Image Source: British Red Cross
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What Happens Now?
The UK’s international development policy is led by the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO), with the UK’s Foreign Secretary being the most senior Cabinet minister.
The Foreign & Commonwealth Office and Department for International Development merged in September 2020.
This means that there is no longer any standalone Cabinet-level minister responsible for foreign aid (previously the Secretary of State for International Development). However, the Minister of State for International Development still attends UK Cabinet meetings (as of 2025).
As international development and overseas aid policies are non-devolved, UK spending on overseas development is on Wales’ behalf. This works out to around £700 million per year as of 20241 – though cuts to UK aid spending is expected.
There are also many charities and non-government organisations (NGOs) based in the UK which don’t have a Welsh presence and again “work on Wales’ behalf”.
Does This Work for Wales?
It depends on how you look at it.
On the one hand, UK overseas aid spending on Wales’ behalf is more generous than you would expect an independent Welsh overseas aid programme to be. This was looked at separately. On paper, this “improves Wales’ reputation by being part of the UK”.
Many of the major “British” and international NGOs are based in London. Aside from a few exceptions, most don’t have a presence in Wales – which could make it more difficult to work with them from the start in some respects.
On the other hand, Wales has little say or involvement in UK aid policy, other than the much smaller programmes (by comparison) run by the Welsh Government, such as Wales and Africa. The UK Government’s proposed cut to overseas aid (to 0.3% of Gross National Income by 2027) will reflect badly on Wales by association.
Independence & Existing Development Projects: Pros & Cons
Due to our smaller economy, an independent Wales would stand to save a significant sum of money on overseas development spending compared to what’s spent on our behalf by the UK (potentially up to £400 million). Despite this, an independent Wales could still meet OECD aid budget averages as a share of national income.
Wales would be able to allocate overseas aid in any way we wish, instead of having it done on our behalf by the UK Government.
We have the Wales and Africa programme (and related projects) as a starting base that can be gradually built up. So we already have contacts and networks in place to support broader development programmes in places like Uganda, Somaliland and Zambia.
It may encourage English-based and international NGOs to establish satellite offices in Wales to lobby the Senedd, Welsh Government and civil society organisations.
Wales would be able to shape our overseas aid policy to meet our own foreign policy and soft power goals – it wouldn’t be decided for us in London.
It would be an opportunity to start overseas aid policies from scratch with no baggage carried over from the UK. This could include (though I disagree with it personally) not having an international development policy at all and/or only offering humanitarian/disaster relief assistance.
We could develop an overseas aid policy by using the Wellbeing of Future Generations Act as a base/set of principles.
There’s the potential for a funding gap that would have to be made up by the English Government if it wanted to maintan the same levels of spending. This would impact aid projects on the ground.
While Wales has some limited experience of providing overseas aid and having an overseas aid strategy (such as Wales for Africa), some types of overseas aid are more complicated and something the Welsh civil service have little to no experience over.
It would potentially increase the operating costs of international and London-based NGOs if they had to set up satellite offices in Wales to lobby the Welsh Government and Senedd. This may take up time and resources that would be better used elsewhere.
While Wales has limited experience of overseas aid (such as Wales for Africa), some types of overseas aid are more complicated, with the Welsh civil service having little to no experience of handling them before.
There’s a risk that the Welsh Government would be “led by the nose” by special interests in the charity sector to support certain communities and projects over others. This may not always be in the Welsh national interest, just a result of better lobbying and campaigning.
It would be unclear what obligations an independent Wales would “inherit” from the UK (i.e. a share of foreign debt).
Would we have the logistics to get aid to where it’s needed if we can’t rely on non-governmental organisations/NGOs?
What Do Other Countries Do?
Not applicable in this case, as there’s nothing to compare it to.
What Options Does Wales Have?
In principle, Wales should start with a “clean slate”.
This means Wales would build a new overseas aid/international development policy from the ground up in whatever way we want.
In practice, it may not be that simple. There are people on the ground relying on existing UK and NGO aid programmes who can’t afford to have the rug pulled from under them.
Existing UK aid agreements and projects would likely be discussed during any independence transition period. The right thing to do would be to ensure the most urgent/humanitarian programmes previously managed by the UK Government continue to be supported by Wales for a set period while we draft our own policy.
The options available to Wales for international development were looked at separately.
What's at Stake?
The overall score (out of 20) is the total of the scores for the four mini-categories (out of 5 each).
How Would This Be Run?
Politically, whoever is responsible for foreign policy would likely shape Wales’ overseas aid programme (if we have one). There may be an argument for a junior (non-Cabinet) minister to be responsible for international development.
Their work would be scrutinised by the relevant Senedd committee with responsibility for foreign affairs.
Again, the detailed summary of options has been looked at separately.
How Much Will This Cost?
Headline: A rough estimate of what you would expect an independent Wales to spend on overseas aid/Official Development Assistance (ODA) was looked at previously. To meet OECD averages, Wales would need to spend £269-318 million a year – up to £400 million a year less than our share of current UK ODA spending (around £700 million).
Would any new taxes need to be introduced?
No, though charities/NGOs working in international development and operating in Wales would be subject to Welsh charity laws and tax rules.
Who will pay for this?
A mix of general taxation (all taxpayers), corporate donations and individual fundraising.
How Long Would This Take?
An overseas aid policy would likely be developed alongside a more general foreign policy.
What happens to current aid programmes and obligations would likely be discussed during an independence transition period.
People & Work
The people in the countries and regions that would potentially receive overseas aid from Wales.
Within Wales, it would directly impact those working in the Welsh foreign department (or equivalent), civil society organisations that promote overseas aid and charities with a presence in Wales that work in overseas development and aid delivery (i.e Red Cross, DEC, Oxfam).
A certain number of jobs created when a Welsh foreign department is set up would likely be set aside for international development. You would expect a Welsh foreign department to have between 800 and 1,500 staff.
Some of these positions would be based overseas at Welsh diplomatic missions, and a number of jobs would likely be created for citizens of countries that receive aid (i.e. community liaison officers, business administrators, local experts).
Charities and NGOs working in overseas aid may wish to set up satellite offices in Wales in order to lobby the Senedd and Welsh Government. This would create a small number of jobs in the third sector and public relations.
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UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (22nd July 2025). “Annual Report & Accounts 2024-25” (p273). Total UK spending on ODA was £14.1 billion, with a “proportional Welsh share” (5%) working out at a little over £700 million.
No AI tools were used to draft this post.
