{"id":95005,"date":"2018-08-23T14:14:00","date_gmt":"2018-08-23T14:14:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/?guid=8c1468ec5b69180ba03164ebfb72df0f"},"modified":"2018-08-23T14:14:00","modified_gmt":"2018-08-23T14:14:00","slug":"press-release-uks-commitment-to-back-britains-world-class-aid-organisations-in-the-event-of-a-no-deal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/?p=95005","title":{"rendered":"Press release: UK\u2019s commitment to back Britain\u2019s world class aid organisations in the event of a \u201cno deal\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

The International Development Secretary, Penny Mordaunt, has today (Thursday 23 August) made a commitment<\/a>
\nto stand by and protect Britain\u2019s world class aid organisations in the unlikely event that we reach March 2019 without agreeing a deal with the EU.<\/p>\n

The European Commission (EC) currently requires UK aid organisations to prove at application stage that they are able to fund the delivery of humanitarian contracts should there be a no deal scenario. The vast majority of organisations are unable to make such a financial commitment up front, and so are being discouraged from applying.<\/p>\n

British organisations play a leading role in life-saving aid programmes across the world.<\/p>\n

To ensure this continues post March 2019, DFID will fund the cost of any new programme led by a UK aid organisation currently funded from the core budget of the EU\u2019s humanitarian and civil protection agency (ECHO).<\/p>\n

International Development Secretary, Penny Mordaunt said:<\/p>\n

\u201cI am pleased to give our world class British NGOs a firm commitment that the UK Government will help them overcome the difficulties that they have been facing.<\/p>\n

\u201cAid delivered well has the power to change lives; this is what the UK does best and I will do all that I can to ensure that British aid organisations continue to play a leading role in helping some of the world\u2019s most disadvantaged people.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is in everyone\u2019s best interests that we reach an agreement going forward on our future relationship with the EU on development. An effective partnership will enable the UK and EU to jointly help the poorest and most vulnerable people.\u201d<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s commitment from DFID will provide reassurance to UK aid organisations that they can bid for EC funding without potentially incurring additional financial risk. Support will be provided from funding that would otherwise have been channelled through the EU.<\/p>\n

Ms Mordaunt has written to UK NGOs to confirm her funding commitment.<\/p>\n

The letter states: \u201cI am pleased to announce the Government\u2019s commitment to support UK aid organisations from additional financial liabilities as a result of \u201cno deal\u2019 planning currently being undertaken by ECHO. This contingency plan would apply in the event that ECHO terminates funding to UK organisations when we leave the EU.<\/p>\n

\u201cI understand the difficulties you and your colleagues have experienced over recent months in applying for EU funding \u2013 funding for which you remain legally entitled to bid \u2013 and the frustrations you have faced in delivering the high-quality programming for which British development organisations are renowned. It is in neither the EU\u2019s nor the UK\u2019s interest that organisations which are best-placed are prevented from delivering our programmes.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe UK wants to be a good development partner to the EU, now and in the future. We share a common goal of delivering excellent development outcomes for the world\u2019s poorest. I am clear in my personal commitment to support UK organisations \u2013 the best in the world – to deliver on this common goal.\u201d<\/p>\n

Last month, the UK separately received important reassurances from the EU that UK aid organisations would not be discriminated against when bidding for contracts to deliver aid to refugees in Turkey.<\/p>\n

Ms Mordaunt said she was pleased at these \u201creassurances\u201d which relate to funding from the Facility for Refugees in Turkey.<\/p>\n

At last month\u2019s International Development Committee Ms Mordaunt highlighted the unfair contracts saying: \u201cWe are clear that the European Commission must remove these disclaimers it is using to hinder British aid organisations from delivering the common goal of alleviating poverty which would hit the world\u2019s poorest people hardest.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The International Development Secretary makes a commitment to protect Britain\u2019s world class aid organisations in the unlikely event that we reach March 2019 without agreeing a deal with the EU.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/95005"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=95005"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/95005\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=95005"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=95005"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=95005"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}