keeping Indian houses cool during the summer and cutting smoking rates among migrant workers in China, a new report has revealed.

Despite a promise not to spend UK aid in developed nations like India and China the £1.5 billion Global Challenges Research Fund, managed by the Department for Business, has been granting large amounts to such countries.

A new report warns ministers must take control of the fund and ensure money is spent properly and not on projects which do not deserve taxpayer funding.

Other examples, highlighted by the Independent Commission for Aid Impact, include over £792,000 handed to the School of Oriental and African Studies for a study on the Tibetan verb and over £121,000 to explore how schools could reduce the consumption of sugary drinks in India which was granted to the Public Health Foundation of India.

Loughborough University was awarded £537,717 to look at low energy ways to keep Indian houses cool during the summer, the report found.

The fund aims to ensure that UK research expertise helps address problems in the developing world. It was set up in November 2015 and its £1.5 billion budget forms part of the UK's pledge to spend 0.7 per cent of GDP on aid.

But the ICAI warned that money is being handed to projects in parts of the world that are already well-developed, mainly because universities around the UK have strong relationships in these areas.

As money is handed out through educational institutions ministers do not necessarily have direct oversight of how cash is spent.

The report states: "The early rounds of GCRF funding were done in haste, encouraging UK research institutions to rely on existing research partnerships, which were mainly in middle-income countries.

"The GCRF’s focus on research excellence may continue to advantage developing countries that already have credible research institutions, rather than directing investment towards poorer countries where capacity building may be most needed."

Foreign aid spending

It sets out a number of recommendations for ministers including introducing more scrutiny in order to ensure money goes to countries most in need and set out clearer priorities.

It follows a pledge by the Conservatives not to send any more British cash to nations which can support themselves, including India and China, where money is still funding projects.

In one example the Sun Yat-Sen University got £133,584 for a project looking at how to reduce smoking among migrant workers in factories in Guangzhou, China.

Another project benefiting China was given over £600,000 to monitor and research air quality in the country, led by the University of Oxford.

Over £150,000 was granted to a project in South Africa which aims to "improve the outcomes in teenage pregnancy" while the University of Brighton is leading a project awarded almost £80,000 to make 12 films focused on art and its role in "cross-cultural translation" in the country.

Tina Fahm, the ICAI commissioner who led the review, said: “The Global Challenges Research Fund has the potential to address important global development challenges.

“However currently there is a real risk that the fund’s resources will be spread too thinly to achieve truly transformative results.”

While a Government spokesperson said: "As with all Overseas Development Assistance investments, there are robust assessment processes in place for the GCRF which ensures the programme benefits the world’s poorest people and provides value for money for UK taxpayers.

“BEIS will review the report’s recommendations and respond in due course.”