Letter: How much longer do taxpayers have to be at bottom of the list?

Its priorities include improving the business climate, competitiveness and operation of markets, energy and financial sector reform, and increasing the ability of governments to tackle corruption. These reforms will drive sustainable development in developing countries, and create opportunities for international business, including UK companies.

Although increasing numbers of developing countries are able to finance their own development, many still face considerable challenges such as rapid urbanisation, climate change and high and persistent inequality which can lower long-term growth prospects, including in middle income countries where more than 70 per cent of the world's poor live. The Prosperity Fund supports the broad-based and inclusive growth needed for poverty reduction to make development sustainable.

The Prosperity Fund forms a strategic proportion of the UK's total Official Development Assistance (ODA) commitment of 0.7 per cent of Gross National Income. It represents a step-change in the ODA resources spent on assisting countries to grow and develop, which will help to make the world a more prosperous place.

The Fund will provide expertise and technical assistance in areas of UK strength to promote economic reforms, remove barriers to trade, strengthen policy capacity and build strong institutions to develop sectors which support growth such as infrastructure, energy, finance, education and healthcare.

All projects and programmes comply with the International Development Act, meet the OECD Development Assistance Committee criteria, are untied, and meet UK government transparency commitments on ODA spend.

There is also a small non ODA allocation through the fund in order to support the government's wider prosperity goals.

These are the countries who benefit. Countries that had dedicated FCO prosperity fund programmes were: Brazil, China, India, Mexico, South Africa, South Korea and Turkey.

These countries are not poor. So why use £1.3 billion of taxpayers' money when they say no money for schools, libraries, social care, disabled, NHS, pensions, etc?

Why do we suffer homelessness? The list goes on. How much longer do we the taxpayers have to be at the bottom of the list?

Janet Smith, Bridgnorth

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