The UK new Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is considering freezing the country's foreign aid budget for another two years, the Telegraph newspaper reported, citing sources.

Britain's spending on foreign aid is set at 0.5% of national income. Two years ago, the government cut foreign aid spending as the country faced a huge blow to public finances because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Sunak, who was finance minister at the time, said last year that foreign spending should return to 0.7% of output by 2024-2025.  However, according to the Telegraph, officials are considering extending the foreign aid spending cuts for two more years until 2026-2027.

There is room for deeper cuts, along with the possibility of tying foreign aid spending to inflation for three years in the future.

The publication comes at a time when the government is cutting spending and eliminating tax cuts as the rising cost of mortgages, food, fuel and heating are hitting many households' budgets.