Department for International Development
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Mitchell: Funding for UK
Following an independent review, the Government has announced it will not fund any further "development awareness" schemes in the UK.
Development Secretary Andrew Mitchell said he will not fund any further projects under the Development Awareness Fund or the Mini-Grants Scheme, and that existing programmes will be wound down. Following an external review of the links between development awareness projects and reducing global poverty, he has concluded there is insufficient evidence that these projects have a clear impact on the lives of the poorest.
Several development awareness projects were cancelled by Andrew Mitchell when he became Development Secretary. He found that small, grant-based micro-initiatives did not represent good value for money for the taxpayer and should be discontinued.
An external review for the Department for International Development reports that there is value, however, in using a limited amount of UK funding to educate people about global poverty. From now on the Government will refocus on education in schools, in collaboration with the Department for Education.
Development Secretary Andrew Mitchell said:
"We're committed to getting 100 pence of value for every pound of taxpayers' money, which is why I have decided that we will no longer fund any new development awareness projects.
"The external review found that it is difficult to prove a direct link between these kinds of projects and poverty reduction. I have therefore decided that they do not warrant continued Government funding. However, there are undoubted benefits of educating people about global poverty, especially children, so that's where we will refocus our support."
For more information, please contact the DFID Press Office on 020 7023 0600 or email: pressoffice@dfid.gov.uk
Notes to editors
Download the Review of using aid funds in the UK to promote awareness of global poverty here.
There will be a managed exit of funding for grant-based projects under the Development Awareness Fund and Mini-Grants scheme. The Development Secretary has already announced the closure of the following schemes:
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£146,000 for a Brazilian-style dance troupe with percussion in Hackney
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£55,000 to run stalls at summer music festivals
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£120,000 to train nursery school teachers about "global issues"
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£130,000 for a "Global Gardens Schools Network"
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£140,000 to train outdoor education tutors in Britain on development
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