Should private sector fund international aid?

Penny Mordaunt has been criticised by charities and MPs for suggesting the government’s international development spending should become more reliant on private sector investment and philanthropy. The international development secretary said she would aim for her department to become a fundraising department rather than a spending department, telling ministers it was unsustainable to continue to meet spending targets with taxpayer cash. Is this a feasible way to bolster international aid cash – or a government ruse to run down the aid budget?